Plot: Sylver is on a bus to the other world. A kid is driving. Melted buildings fly by. She has escaped common society plagued with infection. Only she knows that she is infected too. Introspection. Her group was captured.
She hates and envies them. They’re happy when she is suffering. They’re toxic.
The legions attach, then form small balls on the body. Soon all is covered. The infected have a happy quality about them. Sylver does not.
///
Dust flies and night falls. The destination? Far away from the past.
The scrap metal of a faded turquoise van bounces along the gravel-paved road. Wheel tumbling over the small, fist-shaped pebbles with difficulty. Each jerk sends the driver crashing into the adjacent door, bruising his arm in the process. The young boy grimaces as grease sticks to his caramel skin. He wipes his dirt caked face with a torn sleeve. His father had given him the truck. Now it was time to actually drive the damned thing, and for the first time.
“Firsts are always a fucker.” Avi whispers under his breath. Sylver shakes as she rides along. Each bump sends her head crashing into the top of the car. Her arms pinned to her sides in the confined space. Her only solace is poking her head and arm out the window. It reminds her of freedom and peace; all her problems dissolved. The scales on her arm multiply from each bump and vibration.
She’s goddamn sick of it all. She looks down at her arm. “They did this to me.”
“That’s a bit weird, girlie.”
“Yeah? Why the fuck are you here?” She sticks her leg up on the cupholder of the van.
“Shit happens. You?”
///
The memories are fresh like the scars on her skin. She remembers being a small girl. It was June 2034. Hot like always. She squeezes the rubber ball in her hand as she peers at the flash in the corner of her eyes. It was dark, she remembers that clearly. The ball jumps out of her hand into the darkness. She pauses for a moment before stepping into the abandoned alley. There was another small girl there. In an instant she remembers the love she felt for her. The hugs, adoration, the kind words. She was in a group filled with others like her. They understood.
Until the infection. The group turned vile, and being the only one uninfected; they turned on her. Now she’s this, a monster. The scales shift again and she winces in pain, swallowing down anger, bitter tears, and regret. They’re all in the past.She’ll leave the past behind.
Another family lost. She thinks. They all fucking leave. Fuckin asshats loving me then leaving me to die. Fuck them.
“Here for what?” Avi prompts her
“To get away and a cure.”
There is a long stretch of silence between the question and response.
“Hey kid, you okay back there?”
“You’re literally twelve, don’t call me a kid.”
He chuckles under his breath. She goes back to brooding at the gray, overcast blanket that covers the sky.
Photo by Rob Bye on Unsplash
Authors Note: I've been contemplating making a miniseries of sorts. Think of this as the treatment. I'm hoping ths will push me to be more active. As always, leave your thoughts in the comment section.
