I'm Just Septic-Eyed

Chapter 28: Close Encounters

A/N: Ah! 4k reads!

Mark wanted to take a quick nap before he had to head to work. He woke up sprawled across his bed with his blanket falling off and the pillow no where near his head. The time showed that there was only five minutes before work started. Mark flung himself out of bed and scrambled to put some pants on. He rushed out a goodbye to Sean -- who couldn't even decipher what was said -- and then sprinted out the door. On the way, he forcefully tucked his shirt in while people gave him either curious or uncomfortable glances. It was too crowded to run, so speed walking was the next best thing.

Mark's stomach shouted in protest upon realizing that it wasn't heading to get food. He grimaced. There wasn't enough time to stop to buy a quick snack. Perhaps he could ask Marzia for something. If she had a shift today, that is. She often didn't have Saturday shifts. But Mark's eyes filled with hope when he saw her through the window of the pet shop across the street. He unfortunately had to wait at the cross walk. There was a minute until his shift officially began.

There was an odd feeling in the air. Mark felt as if he was being watched. He glanced around, but saw no one staring at him. Maybe it was just his imagination. His mind was keeping him on edge as not to forget about Sam. That must be it. Mark kept telling himself that was it as the light flashed to show he had to walk. He kept his head down. There weren't many people walking with him — five at the most. Someone screamed suddenly, "Look out!" Mark felt hands push against his back. He stumbled onto the sidewalk and spun around.

He felt his eyes widen.

There was a broken body laying on the ground. Their hoodie was stained with blood. It smeared the street and was dragged on by some car speeding away. The person didn't move at all. The people Mark were walking with stopped and gaped. A crowd was forming on the opposite side of the street. Mark faintly registered the pet store door opening. Marzia gasped and Suzy made a choked noise. Everything was distant to Mark. That body could have been him. But maybe it was worse because he recognized who it was.

~~~

Sean stuffed some toast in his mouth. On days when Mark was out to work, Sean just constantly snacked. He never considered himself skilled enough to actually cook food on his own. He could almost do it if someone was there to help him, but he just wasn't skilled in the art of creating meals. He was able to make toast though -- and cereal. And grab whatever could be microwaved or unwrapped. That stuff was easy.

"You know, Chica?" Sean began after a swig of water. "It's hard to believe this is my life now." He sighed deeply. It seemed like only yesterday he had a normal life. But now he's constantly terrified and his friends are in danger. There shouldn't be a real reason for this. It all seemed like some sort of twisted nightmare. "One day it'll be back to normal, right?" Chica didn't give her opinion. Sean finished off his toast in response.

Sean clicked the home button on his phone and the voice relayed the time into his ear bud. It would still be a few hours until Mark came home. Maybe he should grab some Goldfish to pass the time. You can never go wrong with cracker snacks.

Sean spent the rest of his time eating Goldfish and talking with Chica. He actually managed to finish off the bag and decided to hide the evidence. The empty bag ended up going on top of the fridge behind the cereal. Sean plopped down on the couch and listened to music, occasionally saying something to Chica. After what felt like a good amount of time, Sean checked the time again. There was only a few minutes until Mark's shift ended, but then it would still be about ten minutes after that until Mark actually came home. Sean groaned and put his face into the cushions. He was going to explode from boredom.

A/N: Certainly not the best near the end. I ran out of ideas after Mark's point of view, but it was too short to just leave it there. Sorry about the lack of updates. I've been super busy with some major projects. But thankfully, after my English one is turned in, there won't be much stressing out for a while. Pretty soon I'll be able to finish up this story in the quality that it deserves :)