The glint of dawn shines onto the campsite. The teens lay unconscious on the ground; their clothing stained with gore. Their ghastly necks simmer in the low sun, now dried black. Kota’s hair is bathed with plasma and mud. His eyes flutter. The dim sun painfully sizzles his eyelids. The strange sensation wakes him.
Kota’s eyes open, but they’re no longer chocolate. A pale tint replaces the warm color. He slowly sits up, holding the back of his pounding head. What did I dream last night??! That was insane! A demon man with scarlet eyes. I guess I can’t hold beer. He pulls his hand away from the nape of his neck… and is stunned by the blood. His eyes pop out of their sockets.
NOO… NO! THAT WASN’T A NIGHTMARE?? Kota stares across the campsite; shaded ashy blue. He peers through the sheer light. His friends rest in puddles of crimson. Lifeless, with chalky skin. NO… THIS CAN’T BE REAL! Kota shouts internally, scooting across the leafy ground, scared. “NO, NOOO!!!” He hyperventilates as if suffocating… yet his chest doesn’t rise. His lungs don’t extend. His heart is soundless.
THIS CAN’T BE! It can’t! These aren’t my friends dead on the ground!! THESE AREN’T THEIR BODIES!!!!! CAN’T BE!!! Kota sobs at the sight of Jimmy, Mike, and Liz’s startled eyes… the windows to their souls are empty. Heaps of tears stream down his cheeks.
Kota crawls to Liz. “LIZ??” he cries. “LIZ… WAKE UP!” He shakes her, only to gasp and withdraw his hand. Her skin is ice cold. She’s dead… they’re all dead! Kota glances at Mike and Jimmy. “NO, NO… GUYS, GET UP!!!” He gawks at the gruesome gashes on their necks, recalling the attack.
IT WAS ALL REAL??? THE CLAWS? THE BITING? THE IMPOSSIBLE SPEED? THE BEAST?? His hand darts to his neck, finding an identical wound there. That thing bit me. But… why am I still alive? Kota’s eyes sting from rushing tears.
I want to be dead! He buries his head in his hands. I froze in place when I should have fought… I’m the reason they’re dead. Why… why didn’t I fight? Why didn’t I hold the thing back so they could escape?! So, they could’ve lived??! His gut plummets to an endless pit. Survivor’s guilt eats him. Sun rays illuminate the lower half of the trees circling the campground. Kota’s ears twitch. His hands fly there, feeling the movement repeat.
What is that? White noise fills his eardrums, ringing loudly. His gaze jets to the sun. An impending doom shivers down his bones.
GET AWAY FROM THE SUN!
Kota stumbles to his feet, startled by the inner voice that isn’t his. Its tone is frantic and devilish. None of this makes sense, his clueless mind replies.
GET AWAY FROM THE SUN!! The warning comes again, now desperate. IT WILL KILL YOU!!!
Kota squints at the low-hanging orb. The sizzling noise increases. He feels his legs backpedal against his will. The ball of light buzzes on like a whizzing rocket. Why is it making that sound?? Kota watches it in confusion. The sun flashes, turning the whole sky pure white.
RUN!!!
The inner survival instinct leads him off into the woods, panicked and fearful. His boots crunch on twigs, passing over boulders at incredible speed. The sunrise hisses behind him like a gigantic serpent, morphing from dim to starburst orange. Kota increase his pace; his joints fluctuate as if not connected to bone. He flees in an unnatural motion.
The blood that stains his skin intensifies, developing to a mouth-watering tease. That smell. Kota wipes his fingers across his cheek, collecting the fluid. That smell is so… so…sweet. He sniffs the liquid like an addict, then moves his fingers to his mouth.
NO! STOP! RUN!!! the deep voice snarls.
Kota stares over his shoulder at the sun, mortified enough to fight the thirst. The ball of light ascends the sky. His skin particles flare as if little fires are growing from within. A flaming burn comes next. He yells. Smoke rises from his body. His feet blur as his skin steams, leaving a trail of mist behind. Kota’s visualization enhances, zooming in on a crevice beneath a hill. The sun blazes, humming as if about to explode.
Kota dives there, to the cave under the hill. His boots catch fire as he reaches the shade. “Ahh!!” Kota pats away the flames with his hands, extinguishing his boots. His palms blacken from the contact, yet no pain is felt. To his amazement, the burnt skin heals, sealing away the second-degree scorch within moments. Kota stares in disbelief. “How…?” He studies his hands, then the daylight beyond the cave. Pillars of sunlight reach in, bustling at high volume. So many questions rattle his mind.
How is this possible? What am I? Am I what that thing was? Am I a monster??
He sits in the dark hole for hours, cringing from the sun whenever it peeks into the crevice. He finds himself at the back wall once noon comes.
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