Claustrophobic | Skephalo

One Big Lie

i've been trying to upload this story every 2 days, do you guys think that's too long of a wait between chapters? i feel like i've been mean with the cliffhangers lately hehe

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Zak

"Zak? Can you hear me? Zak?"

"Darryl?"

Zak's eyes fluttered open at the sound of Darryl's voice, eager to see him again. He felt like he had been asleep forever, his head aching and his body sore. From his position, Zak could see the canopies of a bunch of trees surrounding him.

Where am I?

He stretched his neck out a bit, before realizing he couldn't move his hands. Or his feet. Thick rope was tied around his limbs, attaching him to the slanted tree trunk he was leaning against.

"Zak?" The voice rang out again.

Only this time, it wasn't Darryl.

"Hm?" Zak mumbles, blinking a few times. His vision keeps shifting in and out of focus, making it hard to see anything super detailed. Zak pulled on his arms, but it had no effect other than hurting his wrists. The man sitting in front of him, however, was unfamiliar. "Who are you? Where... Am I?"

"How does your head feel?" The man asks, speaking with a strong French accent, while tilting Zak's head with his finger to examine the side of his head.

"It hurts," Zak answers, leaning against the man's touch.

"You were bleeding a lot more before. I managed to patch up the wound, but I'm no doctor."

"What happened to me? Last thing I remember I was playing with my dog in the stream behind my house. Now, I'm here."

The man hesitates. "I don't know, I just found you knocked out. Maybe a branch hit you or something."

"Oh... Well I guess I should be thanking you, then, if you saved my life. Hold on... Why am I tied up?"

"I didn't know if you were infected. I'd rather be safe than sorry."

"I'm not infected," Zak insists.

"You've been out a while. I don't know what you came across before I got to you. You can't be sure."

"I... I guess I'm not completely sure when you put it like that. I feel fine though, besides the pounding in my head and aches in my muscles. But I just think that's because I've been laying like this for so long."

"I think you should stay there, no offense."

Zak sighs, readjusting his body. "How long have I been out exactly?"

"A couple of days."

Oh no, that means Darryl has been alone this whole time.

"A couple of— Oh god, I bet he is worried sick," Zak mumbles under his breath, before raising his pitch. "Look man, you gotta let me out of these ropes. I really need to get back home."

The man holds his hands up in a surrendering position. "Relax, Zak. I'm sure your friend is fine."

"What..? I never mentioned any friend."

"I... Just assumed that's why you're rushing to get home."

"Wait, I know I never told you my name, either! Who are you?" Zak pulls against the ropes again, clenching his jaw.

"I—"

"—Did you do this to me?!"

"No! Well, maybe! It was an accident!" The man paces in front of Zak's legs.

"Let me go! You're crazy!" Zak screams, kicking his feet as much as he could.

"No, just listen, please!" He waved his hands around wildly. "I really didn't mean to hurt you. Your dog scared me. I just wanted to see Darryl, maybe... Fix things, I don't know!"

Zak sniffs, calming down a little. "You're Vincent?"

Vincent nods. "Yeah."

"Darryl told me about you. You run the Skeletons."

"I do, yeah."

"You tried to kill us."

"Honestly? I—"

"—Your gang hunted us out of the city and forced us into hiding."

"Zak, a lot has happened since then," Vincent sat back down. "I used to be in the Skeletons, and Darryl never knew about it. He was always angry about me ditching him all the time to do their bidding, so he kicked me out of our apartment. I managed to work my way up the Skeleton ladder to a leadership position, and all I wanted was revenge on Darryl. It started with some stupid plan to get him into and then kicked out of the Skeletons, but that didn't work out. Then, when some spies discovered you, we decided to throw you two together and then... Well... Use you as a push to hurt Darryl emotionally. But that didn't work out either."

"Why not?"

"Because after I told Darryl I was alive, I didn't feel as angry anymore. I guess I was so confused with my emotions, my first choice of action was attempting to kill him."

Zak didn't ask anything else.

If Vincent really wants to fix his friendship with Darryl, shouldn't I want to help? Yes, Vincent is impulsive, violent, and extremely dangerous, but Darryl said he used to be a good friend. The apocalypse has changed everyone in some sort of way, maybe this is just Vincent's way of coping.

Why does it feel so weird, then?

I need to get back to Darryl.

Zak didn't take his eyes off of the leader of the Skeletons as he talked more in detail about his attempts to 'get revenge' on Darryl, and how his experiences wandering through the post-apocalyptic world alone affected his understanding of humanity. It was actually really interesting to Zak, but he was far too afraid to weigh in at any point.

Vincent lit a campfire as the sun began to set. "Are you hungry?" He held up two cans filled with food.

"No." Zak shifted uncomfortably. "I have to pee."

Vincent rolls his eyes. "Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"Fine, but don't try anything. I don't want to have to hurt you again." Vincent pulls a knife out of his pocket and begins to cut through the knot around Zak's hands.

That's my knife.

He moves on to the knot around Zak's feet, slicing it quickly.

"That knife looks like mine," Zak states, leaning his head in to look at the handle.

Vincent shrugs. "It is— Ow!"

Zak had head-butted Vincent, causing him to drop the knife. Scrambling to grab it off the ground, Zak is extremely relieved he reaches it first. Holding the knife towards Vincent, he notices a stab wound in his arm.

I must have thought of defending myself with this knife before. Clearly, it didn't work. I need to think of something different. Oh, I know. Run!

His feet seemed to know exactly where to go, not needing his brain at all to command his body. Zak ran fast, trying his hardest not to stumble over himself. His head was spinning, and he felt his blood pumping, but that just made him feel even more alive.

Keep running!

"Zak, stop!" He heard Vincent call from behind him.

Zak knew he could escape if he got out of sight, but it seemed like there was nowhere to hide.

Where now?

He hesitated for a moment, and that was enough for Vincent to catch up.

"Don't take another step," Vincent warned Zak, staying a considerable distance away from him.

"Why should I listen to you?"

"Because, you're standing on a Creeper."