Days had been bad, they were everywhere, no matter where looked, where he had been. They have always been in his presence.
He had seen them a lot to even remember when it had started. Lucian's eyes had sunken, he feared sleep as he was always hunted when his eyelids fell.
He had suffered to stay awake trying to escape what he couldn't understand, hoping to find a little ambiance of peace.
But no, they came for him in what little time he didn't question his sanity.
Now he stares at everyone not knowing who is who. The dead are alive and the living are dead. They speak, they walk, they touch, they feel until time mows the flesh then he truly knows who is who.
Paranoia ate at him like a piranha. Barely any scraps left. He could barely look anyone in the eye. And when he spoke he prayed he was speaking to a normal person not those creatures.
Few of the times it was inevitable and he spoke to them without realizing. He had seen two as of today, a boy and a man.
The man showed up in the mountain forest along the trail where they walked to the stream when fetching water for the drums.
At first, the man, grey skin looking worse off than the other creatures he had seen, moved around with no direction in mind.
Times, when it came near, Lucain unknowingly held his breath. It was near the two people in front of him while descending.
It didn't touch them, just stood beside them then moved away, vanishing deeper into the forest.
Lucian exhaled, in relief and continued his descent. A few more buckets into the drums, he was climbing back up once more when he spotted the man, slouched in, swollen eyes dark grey skin, his form disfigured.
He was back again and this time he was looking at Lucian directly.
Terror passed through his body like electric shocks while praying "it's not him, it not" whispers falling from his mouth like chants.
But reality never goes the way one wishes. The creature came forward slowly, each step heavy, dragging feet across the ground before stumping, its path didn't change.
Lucian's hand shook and the vibrations reached the water in his buckets. His legs refused to move, rotting him at the place he stood, his lips trembled. eyes shifting like it was the only place the brain knew how to move.
"Hey, you holding up the line, keep moving" A voice on the line behind him called out, irritated but the word sounded gibberish to Lucian whose brain could not carry out the simple task he told it to do.
Advancing forward, slowly but surely.
"What are you looking at?"
"What's wrong with him?"
The others, angry that they couldn't bypass in order to risk falling, were shouting and throwing curses at Lucian.
But they couldn't see it, it was only him. The creature, the line etched onto the ground that counted the remaining distance to his doom.
Then stopped.
The creature had paused in his movements.
Head down, body swaying abnormally.
Lucian thought it had stopped finally but his hands were still shaking.
An eerie moan, low but disturbing, then increased in one jump.
Like a tidal wave, it struck his ear drum. unable to cover his ears in time as his hand held the bucket.
Bucket dropped to ground with a heavy thud, water splashed out of the bucket. Bent. His hand rushed to cover his ears, liquid was already pooling in it.
Wetting his hand.
He pressed hard to dampen the noise but seemed to also be coming from within, eyes squeezed shut from pain.
By the time he opened his eyes again the creature was looking at him. It opened it's mouth and his guts poured out. organs came out one by one, some attached by whatever strands that held them together. All rotten by time, the stench of decay pungent.
Lucian felt bile rise up his through his throat, threatening to come out.
Why was this happening to him?
A long train of intestines rolled out, small then large. Just before everything could come out, it hooked, with the long intestines dangling from inside, on the outside of his mouth.
Paralyzed by horror, Lucian stood transfixed. The hazy eyes of the man met his.
silence.
A muffled sound resembling that of a choked visceral laryngeal rasp came out of the man.
Lucian could not understand and wasn't given time to as the creature bursts forward—not running, but launching itself with an unnatural, violent velocity that makes no sense for its nature.
Organs attached to each other connected to the large intestines, whipped violently through the air, from the side of its mouth.
Distance vanished as quickly as the time taken to blink an eye, closing in fast.
Lucian's leg shook vigorously, wanting to become jelly, his brain, his mind fought for control as red signs rang in his head.
Three. It's leg sprained, forming the shape of a hook but still charged
Two. Heavy rhythm. Slap. Slap. Slap.
Hands outstretched.
…
One.
Run.
Lucian took off, leaving the creature to grab air while inches away from him. His legs finally listen, bulldozing him through the other children. Water poured, some splashed as they fell, others tumbled.
Screaming until his voice cracked. Water wet the earth from his bucket as he ran to the training grounds.
His lungs burned.
From the swiftly passing trees, the creature's silhouette could be seen.
Gaining on him.
The tall building came into view.
A couple more trees.
An eerie cry, ears bled.
And Lucian made the mistake to look back.
The creature crashed into him. Lucian involuntarily brought his hands in front of him. He was sent tumbling, rolling on dirt and stone, his head grazed a rock.
Dizzy and light headed, Lucian lifted himself trying to gain recognition of where he was.
He was almost there.
He crawled, moved even forcing his legs to boost him forward.
A cry, the creature was getting up and he saw it.
he kept crawling.
It had gotten up, looking around, searching, then found him.
Rushed forward.
And just in time, Lucian rolled and touched the training grounds.
The creature's hand clawed the ground before Lucian's face. it didn't enter the training grounds.
Couldn't. Like something was hindering his movement.
He stared at it whilst catching his breath.
A pitch black hole emerged from below the creature , appearing out of nowhere, It began to sink in. being swallowed by a pit. piece by piece. The creature struggled but to no avail.
And when it remained its head, a guttural sound was heard from it.
M-or-ar-c-h