The End {Closed to Syrrus}

[Jay Windse]

The disease has started. It's killed over ninety percent of our population, and the survivors are mostly mutants that roam the earth, scared and not knowing who or what they are. Most have become crazed, and I've personally seen a few practice cannibalism.


It's terrifying, traumatizing. But its what I deal with, what I live.


Fortunately, I've only had to deal with the first symptoms of the disease, and then they got the cure and vaccine...


Until our scientists were killed by the mutants. No one knows why. Maybe they've got psychological versions of the disease, but in any case, they're murdering machines and won't stop for anything.


And the disease:


The first part is based on what used to be called Turner-Ullrich Syndrome, in which the syndrome only affects women. The main symptom is serility. But then comes the lethal part.


The second round of symptoms start out as like a burn across the skin, and within the soft tissues, almost as if one was in a fire, but it starts sporadically and spreads like a fire.


Then, it turns to muscle dystrophy and decays the muscles. The heart is a muscle, so it eventually gives out and kills.


It's airborne, so it spread all too quickly.


After it killed around 90% of the world population, they came to a cure and vaccine, therefore creating mutants with deformed figures from burn scars and slight muscle dystrophy in the extremities.


These are most of who is walking around. Few have the psychological issues, but it's enough to cause a problem.


And I'm living in the midst of it, along with one person I've known for a day. (Your character.)


»JW

 

[Syrrus]

Cerath had face planted into the dirt of an unforgiving world. He did not seem to have enough strength to pull himself up on his feet either, so he stayed still.


He had never seen the world any differently. Or maybe he simply wouldn’t remember. At least the feeling of falling from the top of a mountain and crash landing into the ground had stopped. He rolled around, pushing with stringy and weak arms so he could get a better view of the blue sky instead of the dark and dusty ground.


Cerath was not the healthiest, but seeing how the world had turned out, he wasn’t the sickest either. Dark rings around his grey eyes. Sickly pale skin and he could not stop the hissing that would occur every time he took a breath. He also managed to look rather rough, seeing as his thick hair was not only messy but slightly filthy and his leather bound cloths was far from clean. He did not like stepping into water, afraid he would poison it.


The young man recalled running and came to the conclusion that the sprinting had been the reason for him falling into the dirt. He was not a very good runner, his heart wouldn’t permit it. At least he was lucky, others tend to stay at least a three feet away from him at all time so he never had to deal with crowds or cramped spaces; not that he knew how any of that felt like.


He admitted it was his own fault. The odd ability to be able and create poison with his saliva, and kill plants by just touching them on the wrong day, was a good reason to stay away.

 

[Jay Windse]

Who am I, one might ask? That is a good question, and asked by many; including myself. I don't know who I am. I don't know who I'll be. Maybe one day I'll not be as worthless as today, maybe I'll be worth something.


But seeing as I don't know now, I won't ever.


I do, however, have a name, and that's all I've ever been worth; a name, a label.


Helia.


It's probable I will always be a nobody. But that doesn't matter, at least, not to me. I don't care about myself, and rarely others. One of these rare exceptions was laying face-down in the dirt next to me, my chest heaving with the sprint he'd led me on; he himself hadn't done so well either.


My green eyes flashed with concern for the man, the deep forest shade focused. "Cer?" I ask, using the man's nickname, and slowly rest my hand on his upper arm, half scared of being poisoned, though half of my mind actually didn't care. I tried to help him up but wasn't sure if he'd do so.

 

[Syrrus]

With the help of a friend, Cerath managed to get back up on his feet. He also managed to take a few unsure steps to right and left before he composed himself to stand still. “I’m fine, thank you Helia.” He said as he gave her a gentle smile. He did not poison her; he would have felt it like water upon his skin if he had.


It took him a moment, perhaps a bit too long before realizing why he had been running in the first place. Mutants. He supposed that even he sometimes could be referred under such a horrible name, in a way or two. But no matter if people would call him one of the mutants, he still would fear them like one would fear death. He had been running away from them, like he tried to do most of the time he saw one, but running from something as silly as fear often resulted in a gentle face-plant.


