Fatal | The Second Life I [COMPLETED]

Chapter 4: Failure

"Oh my.." I mutter, shocked. I throw my headphones down and get up. My feet carry me outside the main building, pushing me through many people. Eventually, I get past the panicked crowd, seeing Ashley signal me.

"I don't think this is normal in New York, right?" I ask frantically. I manage a small chuckle, which I get no reaction from. I close my mouth, feeling shitty for doing that.

"Here, come on." She says, and I follow her through a maze of back rooms. I find the server room in the mess, which was interesting. Then we find the door, and I open the door with a shaky hand.

The skyscraper that was hit was only a couple of blocks from the festival. It reminded me of haunting pictures of 911. I hadn't experienced it live, but I'd seen videos. It was traumatizing, I imagined.

"Jesus!" Ashley yells, starting to run away from the tower. I had to follow her. She could be my best chance of getting back to the group.

The skyscraper let out some loud booms, with small sections of wall blasting open. Glass and stone pillars rocketed out, either landing on the street below or neighboring buildings.

"Ash! Wait!" I yell, sprinting after her. I duck into an alley, as she nearly trips over some trash can lids and boxes. "Ashley!"

"What?" She asks, starting to cry. "If you're looking for answers, I don't have any!"

"I need your help, damnit!" I say. Ash looks at me, and her face turns pale white. I realize she's looking behind me.

I slowly turn around and see one of those creatures at the end of the alleyway. It was standing there, looking straight at me. It had bright white eyes, that almost glowed. But what did glow were its veins. They emanated a dark crimson color through the skin. It was terrifying.

"Ashley, get back!" I said with fear. Shaking, I reached for a nearby gutter and ripped a piece off. I had always been good at those quick-thinking moments. The blunt force was good enough.

And then, it shrieked. At the top of its lungs, yelling into the sky. It was so scary, I almost lost the grip of the gutter from shaking so badly. It then did the most terrifying thing it could do, which was to sprint.

I forced myself to move, readying the gutter like a bat. Its sprint was messed up like it had lost some of its motor function. It was clearly a girl before, which it's long hair and heels slamming into the ground with each step. And when it gets close enough, I'll swing. I will.

I take my shot, feeling the gutter bump across its head. I lurch forward, crashing into a dumpster. I quickly turn around, my newfound nosebleed dripping onto the ground. The monster wasn't heading for me anymore, though.

It was lunging at Ashley.

She didn't have anything to defend it. It came down on her, slamming her to the ground. In an almost supersonic speed, its head bit into her left arm. She screamed, and I swear I could see the thing's mouth curl into a smile.

The crimson glow from the monster's veins seemed to move to hers. It spread through Ashley, eventually getting to her vocal cords and ceasing her scream. She was becoming.. one of them.

And this whole time, I'm just paralyzed with fear. I couldn't move like I was stuck to that dumpster. I knew I'd failed, and I couldn't save Ash from the literal disease she had.

My legs finally find some motor function and they carry me out of that alleyway, away from Ashley. I couldn't watch anymore of it. I turn out of the alleyway and try to go into a neighboring building. The door is conveniently unlocked, so I run inside and lock it behind me.

I sink to the bottom of the door and toss the gutter into a nearby room. It slams against a clock, shattering glass all over the carpet. Of course, this had to happen to me. I'm alone, trapped, and far from home. Fuck me.

I pull out my phone, figuring I still have service. It is New York, after all. Sure enough, the screen lights up and I have 4 bars and 89% battery. It should work. I dial Evan and call him. Surely he would answer, we couldn't be that far away.

As I start dialing numbers, I see the skyscraper crumble. The top of the structure toppled first, creating a horrible cascade effect. It fell to the ground and out of visibility in seconds. A massive cloud of dust took its place, and I look away. I had to call them.

My fingers shakily scroll down the contacts list, and I find a red card labeled "Evan". I'd missed a call from him a week ago. Huh. I click to call and hold the device up to my ear.

"Ronnie?" He says, picking up. "Where the fuck did you go?"

"I'm.." I stutter. I was breathing heavily, and so it was coming through the other side. "In an apartment. Or a townhouse, I'm not sure. Where are you?"

"We're in Central Park." He says, and I hear groans from outside. I run to the door and make sure it's locked. "On the outskirts."

"Well, I gotta meet up with you," I say, pacing the stairs. "I'll pull up an address. Still have service."

I open up my maps app and check my location. After a while, the ping comes through, and I find the location. "56th and 5th," I say. "So I'm kind of trapped, so you may need to come to me."

"Boy we got problems too." He says, before speaking to someone on the other side. "Is it just you? I saw Ashley ran with you."

I gulp. "Um... I.."

"You what?" He asks, worried.

"She's dead." I blurt out, and I could practically hear Evan gasp on the other end.

"She's what?!" He asks in disbelief. "How?"

"O-one of the monsters. They got her." I say, my stomach sinking.

     There was nothing but silence from either of us for some time. "You said 56th and 5th?" He finally asks.

     "Y-Yeah," I say. "I gotta conserve battery. I'll talk soon."

     "Don't leave that house." He says and hangs up. I get up and decide I have to explore this house. To my left was a small dining room, with a little kitchen.
I walk in, checking the cabinets.

I realize I'm crying. Don't cry, Be strong... But I can't. I'm stuck in an old townhouse in the middle of New York City, 1500 miles from home. How much more fucked could I get?

I could only hope that I'd escape with my friends, and none of us would suffer as Ashley did. I couldn't let that happen again.