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Militem Dominum · (11-05-2013)

Chapter Five

"The fuck do you mean 'he tried finding you'?" Pacing back and forth in the square front room of the store, Anthony lets out an exasperated sigh before turning his body around to face Mani, who wasted no time getting comfortable after his trek.

"I mean, he tried to fucking find you!" The response came out unsarcastically venomous, a severe breach in character from the normally lighthearted Mani. Lying somewhere below the surface of his voice, a sense of anxiety and urgency to force the words out of his mouth lodged itself into the response.

A loud groan escapes the lower reaches of Anthony's throat as he begins to pace back and forth once more. Making it to the first wall he runs into, he throws a punch at the decrepit drywall, breaking through it with no effort and getting his arm stuck in the hole he created. Trying to pull it out, Anthony realizes the consequences of his sudden burst of aggression. Standing near the wall, unable to remove his arm, he yells across the room to his solemn friend, seated with his head in his hands.

"Hey! A little help here?"

Not paying attention, staring into the darkness from his palms covering his eyes, Mani remains seated, silent, unresponsive.

"Come on man! I need your help!" Grabbing the stuck arm from just behind the elbow, the closest part to hole without being in it, he places one foot on the wall, pushing it into the wall while simultaneously pulling on his trapped arm desperately. He yanks and pushes to no avail, as the arm doesn't even budge. In one last movement, one last motion brought upon by urgency, he places both feet on the wall and pushes off. It works to an extent; half of his arm found their way out of the wall, leaving half of his forearm up to his fingers still stuck in the wall somehow.

Just then, Anthony hears a slight dripping sound coming from behind the wall, followed by a guttural groan from the same source. Panicked, he cries out once more to the man in the room with him, no words, just a shriek that awakens Mani from his near catatonic state and sends him rushing over to the wall where his friend stays, stuck.

"What the fuck?!"

"My fuckin' arm's stuck, man!"

Wrapping his arms around his friend's waist, Mani pulls backwards, ignoring the screams of pain as Anthony's arm flailed awkwardly behind the wall. A pop is heard as the arm is finally freed, but despite this, his hand still refuses to come out from behind the hole. Screaming, shrieking, Anthony's entire body jerks and convulses, knocking Mani onto the ground.

"Fuck man! Something's got me!"

Getting back to his feet in a haste; Mani rushes over to the wall, and looks through a part of the hole that isn't obstructed by the man's arm. The same, thing, from outside was gripping onto his friend's arms with its broken, gray teeth. The incisors, canines, and molars tear into the flesh of Anthony's hand, causing another girlish scream to erupt from him.

Biting the bullet; Mani runs up to Anthony and tackles him away from the wall, the sound of his skin being scraped off by the monster's cracked teeth filling the air, proceeding yet another scream.

"What the fuck, man?!" Looking down at his bloodied hand, Anthony's expression was red, projecting his fiery temper.

"You're free, aren't you?" Mani's voice returned to the solemn, distant tone that it had been since his entrance.

"I guess so," Anthony began, taking a sledgehammer that conveniently sat on the ground beside him. "Now, I can do this!" Running back over to the hole, he swings the hammer at the beast's hand, that had stuck out from where Anthony's was stuck.

A yelp in pain, almost mocking Anthony's, comes from the thing's lips as it recedes its now broken hand back behind the wall. Looking around the store for something, anything to aid him in his newfound quest, Anthony once more calls out to his friend.

"Hey."

"What?"

"We gotta cover up this hole, man."

"Yeah, sure. I'll be right over..."

Digging into his pocket, Mani pulls out his phone and looks at the front screen that didn't do much to illuminate the room, already poorly lit by the flashlight. Just as he expected, no service. However, there was a message that popped up on the screen.

One missed call. New voicemail.

Assuming the number that called was the same that left the voicemail, Mani didn't bother looking at the call log itself, going instead right to the voicemail tab. Once more not paying attention to the number, he clicks play on the most recent message and holds the phone up to his ear.

"Mani?" The voice on the other end was feminine, familiar even, however obviously distorted with some kind of software. "I just called to see if you made it to Las Vegas yet. I'm sure that if you did, you probably wouldn't call me. Just, don't lose too much money, okay? I love you. Call me back whenever you get this message."

The message cuts out, and he looks back at the screen. There was no number, just a name programmed into the phone itself.

Mom.

With a sigh, Mani gets off the ground and forces himself over to where Anthony's awkwardly trying to shove large objects into the hole that he made.

Journal Entry Two, Date: October 31, ----

I ended a life today. It was in self defense, but that doesn't excuse it, not in the slightest. I'm sure the thing would've killed me, had it gotten the chance, but something about it just jarred me. The fact that I, so instinctively and impulsively smashed its skull and killed it to save myself. There's fight or flight, and then there's that. It was brutal, sickening, heartwrenching.

Hold it together, me. It would've killed me.

That's what I keep trying to tell myself, but each time I do, it just makes me feel worse. Like, maybe it should've killed me. Maybe, I should be the one laying on the cold sidewalk in a puddle of my own blood, missing my larynx, and that thing should still be out there, crawling the streets.

I don't want to die.

But, I don't want to be a murderer.

So far, it seems like those are the only two options in this town. You either die good, or live long enough to become evil.

I guess, the biggest thing that's keeping me going now, is the fact that I don't want my last words to my mom to be a lie.

Yeah, that's what I'm fighting for.

Right?

Signed, Mani Devan

Threaded Mode \| Linear Mode The Search For God Act One, Chapter Five: One Missed Call
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