Dark Passenger

Chapter 15: Early Remainder

Sorry these ones aren't in chapters, but they good.

Maybe I should have told him I wasn't going to school today. He was upset, but I managed to calm him down. This could buy me some time to explore. The first thing I saw when entering was the kitchen. I was shocked to see it was actually nice. It smelled kind of like eggs. I crept my way through and looked to what I believed was the living room, there were three mattresses down, almost as if someone was still living there. I was going to take some things back for myself, until I heard talking. There were people getting ready to enter. I hurried up and hid in the bathroom, closing the shower curtain. They came in. I heard several voices. Mostly boys, and one girl. I waited until I was certain that they were in the living room. I quickly jumped out of the shower and rushed out of the place. I made it back to my house, nearly out of breath. God that was a rush! I thought. Ashton came home about a minute later. He hugged me. "What the hell happened?" He said. We went into my room and cleared everything up. I didn't tell him about the house, this was a personal curiosity for me. We hung out the rest of the day. In my mind I was wondering, who was in that house? After I walked Ashton home, I saw headlights approaching. I ducked down to the ground and observed. Some boy was getting out of a van. I had no idea who he was or what he was up to. Tomorrow I was going to look into it. I went home and went into the living room. I assumed my grandma was asleep. I tried to wake her up. I just wanted to talk to her. It made me feel better talking to someone I knew. I tried waking her up several times. I stood there looking at her. I noticed something. She wasn't breathing. She had died peacefully in her sleep. At that moment I didn't really feel many emotions. Just kind of bummed out, "Last time I'm seeing her." I said softly to myself. What caused me to feel something was the note I found sticking out of her purse. It read "Riley, I remember seeing you on that dreadful night. You were so scared. I remember holding you tight in my arms. You're such a good boy Riley. That night, I looked up at the sky and swore to your mother I would never let anything happen to you. Your mother loved you very much. I love you too Riley. One day, when I die, you will read this, and you will understand why I wrote this. Just remember, me and your mother will always be watching over you. I love you with all my heart and soul, and don't you ever forget it." This nearly put me into tears. And to top it all off, she even fucking packed me a lunch for tomorrow in the fridge. I laid down next to my grandma's corpse. I talked to her, I told her everything I did and thought I did. After everything was known, I said goodbye. I walked over to Ashton's and told him she died. He woke his dad up and he called 911. I now know Ashton has a dad. That night, I told Ashton's dad I would like to stay with him for the night. After about a half hour, everything was quite. Everyone had left. I went upstairs and got ready for bed. I slept with Ashton. His bedroom was nice. His body always felt warm. I fell asleep in his arms, it now felt like he was protecting me. I woke up around 2:30 AM. I walked outside and stared at the sky. I watched the stars, they just stayed up there, bright and happy. A half hour later I went back to bed. I kissed Ashton goodnight and cuddled with him. I woke up around 9 AM. Ashton had went to school, I assumed his dad had went to work because I couldn't find him. It was a gloomy day outside, yet I wanted to venture. I wanted to see who was in the house near mine. I anxiously got ready to go over. I took a different approach to this. I went in through the basement. I pushed open a big wooden door, the basement used to be a garage by the way the door was set up. I tried to move quickly, but at the same time I wanted to take it all in. I walked forward, feeling cold air come at me as I got further in. It felt nothing like the cold air I've felt in previous situations. I thought I heard footsteps behind me, I ran quickly to hide. As I did, I fell through the floor. The floor was made of cement, but it's like the hole I fell through had been carved out. I looked up in shock. It was very dark, but I could still see. I was in a cold damp tunnel. The floor was dirt. I followed the dirt path. I could see some faint light at the end, I rushed towards it, letting curiosity get the best of me. I peeked my head around a wet rock. There was a castle. A fucking castle surrounded by water I thought. I got chills down my arms, I nearly lost my balance. I