Rough Road Ahead (In Progress)

Chapter 22

            Once I was inside I didn't see Max. Puzzled, I looked around the room, seeing piles of comic books and video games, but no Max.

            Hearing a thump sound from the closet a smile broke out across my face, "Max?" I called, taking a step towards the closet, "Max? I know you're in there." My hands reached forward, grabbing the closet door handles and pulling them open, "boo!" I called, but then my smile turned to a frown as I saw Max's back, but it looked different. There was a sense of panic that over came me as he turned to face me, his jaw half off.

            His face had those same red marks all over it, covering his arms and legs that looked much skinner than they should have. His teeth were falling out, all of them on the floor below him. His one eye seemed shriveled like a raisin and that same red substance seemed to be growing across it, eating it.

            He walked towards me, taking slow careful steps. I moved back, stunned, but unable to run. My face was meeting his, his one eye following me as I stumbled backwards. My body shaking with the effort it took to move a few inches across the carpet. It seemed like quick sand had formed below me, dragging me down. I wanted to scream for Brad, but my voice wouldn't sound. I wanted to run, but my legs wouldn't move.

            Max's skinny legs moved towards me, and then one of the bones broke under his weight, sending him crawling onto the floor towards me, "get away!" I mouthed, "get away!" But he didn't answer, he just kept crawling forward. Then suddenly his arm broke, leaving him only his left to pull himself along with.

            His jaw moved, still half on and half off, "Iris.." he mouthed, his voice hoarse.

            "Brad!" I screamed and I heard him get up from the sofa.

            "What do you want now?" He questioned as he moved up the stairs slowly. I could hear the pitter patter of his feet moving up towards me.

            Max pulled himself closer and I kicked him in the face, sending his jaw flying across the room and hitting the wall. "Help!" I screamed again, and this time Brad must have heard the urgency in my voice because he booked it up the stairs.

            "What the..." he yelled from the door way, then rushed in, picking me up over his shoulder and running out the door, closing it after him. "What the hell was that?" He questioned his eyes wide.

            For a second I couldn't speak, my voice seemed to be stuck in my throat. "Max." I said, finally, "it was Max."

            Brad's mouth hung open, "how do you know?" I could see tears welling up in his eyes. I knew he loved Max, I had too, but I didn't think that there was any coming back from that. "How do you know?!" He screamed, his back sliding down the wall in the hallway, his head between his knees.

            I gulped, letting my legs clasp below me and patting him on the back. I didn't say anything for a long while, but finally I had to, "we should call someone. Whatever this is, mom has it too."

            "Fuck. You're right." Brad responded, standing up and getting the phone. It only took a few minutes for the police and ambulance to be there. We explained what had happened and I was sure that they thought we were lying until they saw it themselves. They put him on a structure and brought him to the hospital, but they didn't let us come with him due to the violent nature of the encounter. They had to tie him to the structure, keeping him still so he didn't hurt himself, or other, further. 

            The ambulance sped away from us, sirens blaring for the second time that same day. "What is this?" Brad asked from his spot in the middle of the grass. There were people out side watching us, their eyes following our every move. Our neighbors were sitting on their front porch, their eyes narrowing as we stood in the same place feeling like the center of attention.