Ego

Chapter 1 (Sound of Sorrow)

The wind carried the scent of freshly bloomed flowers and a mild grassy aroma while it coursed along my face, as if to remind me that it was Spring. My hand instinctively moved to resituate my hair, as not to look like a mad person. I'd never really been too particular about appearances, but my hair always seemed to run wild in the wind. As I ascended the several steps to enter the school building, I looked ahead to the entrance of the building before me. To the front of the building was a large sign that read "Lakeview High". It began to dawn on me that this would be my last year of high school, even though I'd yet to even decide what I would do once it was time to move on. "Hey! Oliver!" I heard a familiar voice calling out to me, breaking my train of thought. Naturally, I turned around to see two of my best friends: Logan and Cassidy. "Where are you about to head off to?" Logan asked, seeing as we still had some time before school began. I pondered the question for a moment, before glancing over towards the cafeteria. "I thought I'd grab breakfast this morning. You guys coming?" I replied. "You know I never miss a meal!" Logan spat back, laughing as he walked closer. "I guess I'll tag along too." Cassidy chirped in, as she followed after Logan and I into the school building.

We talked about the latest iteration of our favorite video game on the entire trek to the cafeteria, mostly with Logan and Cassidy arguing over who the best character was. "Alright, how about this. We'll all go over to Oliver's house later and see which character is really better!" Logan proclaimed challengingly. "You're on!" Cassidy retorted with confidence. "Alright, guys. Settle down before you embarrass us." I interjected. It was probably such a trivial thing to worry about, but I'd never been eager to attract too much attention. We went through the line, all three of us now talking about our favorite superheroes. "Batman is obviously the best superhero." Logan said, as he got his tray of food. "No way! You can't even call him a superhero with no superpowers. Unless you count plot armor." I teased, as I grabbed my own tray. "The Flash would destroy him before he even realized the fight started." Cassidy smirked as she followed suit. "I'd have to say Wonderwoman." She butted in with her own favorite heroine. "See, at least Wonderwoman has powers." I muttered before we made our way to a somewhat empty area. We all took a seat, placing our trays down in front of us as we all dug in. We'd talk about what we did over Spring Break while we ate our breakfast, stopping every few bites to tell of the beaches, amusement parks and numerous other places we'd visited.

We'd finished our food long before the bell finally rung to let us know school was about to start. Grabbing our trays, we made our way over to a nearby trashcan to dump them along with whatever was leftover. Cassidy talked more about how beautiful the beach she visited was, and how she couldn't wait to go back next year. As I listened, a sound suddenly caught my attention. It was somewhat quiet compared to the noisy environment of highschoolers, but still distinct. I homed in on this sound as it seemed to grow ever closer, and ever louder, until suddenly screams filled the surrounding area. Students were swarming in a mad rush to escape something, while others began to drop left and right. I looked over, scanning the crowd until I caught sight of it. It was massive, gruesome beast with skin the most disgusting shade of green. He was covered in blisters, with three eyes and small tufts of brown hair protruding from the top of his head. Torn and tattered clothing still clung to his oversized body. "What the Hell is that?!" I shouted, with Logan and Cassidy standing stiff behind me. I quickly turned around, grabbing them by their wrists and dragging them along with me to run in the opposite direction. It was difficult to move in the crowd of frantic teenagers and teachers alike, but I managed to push through.

As we got deeper, however, I suddenly noticed blood trickling down the ears of many I passed by. In my frenzy, I hadn't noticed that my ears had begun to bleed as well. It wasn't as if there was any pain, but I wondered if it had anything to do with that sound from before. Students and teachers continued to drop to the ground left and right, either incapacitated or dead. I bit my lip with frustration, pushing harder through the crowds and trying not to step on anyone when I was snatched back suddenly. Logan had gone limp and fell to the ground. 'It's no use... He's too heavy!' I immediately knelt to check his pulse, my face running completely white once I'd realized what was happening. Everyone falling to the floor... They weren't unconscious. They were dead. I immediately turned to Cassidy, ready to break the truth to her when she started screaming. Her skin went from its usual shade of apricot to a dark shade of crimson, and her hands slowly morphed into large, razor-sharp blades. Her face became convoluted, with her features askew and additional features growing from her now blobby face. Her scream of terror had suddenly become a ferocious screech. "Cassidy... No..." I whispered, immediately turning to the left and bolting for the door. What was once Cassidy was now a monster, and would no doubt begin attacking any nearby humans. At least, that was what I thought.