had my phone on me, so I would have to leave it if I wanted to swim to the castle. It was only noon. I took my phone and caught a couple pictures of it. I squeaked a little when I saw a full grown man walk out of the castle, almost as if he knew I was near. He looked up at me and pointed. I took off running. My heart was beating to fast, I was fading to black I thought. I picked up enough rocks to hoist my way up out of the tunnel. I didn't stop running until I got back to Ashton's house. Never will I ever look at that house the same way. About a half hour later, Ashton's dad Brian pulled in. I went upstairs and sat on the floor. I was pale, and right now, I didn't want to talk, just think. I just wanted everything to stop. It was all going too fast. But I can't stop now. I have to be strong. I got off the floor and went to talk to Brian. He was in a fancy business suit. We sat at the table and talked, just about common things, school, politics, food. Then it got deep. I expressed to him how I felt about his son. He really didn't seem to be offended. We talked about my emotions and how I tried to control them. He told me to stay there. He got up as if he had left the oven on. He had an MP3 player, I guess he wasn't to out of date. He plugged it in to his stereo and said listen. A piano came on, slowly and gentle. Accompanied by it was a soothing voice. I fell in love with the song. It was "White Christmas" by Kelly Clarkson. The piano was the most beautiful part. "That was so beautiful." I said. "Jazz is a strong type of beauty." Brian said. I couldn't get that song out of my head. Jazz toyed with my emotions, like two lovers taunting each other. "Ya know, Ashton plays the piano." Brian said. I thought to myself, why wouldn't he have told me that? Well, that's settled then, I wanted to be a part of jazz. Right as I determined this, Ashton came in. His dad went to put the MP3 away. "I missed you so much." Said Ashton. I gave him a tight hug and said I missed him too. I told him about how I loved jazz music. He stopped for a minute, he took my hand and led me to his basement. He locked the door and sat me down on a chair facing the wall. He was almost shaking now. He pulled off a grey cover that blended in with the wall. It revealed a gorgeous piano. "Promise you won't judge me? Promise?" Said Ashton. His eyes were sparkling. I promised him I wouldn't. He sat down right in front of the piano. He let out a exhale as if he were relieved. He tapped one key softly, then he went faster and faster. He was playing the same tune as the song I heard. He could play it perfect. I adored every second he played. He would play for me on Friday night. We both escaped our feelings for a time. Over time, I had forgotten about the tunnel, and who was in the house near mine. One day in school, my dark soul had caught up to me. We had an assembly in the gymnasium. There were a couple missing students. No traces of them. How... Could I really do this? I thought I was getting better, just to find out I was killing people. During my way home, the bus passed up my stop. Before I could say anything, a needle went into my neck. Everything went dark. The cold metal I was strapped to woke me up. I couldn't tell where I was. It was dark and very cold. I might have been underground. I tried to really focus on my surroundings, but I only saw faint outlines of objects. A bright light then hit my face. When I got readjusted I could see a woman in a white lab coat. She had lifeless eyes, bitter soul. She just stood there. She looked at me like I was a criminal getting what I deserved. She walked up slowly and pulled down a large lever. BZZT! That's all I heard, then the feeling of electricity. She was zapping me. I could feel the pulses going through my brain. I saw memories, memories of what I could never remember. My mother, the school fight. Even those missing students, David and Bri. The only thing I could let out was a minor squeak. She zapped me again. My emotions came bursting out of me like vomit. My eyes colors drained like water in a tub, I was as pale as a ghost now. She looked at me again. She took notes on my behavior. She then walked out of the room. I just remained strapped up, tired and afraid. After 10 minutes I couldn't take it anymore. I started squirming viciously. I got one hand free. I pulled with all my force that was left and got the other one free. I then bent down, nearly breaking a bone, and I bit into my ankle straps. My mouth was kind of bloody. I was now on a cold floor. I walked to the big door in front of me. I opened it slowly, peeking out both ways. Then, I ran, going from wall to wall. Hallway to