“Sorry for running like that, it was not my intent in the slightest. Are you alright?” He asked with concern. There were few people you could trust in a desperate world and the last thing he wanted was to scare the one he trusted a few feet away too. “I hope you are alright” he added, smiling still.


If there was something Cerath was, it was gentle and caring. He also managed, through his fears to be positive. It was a unique trait and often forgotten in times such as these. Not that many knew of anything better.

 

[Jay Windse]

"Are you sure you're okay? Looked like you hit pretty hard." Helia asked softly, and a small frown came upon her slender, long features. She knew the mutants were gone; they were as slow as an old bear. She took a step closer to Cerath, and ignored his concern for her. She didn't need it; she wasn't the one who'd managed to throw themselves into the dirt. Besides, she didn't exactly believe that he cared, because no one did.


Her eyes focused on Cerath's own, and she kept the frown, a soft sigh escaping her.

 

[Syrrus]

Cerath bent his back backwards, as trying to avoid her intense stare. “I—I believe I am quite alright. Thank you.” He said, slowly before dusting himself off. As fine as one could be, at least.


Helia was a nice girl. But he wasn’t too certain she was doing the right thing. Following him around instead of trying to find someone who actually could defend her from the harsh world they lived in. Sometimes his thoughts escaped a bit to the right, where his hope was hidden from people around him. What if there was a place somewhere where they could live happy? Without Mutants to find them and rip their heads off.


“I was thinking…” He began his sentence slowly. This was a topic he often went on about after trying to escape for his life. Perhaps she was tired of it, he couldn’t imagine why the idea of a paradise was in any way tiring.

 

[Jay Windse]

Helia's face brightened with interest at his statement, though she had an idea as to what the boy was thinking, but she'd take any conversation at the moment. She flickered her gaze from his, noticing he seemed rather uncomfortable with it. It wasn't for her; she'd always learned to keep eye contact with whoever it was you were speaking to, and she rather enjoyed seeing emotions come across one's eyes.


She knew Cerath didn't think she could defend herself, and he couldn't, either, but that was quite the opposite of the case-in the former, at least. She was well capable, though her stature proved different and her personality as well. She was too kind for her own good, too curious.


She stared at the ground but listened to Cerath, wanting something to hear as she took her first step in the west direction.

 

[Syrrus]

“Why are we still here? There’s nothing good waiting us and we cannot stay long enough in one place to call it a home. Clearly this can’t be it, right, isn’t the world really big… or something?” He gave her another white smile and tilted his head. There had to be something better out there, the world wasn’t ugly. In fact, Cerath thought the world was quite beautiful.


“It will be just as dangerous to travel the world as staying here, if—Well, almost anyway. It’s not like I know what’s out there.”


Cerath gazed the environment, he could spot something moving further down the hill. Something small, and either as fragile as himself or strong enough to crush him. He figured the fear for the unknown would be no different no matter where he was, but there had to be something better than the life they tried to live at this place which he didn’t even know what to call.

 

[Jay Windse]

"Where are we going to go to, Cer? Really?" Helia looked at Cerath and sighed. "I don't oppose the idea; I just don't know where to go." She looked sideways, green eyes troubled, as she'd spotted the figure as well.


»JW

 

[Syrrus]

“Anywhere.” Cerath started to wobble for side to side, feeling tired by just standing upright. “We just start walking and hope for the best?” It wasn’t a very good idea, but it wasn’t very bad either. Perhaps it was a better option than living in one place, fearing for his life.


Food was the last thing on his mind. They would probably find something they could eat; it wasn’t as if food was growing on trees where they now were located. Cerath started to slowly move further to the side, to make sure who ever were walking around below the hill wouldn’t spot him.


And with Cerath’s ability to create poison he always had the skill to never be poisoned himself, so he could easily eat both grubs, toads and mushrooms without fearing for his life. It was his friends eating habits he would fear for the most.

