The Last Day

I sat on the floor in the narrow hallway, face buried in arms. The gravity of the situation was too much to bear at that point; everything was wrong, which seemed to be a very common occurance for me, but this time it was overwhelming. I had to release it, but, naturally, I held it in and tried to bury it at the bottom of my soul. My demented, condemned soul. The soul of a mortal, whose fate was hopeless. I could feel it aching in me, slowly shaping into something evil. It moved at a snail's pace, tormenting me with every second.

I think the fear of it was the worst part. I didn't want that. I never wanted to hurt people, but after it finished, that would be all I could do. And the thought of that terrified me.

Rapid footsteps towards me brought me out of my trance. I turned my gaze upwards to see a figure running at full speed towards me. His face was one of a man of fear, who couldn't handle any more change or heartbreak. My chest twisted into knots as he screamed my name, and the tears I was holding back rolled down my cheeks as he knelt down in front of me. I couldn't hear his voice; my blood pumped in my ears at the thought of losing him - of losing myself and quite possibly harming him. I lost control of my breathing. I just stared up at his brown eyes and wished that all of it was a dream.

He grabbed onto the burning bite mark that rested on my forearm, as if applying pressure to it could cure me. His other hand was grasping the back of my head, holding me as if his life depended on it. He was just crying now, trying to comfort me while his own fear reigned control over his body. I managed to place a hand on his shoulder, gripping it like he was my only escape. I was so afraid, but somehow, looking into his eyes, I felt slightly better. I felt safe. I always did with him, even now, when there was no hope.

I finally spoke. "You need to get out of here. Y-You need to get somewhere safe."

"No!" He pulled on my arm to send me forward, and as I moved he wrapped his strong arms around me and held me close. "Don't you do that. Don't - don't you say that! Don't! I'm not just going to leave you!"

I grabbed his jacket and embraced him like I never had before. I buried my face in his shoulder and cried for a moment. He did the same. Our sobs were almost in sync, and both of our bodies shook with violent, emotional pain. I didn't want to lose him; he was the only thing that was left of my happiness. He was the only hope in my dark, cruel world - emotionally and literally. Why did it have to be this way? Why us? Why not some other people? I couldn't have cared less about what was happening to me, but I knew that it was killing him. When this was finished I would be gone, which would sooner or later bring about his own demise.

"P-P-Please, babe," I muttered in between sniffles. I lifted my face from his shoulder and rested my chin upon it, whispering in his ear. "Get away... find somewhere safe and-"

He pulled away from me just enough to slam his lips against mine, silencing me completely. His mind was made up, and I couldn't change it. I returned the romantic gesture before allowing him to pull away. We locked eyes again, which twisted my heart once more and sent shivers down my spine. I placed a hand on his head, tangling my fingers into his coarse black hair. My lips trembled again.

"I love you," he whimpered.

I hiccuped a cry of anguish. "I love you, too."

My soul lurched, sending a cold chill throughout my body. I flung myself forward and embraced the love of my life once again, refusing to let him go. I kept repeating the phrase "I love you" to him, all the way until I couldn't hear. I reflected on my life: I was four when I first picked up a microphone and figured out that it was my destiny to sing on a stage; at nine years old I knew what bullying was and figured out that I was a victim of it; fifth grade was when I met my best friend of eight years... what was her name again?

This is it.

I went to a school district for... two years? No, three. Three years. I went for three years before dropping out of school. When did I get back into school? I shivered slightly as my body began to tingle. I felt his arms around me tighten even more, and I realized that we were rocking back and forth. I got back into schooling... four months after dropping out? Something like that. Then I went to a district for almost five years before this dreaded apocalypse happened.

This is my last day.

Who was I friends with? I could picture bodies in my mind, and rooms, but no faces. No names came to mind. Who was my childhood friend? Who were my current friends? Did I even have friends? My tears slowly ceased, and my trembling grew still. I still felt tingles all along my body, and I was twitching constantly. My hands were growing dry and the skin was cracking along my arms. I couldn't even remember my favorite teacher; I knew I had one, but what was her name? What did she teach? Why was she my favorite?

This is my last moment.

Where was I, again? I was in a building; it looked like a hotel of some sort. Nobody was around except for me and the man I was hugging, and a pale, rotting body with no head laying next to us. Wait, why was I hugging him? Oh... right... he was my boyfriend... right? That's what he was? I couldn't remember. He smelled good, though.

This is my last thought.

My stomach felt hollow. When did I eat last? It must have been a while ago - I couldn't quite remember for some reason. My vision was blurry, so I couldn't see what was in front of me, but it smelled really good. It was alive, and healthy. I could hear its blood pumping in my ears, and I could feel its heartbeat. Was it a human? It was holding me; why was it holding me? Did I attack it already and just forget?

This is my last movement.

I bit down hard on the first piece of flesh I could find. Just as I thought - nice and fresh. This seemed to distress the human, who reacted in a depressed manner rather than a hostile one. Was it submitting to me? It didn't seem to be fighting me back. So I bit down again, and tugged. Some type of clothy substance came with me, but I grabbed a bit of skin, too. I couldn't taste it, so I spat it all out and bit in the same place. That time I got it; blood soaked into my mouth, and when I pulled back, a big chunk of meat came with. It was good raw. I liked it that way.

BANG!

My body fell over on its side, and I stared out of blurry eyes at the figure before me. It was laying down next to me. It was the human I had bit. A red liquid was pouring from its head, sending its scent everywhere. For some reason, I felt sad. Was it sadness? I couldn't recall ever feeling sad before. It was strange; water was leaking from my eyes, and my chest was tight. I didn't want it to die. But my vision continued to grow blurry until everything was black. I couldn't see it anymore.

I did catch a glimpse of something, though: a machine I remembered was called a gun, resting under its palm. Surrounding it was a lot of pink flesh; a brain, most likely. Somehow, I knew it was more than just the human's.