hallway. Eventually I reached an elevator. It looked old, but it was still in service. Someone was coming. I hid behind a nearby wall and waited. After the footsteps from the elevator went away I ran again. There was a button inside the elevator just to close the doors, which I hit nearly immediately. There were at least 15 buttons. I hit the one that said Floor 1 Sector 1. I just hoped to god no one was coming on. After 5 whole minutes of suspense and fear, the doors moved open. A long hallway was before me. I had to run. I ran quickly, reading every sign first. Eventually I saw daylight, real daylight. I wondered to myself, where is all the security? Where is anybody? I nearly hit the sliding doors that seemed to have lost power. With my adrenaline up, I got a running start and busted through glass doors, sustaining only minors scratches. Lucky me. I had on only a gown. Grey. I soon realized I was in the desert. I looked around, not taking too much time, and ran again. I ran for at least 15 minutes. I heard a helicopter in the distance. It flew right passed me, leaving a gush of wind. The sun beat down on me as I traveled. I thought I was in the clear. I just had to hide for awhile. And collect myself. Right as I thought I was in the clear. I saw them. People in lab coats. Tranquilizer darts in their hands and blank stares. I sprinted for my life. Until I heard a shot. BANG! I saw a bullet they shot towards me. I thought they had missed, until I looked down. They shot me. The bullet pierced right through me. I was bleeding now, I couldn't feel pain, but my legs felt like jello and I could barely move them. I fell to the ground, landing in warm dirt. Staring at the sky, all I could think about is a random song I heard. "Peter Gabriel- Heroes." I heard a whistling sound in the sky. A meteor was coming through the sky. It didn't burn up in the atmosphere. It was coming at earth hard. It passed over the desert, but not by much. It struck the earth. Shaking everything everywhere. I saw people fleeing for there lives. I laid there for hours. I never fell unconscious once. I heard approaching footsteps. At this point, it couldn't get any worse. It was a man, but he didn't look like a common man. He was glowing. His hair seemed to move freely, like a cat wagging its tail. He put his hand on my wound and shocked me. It didn't hurt, it's just a shock you could feel. It gave me the strength to get up. Before I could get another look at the man, he was gone. I walked across the desert until I saw something normal. A gas station. It was packed with people trying to buy borrow and steal gas. All power was shut down. I saw a car with the keys still in it. I had to get home to Ashton. Thank god, it had about half a tanks worth. Wifi was down as well. It's like the meteor was a solar flare. I viewed a nearby road sign. I wasn't far from my hometown, I knew how to get home. I took backroads, main roads were filled with anarchy. I tried to reach any station on the radio. I couldn't pick up shit. I almost couldn't believe it. But at the same time, I knew it was true. I got home around dark. All I could see were a pile of cars, some were ditched some were on fire with dead bodies in them. I ran inside the house. Everything was still there. I couldn't find anyone though. I heard quite whispers from beneath me. My hearing seemed to be sharper than before. I went into the basement and saw Ashton and Brian in a corner. Ashton couldn't see me. There was no power. I spoke softly. I heard Ashton get up slowly. I found him and hugged him. He squeezed me insanely tight. I could feel the tears running down his cheek. Our hug was interrupted by the sound of a house collapsing. We went upstairs and looked out the window. We saw people running up and down the streets, breaking into stores like savages. It was barbaric. The wind blowing hard. We chose to wait it out, but for how long? I couldn't look away. Life as I knew it, was gone forever. Ashton laid down in his bed with his head under the covers. Around 1 AM, I joined him. Brian told me he would barricade the house. This almost put me at ease. I put my hand on Ashton's cheek, he was still awake, he couldn't sleep through the madness, but he wanted to. I wrapped my arms around him tight. I managed to sleep for about 3 hours until the sounds of distant gunfire woke me. I tilted my head up just enough to see out the window. The clouds were grey. I've never seen this kind of grey. Did the whole world end? That was my main question. Even though it should be, who the hell was the "man" that saved me. And how? That leads up to where I am now. I guess I'll just take my days as they come at me now.