A strange blue glow rose from the table, like the one in Alison’s bed. Once again, his name drifted through the air, and the air pressed against him, carrying him to his feet. Her hand drops from his grasp. Forgetting the feeling of her touch, he walks toward them. They stop eating and separate, giving Jules a space at their table. A face spoke to him from the middle of the table, and the words make him blind. Horror filled him. “Breathe!”, he thinks. And, as suddenly as it started, the horror was gone. He reaches for the table and joins their feast. He never remembered to breathe.
“Where the fuck is he?!” Jack groans. He had just jogged back from the access door to section 117, where they were headed. It hadn’t been touched. Jack had already looked down the hall where they had come from, not 20 minutes earlier. The bag was on the floor, it’s contents spilled over the grimy concrete. ‘This is right where Jules was sitting…’ he thought. He stood in front of the bathroom surveying the abandoned hallway and it’s many doors, closets and halls. Jack was not at all interested in playing hide and seek. “Jules?…. Jules!” Jack found the yelling in whispers was somewhat difficult. He refills the bag and picks it up. Walking toward the next junction again, he fiddles angrily with the bag’s ties. Jack glances back and suddenly whips around. Jules stands in the middle of the hall, motionless. “Shit! Where were you?” Jack asks, worriedly. He starts to jog back to Jules. Jules keeps silent, so Jack stops short. “Jules?” Jules clenches his fists, fighting to unclench his teeth. “R…Ru..nnn”
“What?!” Jack exclaims.
“R…Run!”A small group of rotted and blind mutants drag themselves from the access hall next to Jules, and file around him. Jack backs away as Jules’ eyes turn black. Jules and the group begin to move down the hall, following the smell of fresh blood. As they grow closer, Jack runs for the section hatch and pushes the heavy airlock door shut. As it closes, he throws the service handle and breaks the bolt, sealing the mutants inside. They claw at the metal; their scraping filled Jack’s ears. He leans his head against the massive door and pounds it in frustration. He now understood, it was only a matter of time for all of them.
Excerpt from “Phobos” in literature section. Comments and critiques welcome.
