The Thirst of the Cursed

SEVEN

“Sam, wake up. Goddammit, Sam! Wake up,” Harry shook him roughly. 

“What the fuck, man?” Sam grumbled, rubbing his eyes. 

“Mark’s losing it,” Harry repeated worriedly. 

“Why?” Sam sat up, thinking about Mark’s breakdown, and thinking whether it could be about that. 

“You’re lucky he didn’t hear that,” chuckled Harry, and then continued, “He is acting like a pregnant woman. Just for the time.” 

Suddenly, they heard a scream from Mark, “Stop dreaming, you two pieces of shit!” 

Sam jumped out of his bed and freshened himself, while Harry went to control the raging Mark. Sam gulped his bottle and realised that all of his bottles were finished. He required at least 2 bottles to get through his day. Also, it was next to impossible to go to the Wavering Woods with everyone around him, since it was Mark’s match. Sam pulled his hair and punched the wall. His day was off to a bad start.

***

“Oh, come on, you think I’ll eat those? I have a match for goodness sake,” Mark gestured to the egg rolls, disgusted. 

Sam rolled his eyes for the hundredth time, while Harry pulled his hair in frustration, took a deep breath, and asked as sweetly as possible, “Then what do you want me to make, Mark?” Sam raised his eyebrow. 

Harry usually used this style of talking, which usually implied that he might lose his sanity at any moment. It was like the Morse code. Mark recognised that voice, pulled his hair, sat down, and huffed, “I am sorry, guys. It’s just …. It’s my first match and I want it to be perfect.” 

“And you scoff at me for wanting my project to be perfect,” smiled Harry, cooling down. 

“Exactly. I never realized why all this was important because I was always a brat. But now I know, not because I want to, but because I have to,” Mark said earnestly. 

“Hey, you were never a brat,” Sam said softly. 

“Yeah, you were just …  non-caring about my seriousness,” joked Harry, breaking the tension. 

“So, who wants to eat egg rolls?” Sam asked, rubbing his hands together. 

Mark looked sceptical, so Harry added, hesitatingly, “And mango juice?” 

“That sounds fine,” Mark said, giving in. Heaving a sigh of relief, Harry took out the juice in 3 glasses, which they toasted to Mark’s victory and cheered. While they were drinking and eating, all Sam could do was think a way to escape to the Woods.

***

“Hey, Mark, zip it, will you? This is a library, for goodness’ sake,” Scarlett whisper-shouted at Mark, who was continuously ranting about his moves, paining everyone’s head, for they had heard the same thing for the hundredth time. 

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry, fine. It’s just that I’m …” Mark started. 

“Anxious?” 

“Scared?” 

“Not normal?” 

Such came answers from everyone. Mark laughed, and hugged Scarlett, and said to all of them, “What am I going to do without you all?” 

“Well, you could start with shutting up about your wonderful match, which, by the way, starts at 9 in the night, which is hours away,” groaned Sam, massaging his head. 

“Yeah, we all know what a big deal this is, what this has taught you, blah, blah, blah, but give a little rest,” agreed Harry. 

Ginny said, “Hey, stop picking on him, guys.” 

“Yeah, at least the girls understand what passion is,” Mark shrugged, looking smug. 

“After all, we all know that it’s Mark’s speciality to ramble about something very exciting till it’s no more,” continued Krystal, making Mark’s grin fall and the group laugh. 

“Hey, come on. Okay, Scar, you’re with me, right?” 

Mark turned towards Scarlett, who bit her laugh, and said, ”Look, honey. If you’re going keep up the rambling, my brain will start bleeding.” 

This launched the group into another laugh. Seeing Mark, Krystal went up and said, “Mark we love you, and we want you to win. But also, we want to be alive,” 

They joined for a hug, but Sam, feeling his insides and head flare up, pulled away, and started packing his bag. Krystal, worried, went up to him and asked, “What’s wrong, honey?” 

This attracted the attention of the entire group. “Uh, well, you know I’ve forgotten a book back home, so I’ll just go get it,” he replied, and ran out the place as quickly as he could, leaving without even listening to what Krystal had to say.

***

After collecting enough blood in dozens of bottles, he put his head in his knees and started crying until he couldn’t. He didn’t want to live a life like this anymore. And yet,it wasn’t like he had any other options. The only way to end it all would be to reach where it all started. He got up, determined. He would face his past just to end his suffering, not just for himself, but for everyone around him. He took a photo out of his pocket, and said, “Mom, Dad, here I come.”

***

It was a great match. Mark was clearly at his best. Not just him, the entire team seemed to be talking through telepathy. The other team, on the other hand, looked kind of overconfident at the start but became agitated towards the second half. Due to this they made mistakes, and taking advantage of this fact, King Cross won against Silver High. 

All five of them were roaring their throats dry, while their snacks lay at the side all forgotten. After the match, all of them ran to the field to hug Mark, to congratulate him. Dripping in sweat, he still shone. He hugged all of them and promised them that he’d come back after shaking hands. 

They waited for him outside the stadium. Finally, he came. Scarlett screamed and ran towards him and he scooped her up and kissed her. 

“Hey, come on, man. You forgot us just because of your girlfriend?” Harry joked. 

Mark left Scarlett, hugged Krystal and Ginny, and crushed Harry and Sam with his hug, saying, “Thanks, guys I couldn’t have done this without you.” 

“You’re always welcome. Now, what about that treat you promised if you’d win?” asked Sam, putting his hand on his shoulder. 

Mark beamed, “Oh, it’s on, bros.” 

The girls whined, “What about us?” 

“And sis’s?” said Mark confused but saw the look on Scarlett’s face and quickly added, “Other than you, of course.” He hugged her and led the way. 

Peacefully happy with Krystal in his arms, Sam knew that it was time, for the burning sensation was too much.