Fire In Our Bones (NovaHD)

Prologue

The night was just a few degrees colder than usual, but Aleks felt the difference and hated it. Even having shelter for the first night in a while didn't make him feel much better. The place they had found was falling apart and splinters were digging into his skin every way he turned and he only had one blanket.

Absolute shit.

Aleks tossed and turned on the hard wooden floor for what seemed like ages before exhaustion finally took over and he began to drift off. A creaking of floorboards caused him to pry open his eyes the tiniest bit and see the blurry outline of James' shoes. A new warmth covered him, his eyes slipped shut again and everything faded away.

............................................................

He's in a forest, a cold forest. Everything is dark and the wind is whistling through the trees angrily. Aleks stops, realizing he's lost and alone, but then he remembers that he can't be lost because he doesn't know where he came from. He starts walking again, but he can't move right. His movements are jerky, his steps uneven and everything feels wrong.

He stops again, blinking. Off in the distance he thinks he can see a light, but that's ridiculous. Here in this dark place of blacks and grays there's no room for warmth, for something as bright as a small orange flame. Briefly, Aleks wonders when he began thinking this way. Devoid of colors.

But the flickering flame is still there and it's not leaving. It's small and far away but it's strong and suddenly Aleks feels an intense need to go towards it. To touch it and embrace it. Maybe it will warm his cold bones.

He tries to go towards it again but it's even harder to move this time and he's so slow. He's still struggling when he catches something out of the corner of his eye. Slowly turning his head, he sees that he's surrounded by people. His friends. There's Jordan, his next-door neighbor who would always come over and help him with his computer problems. He's still wearing that stupid red baseball cap even though it's dirtier than Aleks remembers and it's spotted with suspicious stains. Right now he's clutching a baseball bat in shaking hands.

There's also Dan, dirty and ragged. He was always hanging out with Jordan and making dumb jokes. Even now he's standing beside him, eyes wide and beard scraggly and unkempt.

Next to Dan and Jordan is Seamus. Always so stoic and cool, now he looks more wired and nervous than Aleks has ever seen him. He remembers meeting him in college, staying friends through the years. Seamus always complained about how dumb Aleks' other friends were but he always stuck around.

Last is Kevin. He was that one friend who came out of nowhere and no one is quite sure how, but they're as much a part of the group as anyone. He latched on to Aleks as soon as he met him, but Aleks feels like he hasn't seen him in years. He's not sure why but he's not sure of anything anymore.

The only one not there is his best friend, James. Aleks hopes he's ok. James has been there since college, always around. He's never far away, especially nowadays, but looking around, he's nowhere to be found. Aleks turns back towards the fire. He'll show up, just like he always does. 

Feeling a rush of nostalgia, Aleks steps closer to the group huddled around the fire. The bright light blinds him momentarily, but for some reason he can't feel the heat.

He looks around. His old friends are around him but they're not smiling or running towards him. Aleks was always the reason his friends knew each other, the glue of the group. But now he's alone, singled out and ignored.

At first Aleks thinks that they might not be able to see him, but that hope is shattered when he notices that they're all staring straight at him. Their eyes are wide and their mouths open, but their expressions are not of relief or happy surprise. They look terrified.

"Guys!" Aleks calls. "It's me. Jordan, Kevin? It's me, Aleks."

Kevin backs up a little, looking startled. Aleks sags in relief. He heard him.

But apparently not because Kevin looks over at Jordan and says, "So are you going to kill it?"

"I wish you wouldn't put it like that," Jordan grumbles. "They're already dead." And he raises a gun, brought seemingly out of nowhere, and points it at Aleks. Right at his head.

"What, no! Guys?" Aleks sputters. "I'm not...I'm not dead. I'm alive. It's me!"

No response, not even a twitch.

He looks over at the orange light, still lit, still beckoning. He would never get there now, never know what it would have felt like to touch it. He would always be cold and dark.

He looks back at the pale faces of his friends. Jordan's hands shaking as he holds the gun. Dan blinking nervously. Seamus tense and Kevin fidgeting, looking away. Then he looks down at his hands. They're withered, gray and peeling. He really is dead. He's a monster.

Raising his head, Aleks squeezes his eyes shut. He never hears the shot.

...........................................................

"Aleks!"

Aleks sat up, making his head spin. He gripped his forehead, wincing as his heart raced. A warm hand touched his shoulder

"Hey man. You okay?"

Aleks nodded, taking a deep breath.

"Just a bad dream."

James, bless him, didn't need any more of an explanation.

"Right. Well, it's time to get a move on. We stay here much longer and we'll be icicles or zombie food. Or both."

"Wait, what?" Aleks squinted at James, noticing that it was light. Of course. James had let him sleep through the night again. He sighed, scrubbing at his face. "James..."

"What?" James snapped, standing up. "Come on, we have to go." And he was gone. Aleks shook his head, letting the blankets fall off of him. He stopped, picking up the second one and looking at it. James must have put it on him last night.

Feeling almost refreshed, he stood up and looked to his left at the dirty windowpane. The cold was still in the air, but now the sun was shining down, warming the up earth just the tiniest bit.