I am Alex Reed

I collapsed forwards, dropping my backpack and dunking my head into water. Stagnant water. Water I had been yearning to see for some time. Regardless of its condition, each sip was welcomed by my body, no matter how bitter it tasted. My hands then followed my head, as I rubbed my cheeks, wrestling the grime that covers it, scratching my brow and forehead from the layers of sweat, and dirt as I lifted my neck to catch some air. My Breath hitches, the weight of exhaustion heavy in my chest as my eyes peered towards my shoulder, blood still oozing into my T-shirt. Still throbbing from where I was bitten. Night was growing closer with the sun assuming its space atop the valleys cliffs in the distance, casting daring shadows that tower the trees, their shapes twisting like restless spirits in the wind. They will die soon, only to be replaced by total darkness. I fell backwards, thudding against a low hanging tree which fruits have rotted on branch, smelling of a soured liquorice taint that wisps up my nostrils. I unclasped my sleeping bag from my pack. Truly, I lug it for the promise of rest, but the wilderness was a sly mistress, and her sons and daughters prayed for a meal like me. A sleeping bag would make me vulnerable. Reaching into my bag, flicking away my torn journal and pen, grasping at the last piece of bread i carried while lifting it to my face. Life seemed to find its way on here too. Colonies of fungus rooted themselves deep into its kneeded seams, showing the cruel tapestry of life. Glowing Mycellium, probably made more apparent from the shade of the trees. I Laugh -short, bitter. My stomach was on the verge of devouring itself as my body eagerly awaited something other that the thick moisture that plumed from the nearby watering hole. This waltz with lifes tapestry, was surely telling me that the dance was nearly over. It threw everything it had at me. I lifted my head forwards, startling myself from what appears to have been a slumber. The day had officially died and its not so humble brother had inevitably come. Owls had already began their ruse, preying on the rodents that rummage on the floor, or ones that dwell just too far from their underground homes. I shuddered, wrapping my jacket around my body, standing while grasping my backpack as my eyes scanned the darkness that i had luckily become accustomed to while in the land of dreams. No groans or snapped twigs yet. No shuffling of feet among the bushes. Exhaling, I stepped forwards, grasping at the tree that I had been laying on as my feet adjusted on the uneven ground, crunching through browned pine needles. I peered both ways, and stepped past the pool of water, climbing up an elevated dirt mound and pressed on through the woods. A scream, sharp and raw, slices through the night. A woman? A child? I stopped, feeling my beating heart bump against my chest and the hairs on my arm standing up against my shirt. The noise that followed, a cacophony if you may, made it clear of the direction I was now taking. Away from wherever that was. It was guttural, a wet gnashing of teeth, like something chewing its way out from the inside. I pushed forwards, now clumsly tredding through the crunching leaves and twigs beneath my feet. Noise. All noise. Like beacons in the night telling lost souls to steer clear of danger. But i was the one who needed to steer clear. Thats when I saw it. Hunched over a corpse stained by sanguine pools that have gushed out from the chest of a body on the floor. It gnawed, squelching through every fibrous chunk it could pry from the body. Slurping and moaning with each gulp of flesh that sunk down its throat. It turned, staring me in the face with his glowing yellow eyes, haunted by the fungal rot that festered inside its mind, blood gushing from its mouth like a waterfall slamming into the river below. It didn’t smile, but acknowledged i was there, eyes glaring at my body, still chewing, still consuming. Whatever humanity that was left behind, shone through its core but in a grim and twisted way. “Are you here to join me?” the being muttered. Mouthful and dissatisfied by the amount it had consumed. I said nothing, no words could be collapsed into a sentence at this point, nor could i maintain a thought in mind. The only thing my body could do was eye in every direction, trying to see which way was the fastest way out. “Are you not ready yet?” It still continued, now turning away from me to continue mutilating the body on the floor, still dissatisfied by the amount it had consumed. Then, my head pounded. Throbbing with every beat of my heart. Every beat, sent a shooting pain through my veins. I turned to run, but my legs betrayed me, buckling under a wave of dizziness that crashed through my skull. The throb in my shoulder synchronized with my racing heart, each pulse pumping what felt like liquid fire through my veins. The infected creature’s words hung in the night air like a promise. “Not… ready?” I whispered, the words barely escaping my parched throat. The thing paused its feast, yellow eyes flickering up to meet mine. A terrible understanding passed between us. The bite on my shoulder wasn’t just an injury—it was an invitation. A transformation waiting to happen. I stumbled backward, my heel catching on an exposed root. I went down hard, the forest floor rushing up to meet me, decomposing leaves cushioning my fall with their damp embrace. The infected made no move to pursue. It simply watched, head tilted in curious observation, as though I were an inevitability it could afford to wait for. My hand fumbled for my pack, fingers closing around the knife I kept in the side pocket. Cold steel against my palm, a small comfort in this nightmare. The creature noticed the movement and made a sound—not quite a laugh, not quite a growl—before returning to its meal with renewed fervor. I seized the moment, pushing myself up and away, each movement sending fresh agony radiating from my shoulder. The forest seemed to close in around me, branches reaching out like grasping hands, tearing at my clothes, scratching exposed skin. I didn’t care where I was going—away was the only direction that mattered.