 

[Jay Windse]

Helia gently grabbed Cerath to steady him, and her hand slipped down his arm into his. "ALright." She murmured, not fazed by the touch at all, though she found she rather enjoyed it.


She headed in the direction opposite the figure, pulling Cerath along.


»JW

 

[Syrrus]

Cerath was being pulled along by his arm by a pretty little girl. If he wasn’t trying to swallow a cough and wobbled the way he did, he might have felt awfully flattered. “Where are we going then, north?” He wasn’t sure he even knew where north was. He figured it was up, this caused the young man to look up at the sky and get hit by the thought of falling which caused him to wobble even worse.


“I suppose we just walk and see what happens.”


Cerath knew exactly what was going to happen. He would probably get winded in about three feet and then after an extra five he’d collapse, and if he didn’t collapse he would faint after teen more feet. He smiled to himself and shook his head. What an existence.

 

[Jay Windse]

Helia looked back, concerned. "Just walk as far as you can, alright? And don't poison me." She added the latter after a moment's hesitation, then she wrapped an arm around Cerath's waist, trying to hold him up. She glanced every so often at the distant figure, knowing it was a mutant and would likely rip off their heads if they came too close. She sighed. "Um. I think northwest, actually." She said, and nodded at his later comment.


She did, however, catch his smile, and couldn't help but do the same. Her crooked teeth showed through full pale pink lips.

 

[Syrrus]

Cerath gave her a nod. He would try his best. Sometimes he wondered if his ability to create poison was what caused him to be ill, maybe he was always going to be sick. Peering down at her arm which was now planted around his waist he mumbled something unintelligent and shook his head. It was hard to tell the reasons for anything these days.


“Don’t worry. As long as you don’t touch my skin you’ll be safe.”


At least he thought so. Peering over his shoulder his eyes widened as he noticed the thing which had looked small from the top of the hill now looking a lot bigger as it had climbed up and now where staring straight at them with bloodshot eyes. It wasn’t a human, considering the burnt skin and the disturbing looking lumps that were growing over its body it could only be one thing.


“Run.”

 

[Jay Windse]

Helia looked back and her eyes dilated with fear. She propelled forward, pulling Cerath along, going as fast as she dared with his frail state. She took in a sharp breath, and hallucinated the feeling of the creature's deformed, thin hands at her neck, it's hot, rancid breath in her face, how it's fingers were used as claws...


She shrieked and breathed, "Cerath!!" She went faster, though the creature wasn't behind her,

 

[Syrrus]

Cerath blinked in confusion as to how fast they now where running and how loud the drumming in his ears was getting. It took him quite some time before he realized that she was shouting his name. Was she scared to? He figured it was only natural, but it made him worry and he could feel his legs getting weaker and weaker.


“He- He—I can’t run this fast, something is going to snap!” He was over exaggerating of course, but it almost feels like either his waist, arm or legs was going to get pulled off by the speed of which they were running, which wasn’t very fast at all.


His friend was scared though, something he would not allow to continue. With one sharp pull he managed to get her to let go of him and as he turned he held out both his hands towards the brute which was running down the hill like a boulder. He could kill plants with one finger, so why not a mutant with two hands. The problem was, he knew very little of what his condition could do and did not expect a slimy blue acid to spit out of the pores in his palms and as it planted itself on the Mutants face it seemed to do more damage than it used to do on plants, seeing the amount of smoke and screams that occurred and the fact that the big boulder of a creature fell to the ground and went hurling down the other side of the hill like no one’s business.

 

[Jay Windse]

Helia turned around as soon as she felt the absence of Cerath's wrist in her grasp, and was shocked to see that he'd taken some sort of defensive stance in front of her, and there was acid coming from what seemed to be his skin.


She watched the creature fall and her gaze became even bigger, and for a split second she wished desperately she could do something like that.


But alas, Helia was not a superhuman. Or so she thought.


