Chapter 13
Signs of Discovery
Adams was still getting used to the idea that he was dead. It had taken him a few hours to convince himself that he was no longer living. He and Quinn had been on patrol when Luuk had approached them. He had brushed up against Adams and scratched him. Adams was amazed at how painful the scratch was. As the night went on the scratch turned his arm purple, and then black.
Quinn had a similar scratch on his face.
Before the end of their watch they had both developed an irresistible urge to flee into the forest. Looking into Quinn's eyes he knew he was going to run off. They ran into the forest and hid under fallen tree. Adams watched Quinn as the black drained form his face. Then the color of his flesh paled even further, like the color of his flesh was just a shadow.
Adams looked at his own arm as the color drained away from it.
“Do you understand what is going on?” Adams asked.
Quinn just stared off into space.
Adams started to check himself for other injuries. He had a few scrapes, nothing out of the ordinary for a soldier in the forest. The color of his skin was paler the closer to the scratch on his arm he checked. He also noticed that his skin was colder to the touch near the scratch but regular temperature on his calves and feet. He checked Quinn. It was the same. Quinn was starting to mumble something but Adams ignored him. He continued checking himself and Quinn over.
It was almost morning when Adams realized he had not slept in over a day but he was not tired in the slightest. He felt as fresh as he could remember feeling in days.
“Are you hungry?” Adams asked.
Quinn shock his head. “I'm not hungry.” He said, “what happened to us? Is this real?”
“I don't know, but we had better get ready to move. I think we had better keep out of sight, but the best chance to figure out what is going on is to stick close to the group. Lets eat and then we will trail the rest of the group.”
“Are we going to be okay?” Quinn asked Adams.
Adams was not used to having people ask him questions like that. He was going to take a deep breath in when he noticed something. He was not breathing. He could not take a deep breath in. He closed his eyes and told Quinn. “I don't know, but lets see what the day brings.”
They tried to eat, but the rations tasted like ash. Adams couldn't eat any of it. He felt like he was choking.
The two men got up and trailed the rest of the group for the day. It was an odd feeling to be trailing a group of men that they should be traveling with. Adams was on the verge of joining the group when he would experience a wave of fear. Each time he thought of approaching a man form the group, or walking into the group when the stopped to rest he would have an attack. As the day went on he realized that the feeling was triggered by his thoughts of approaching the other men.
After hours of marching behind the other group Adams noticed that he was not tired at all. He should have been ready to collapse but he felt as good now as he did when they started in the morning. He watched Quinn for signs of fatigue but other than the unnatural color of his skin and the growing darkness around his eyes, Quinn looked like he could continue the trek indefinitely.
Adams also noticed that he had lost his appetite at breakfast this morning and had not regained it. It was approaching dusk and he still was not bothered by hunger.
When the men stopped for the evening he and Quinn again found a spot where they could remain hidden from the other men in the group.
“Are you hungry?” Quinn asked him.
“You know I am not. Are you going to be able to handle this?” Adams asked. He saw a fear in Quinn's eyes. He thought that he was handling this better than Quinn but he was not sure.
Adams started to mentally list all the things he knew about what was going on. Luuk had caused wound that had infected almost immediately. The two of them had fled the main group because of a urgent need to do so. Adams thought back to the moment he had decided to flee into the woods. He had not been afraid, it was more like a insatiable need to get away from the men. They had remained active all night without tiring. They could not eat the rations they had brought with them. Adams started going over his physical state.
He was not breathing. He checked his mouth and nose. He could not find anything wrong with them, they were intact if a bit dry.
He checked his vision. It seemed to be fine.
Quinn started to moan and shake. Adams ignored him and continued checking himself. Although Adams wished Quinn would stop his moaning and complaining, Quinn provided a source he could use to check his hearing. IT seemed to be as good as it had been as before. He noticed that he did not have the same tactile strength or feeling. His flesh continued to get colder. The flesh of his upper body seemed to be the same temperature as the night air.
“You can stop checking, you know as well as I do that we are dead.” Quinn said to him, continuing to stare out into the night.
“You may be right, but if that is the case why are we still moving? How are you telling me that if you are dead?” Adams told him.
“I don't know, but I am scared. Don't tell me you aren't scared either because I can tell.”
Adams closed his eyes to think and realized he could still see Quinn with his eyes closed. He opened his eyes and closed them again. When he closed his eyes he could see a faint outline of Quinn. It was very strange. He asked if Quinn could do it and Quinn told him no. He closed his eyes a couple more times to make sure he wasn't imagining things.
He noticed that when he closed his eyes and concentrated he could feel other things. He felt a group of men moving towards the spot where Luuk's men had set up camp. Adams concentrated and the men moving towards the camp shifted their path. Adams thought that was a little odd. He tried again and the group reversed their direction. With a little practice Adams found he could extend his thought to them. Get them to move slower or faster, change directions, stop. The one thing he could not do is get them to speak. There was something different about these men, they could not speak. They could make no noise at all. Adams files that away to deal with later.
Adams asked Quinn if he could sense the other men. Quinn shock hos head and then ignored Adams.
Adams tried to figure out why Quinn could not do the things he could do. As he thought about this a thought came to Adams. He closed his eyes and concentrated. He squeezed his eyes shut to focus his thoughts. Quinn got up and walked into the woods. If Adams wasn't frightened before he was now. With just the strength of his thoughts he had sent Quinn into the forest.
Adams noticed that it was nearly dawn. He had spent the entire night checking out his new form. He concentrated on Quinn and had him return to the spot they had secreted themselves. After a moment he got the other men to join him as well.
When the men awoke and started to move out pushing for the border of the corrupted lands Adams and Quinn were again following them. Quinn silent and full of fear. Adams silent and full of curiosity.
