The Toy-like Parasite

Chapter 1: What's Your Name?

You never thought you'd get yourself into this situation. This is like all of the post-apocalyptic stories and movies you enjoyed. Well now that you're experiencing it, you're surely not enjoying it anymore. Supply runs, having to constantly hold a weapon, and keep on your toes for thieves, it gives you a headache.

This town sucks, the residents suck. Your dingy little apartment sucks. You're getting out of here today. You pack your essentials, and open a window, lassoing a rope to a tree.

Well, here goes nothing! Monkey time! You swing down and crash into the tree... Ouch. Oh dang is anything broken? Upon further inspection, nothing's broken, just bruised. What a relief...

It's a disaster out here, people have been looking stores, and then moving out immediately. There's almost no one left. The infected lurk around. Their appearance is mainly the same, except they grow a winding key like growth on their necks, winding, and making it hard for them to speak a lot at a time... They also have purple spots on their skin.

According to the Parasitic Prevention Division, or the P.P.D, patients seem to be people with complex histories... They spout out their personal business, looking for someone to assist them.

...They'll attack and kill anyone who refuses to help, which is mostly everyone. Yup. Brutal.

*Tik, tik* Oh, COME ON! You just got here! You turn to run before hearing, *Tik, tik* "Wait! I need your help! I can't get this weird stuff off of me!" You think you'd believe that!? Despite yourself, you create a bit of distance between yourself and the infected. Look at them! Vitiligo on their brown skin combined with the classic purple spots, brown eyes, the signature winding key growths on their neck... Those things are winding so loud you can barely hear their voice! A tall figure stares at you. "I can hear you, y'know. *Tik, tik-tik* "Talking's hard, but so what? I seriously need your help," *Tik, tik* "I was about to attack this family, but before that, I got hit by this huge, freezing, gust!" *Tik* "I started coughing and sneezing out this... Purple...Steam? Whatever." *Tik, tik*

"Anyway, I finally got control over my body again, and just took off running." Took off running..? "...Why?" *Tik, Tik, tiiiiik* "Well, the father was pulling out a GUN! You think I wanted to stay there!?" They nearly shouted. Okay. Makes sense, and suddenly you just had a great idea that you're not sure if you'll regret later, "Wait, you could help me here, can you explain the symptoms? Actually, backtrack, backtrack, your name?" They blink their brown eyes in disbelief." *Tik, tik* "You ask me this now?" Good point. Asking his name after basically hearing his life story is a bit weird.

"So," they start, "I'm Zach, he/they if you're wondering." Oh! Those are his pronouns? He looked so androgynous you didn't even bother... *Tiiik* "Ha, I get that a lot. Anyway, what's your name?"

...Oh. Your name? For some odd reason, no one ever asked for your name, calling you things like "Buddy, pal, stranger, customer, esteemed guest," the list goes on and on. You also never got any good pictures of yourself... Like a cryptid... Wait! Cryptid! "You can call me Cryptid." You reply. "Oh, so an alias, huh?" *Tik, tik* "And here I was, revealing my personal name to you, thought I could trust you." He half-joked. "Hey, hey! Look, so many people never call me by my proper name! I forgot it at this point!" *Tik, tik* "Pfft, pretty funny, Cryptid. Ooh, should I call you Bigfoot? I mean, your shoes are really telling the story," He chuckles at you while pointing at your shoes.

"Hey! I always wear out the regular ones!" You semi-shout as you teeter to show him that indeed, you kind of weathered the soles off of these. *Tik, tik* He lets out a small gasp, "Shoe gremlin," You blink at him, what did he just say? "I said... Shoe gremlin." You let out a dramatic gasp. You have never felt so offended in your life! You give him a dramatic pose and expression to prove your point, "Moi? A gremlin? It cannot be!" Zach bursts into a small fit of giggles, clicks, and ticking. Oh... How cute.

"It's so much better than going barefoot during a cataclysmic pandemic!" He gives you an incredulous look, *Tik, tik* "Aren't you going to get those mired somewhere?" You start looking a little miffed. "And you're pulling out the big words," *Tik, tik-tik* "Big Foot." He jests at you, "Says the one saying mired! I don't even know what that means!" *Cliiiick, tik, tik* "So you can just pull out a big word, but don't even know what this one means," *Tik,* "And you just casually continue the conversation despite not knowing what you were talking about?" He questions you.

   ...Darn it, he's got you, there. *Tik!* "Indeed, I do!" He looks a bit smug. Having a companion in the middle of this disaster doesn't sound too bad...