She pulled Cerath to her by the hand, managing to stifle a gasp due to the pain inflicted on her by the acidic residue left on his palms. She felt her skin burning, and tears of pain in her eyes, but she lifted Cerath's chin so she could see if he was alright, and in doing so, she saw his face get a brighter tone, and the sickly appearance fade from his eyes.


She furrowed her thin blonde brows, thoroughly confused. Why was he getting better? It didn't make sense. A small gasp managed to claw its way from her throat, this time of surprise, shock, and bewilderment. He looked better already, but why?


That was all that rang through Helia's head as she stared at him, forgotten the creature now tumbling down the hill.


Why?

 

[Syrrus]

Cerath blinked a few times, he stood in shock. What was that feeling, and what was that scent? He managed to take a breath without coughing and he could smell the grass and the wind for the first time since what seemed forever. Even the blurriness in the corner of his eyes had vanished and left him with a vision he didn’t know he had.


“What did you do?!” He asked, sounding almost as if he was panicking. He pulled himself instinctively away from her, but only so he could look down at his hands. He felt strong; or at least stronger than he used to feel.


“I feel… good. What did you do? Wait… What did I do?!” Cerath spun around to watch the damage, the damage being long since gone, left inside a puddle of what seemed to be a disgusting lumpy mess. Cerath frowned in disgust and turned towards Helia with even more confusion.

 

[Jay Windse]

"I....I didn't do anything!" Helia sort of panicked. "I touched you! That's it!" She said, and stepped back, staring at her hands. She was so confused. What had she done? Why?


Could she do it again?


She wondered, and rested a single fingertip on Cerath's jaw, watching as the life in his eyes grew, and she felt a sort of distress come over her, though she realized she was helping him.


Healing him.

 

[Syrrus]

The healthier Cerath began to feel the more freaked out about the notion he got. Was she healing his condition? And if he was, wouldn’t he get sick again due to his poisons? He figured he would. If it was Helia who brought a cure into his system by the means of touching him, maybe she also had to continue doing it without him sinking back into the decease of which he had gotten used to.


“I can almost feel my own heart beat…” Cerath mumbled and placed a hand on his chest in thought. The ringing in his ears had also vanished.

 

[Jay Windse]

Helia pulled her hand away, and watched Cerath for a long moment, then came to the conclusion that he was not receding to his earlier condition. Her forest green eyes widened in shock. "I...I...." She stammered, and couldn't finish her sentence, though the words were clear on her face. She moved her jaw up and down, as if she as speaking, but no sound escaped her teeth. It stayed in her mouth and rumbled around, then dissipated.


She stepped back slightly, hand still up in the air.

 

[Syrrus]

Cerath would have been able to stand there and stare for hours if it wasn’t for the loud howling that came from below the hill. He grabbed her wrist and started to pull her along, for the first time in his life that he could pull anyone along.


“We need to get out of here, I don’t think I can pull the same prank twice.”


He gave her a smile, trying his best to look confident. He hadn’t been smiling like this for a long time. “Don’t worry Helia, it’ll be fine. We’ll just keep on running and run till we can’t run anymore” It was his best theory to a good life, to keep moving.

 

[Jay Windse]

Helia stared back for. A split second at the howling, and then sprinted with Cerath to keep up. She looked at him, marveling at how well he looked now that he wasn't so sickly.


And she had done that? No. She couldn't have, because she was worthless, she remembered. She flashed a soft, crooked smile and then kept going.

 

[Syrrus]

Cerath didn’t stop running. He had never expected the ability to run so far without getting winded and tired. Perhaps he wouldn’t even face-plant? I almost missed the notion slightly before he reminded himself of how much it usually hurt. No, this was good. Being able to run and breath was good.


He reached out for Helia and grabbed her arm as he began to slow down, they were far enough; the mutants wouldn’t be able to reach them. Not for a while anyhow.


“That didn’t feel so bad. The running I mean. Maybe things can look up. Who would have known?” He asked, smiling brightly at her.

 

[Jay Windse]

Helia smiled her lopsided smile and a soft blush tinged her cheeks. "I couldn't tell you." She murmured, and then smiled more.