Adams was still getting used to the idea that he was dead. It had taken him a few hours to convince himself that he was no longer living. He and Quinn had been on patrol when Luuk had approached them. He had brushed up against Adams and scratched him. Adams was amazed at how painful the scratch was. As the night went on the scratch turned his arm purple, and then black.
Quinn had a similar scratch on his face.
Before the end of their watch they had both developed an irresistible urge to flee into the forest. Looking into Quinn's eyes he knew he was going to run off. They ran into the forest and hid under fallen tree. Adams watched Quinn as the black drained form his face. Then the color of his flesh paled even further, like the color of his flesh was just a shadow.
Adams looked at his own arm as the color drained away from it.
“Do you understand what is going on?” Adams asked.
Quinn just stared off into space.
Adams started to check himself for other injuries. He had a few scrapes, nothing out of the ordinary for a soldier in the forest. The color of his skin was paler the closer to the scratch on his arm he checked. He also noticed that his skin was colder to the touch near the scratch but regular temperature on his calves and feet. He checked Quinn. It was the same. Quinn was starting to mumble something but Adams ignored him. He continued checking himself and Quinn over.
It was almost morning when Adams realized he had not slept in over a day but he was not tired in the slightest. He felt as fresh as he could remember feeling in days.
“Are you hungry?” Adams asked.
Quinn shock his head. “I'm not hungry.” He said, “what happened to us? Is this real?”
“I don't know, but we had better get ready to move. I think we had better keep out of sight, but the best chance to figure out what is going on is to stick close to the group. Lets eat and then we will trail the rest of the group.”
“Are we going to be okay?” Quinn asked Adams.
Adams was not used to having people ask him questions like that. He was going to take a deep breath in when he noticed something. He was not breathing. He could not take a deep breath in. He closed his eyes and told Quinn. “I don't know, but lets see what the day brings.”
They tried to eat, but the rations tasted like ash. Adams couldn't eat any of it. He felt like he was choking.
The two men got up and trailed the rest of the group for the day. It was an odd feeling to be trailing a group of men that they should be traveling with. Adams was on the verge of joining the group when he would experience a wave of fear. Each time he thought of approaching a man form the group, or walking into the group when the stopped to rest he would have an attack. As the day went on he realized that the feeling was triggered by his thoughts of approaching the other men.
After hours of marching behind the other group Adams noticed that he was not tired at all. He should have been ready to collapse but he felt as good now as he did when they started in the morning. He watched Quinn for signs of fatigue but other than the unnatural color of his skin and the growing darkness around his eyes, Quinn looked like he could continue the trek indefinitely.
Adams also noticed that he had lost his appetite at breakfast this morning and had not regained it. It was approaching dusk and he still was not bothered by hunger.
When the men stopped for the evening he and Quinn again found a spot where they could remain hidden from the other men in the group.
“Are you hungry?” Quinn asked him.
“You know I am not. Are you going to be able to handle this?” Adams asked. He saw a fear in Quinn's eyes. He thought that he was handling this better than Quinn but he was not sure.
Adams started to mentally list all the things he knew about what was going on. Luuk had caused wound that had infected almost immediately. The two of them had fled the main group because of a urgent need to do so. Adams thought back to the moment he had decided to flee into the woods. He had not been afraid, it was more like a insatiable need to get away from the men. They had remained active all night without tiring. They could not eat the rations they had brought with them. Adams started going over his physical state.
He was not breathing. He checked his mouth and nose. He could not find anything wrong with them, they were intact if a bit dry.
He checked his vision. It seemed to be fine.
Quinn started to moan and shake. Adams ignored him and continued checking himself. Although Adams wished Quinn would stop his moaning and complaining, Quinn provided a source he could use to check his hearing. IT seemed to be as good as it had been as before. He noticed that he did not have the same tactile strength or feeling. His flesh continued to get colder. The flesh of his upper body seemed to be the same temperature as the night air.
“You can stop checking, you know as well as I do that we are dead.” Quinn said to him, continuing to stare out into the night.
“You may be right, but if that is the case why are we still moving? How are you telling me that if you are dead?” Adams told him.
“I don't know, but I am scared. Don't tell me you aren't scared either because I can tell.”
Adams closed his eyes to think and realized he could still see Quinn with his eyes closed. He opened his eyes and closed them again. When he closed his eyes he could see a faint outline of Quinn. It was very strange. He asked if Quinn could do it and Quinn told him no. He closed his eyes a couple more times to make sure he wasn't imagining things.
He noticed that when he closed his eyes and concentrated he could feel other things. He felt a group of men moving towards the spot where Luuk's men had set up camp. Adams concentrated and the men moving towards the camp shifted their path. Adams thought that was a little odd. He tried again and the group reversed their direction. With a little practice Adams found he could extend his thought to them. Get them to move slower or faster, change directions, stop. The one thing he could not do is get them to speak. There was something different about these men, they could not speak. They could make no noise at all. Adams files that away to deal with later.
Adams asked Quinn if he could sense the other men. Quinn shock hos head and then ignored Adams.
Adams tried to figure out why Quinn could not do the things he could do. As he thought about this a thought came to Adams. He closed his eyes and concentrated. He squeezed his eyes shut to focus his thoughts. Quinn got up and walked into the woods. If Adams wasn't frightened before he was now. With just the strength of his thoughts he had sent Quinn into the forest.
Adams noticed that it was nearly dawn. He had spent the entire night checking out his new form. He concentrated on Quinn and had him return to the spot they had secreted themselves. After a moment he got the other men to join him as well.
When the men awoke and started to move out pushing for the border of the corrupted lands Adams and Quinn were again following them. Quinn silent and full of fear. Adams silent and full of curiosity.
posted by shaneknysh at 00:50
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