Wonders of Post Apocolyptia 5 - Body and Minds
Mark could hardly believe how massive Daniel's flat was. He owned an entire floor, yet, in what Mark presumed was the living room there was only a few pieces of furniture. The walls were made of the same black stone that was in the foyer, and the floor was redwood in the living room and white marble in the attached kitchen. The lights were LEDs dotted on the ceiling like stars. The windows went from floor to ceiling all around, giving a magnificent view of the city and of the setting sun. There was a large black leather couch in the center of the room and opposite was a large flat-screen TV, if Mark had to guess he'd put it at about 40 inches. Inbetween the couch and the TV was a black and white rug with a strange form of circular pattern in the middle. The kitchen was filled with different assortments of pots, pans and utensils. A gas cooker, dishwasher and washing machine had pride of place right in the center of the kitchen. Looking around there were a few rooms, about four or five at a glance, and the lifts were placed near enough to the center to be support to the building but not so much in the center as to obstruct anyone going from one end to the other. "Mark! Are you ok?" Mark turned towards one of the rooms and saw Daniel walking quickly towards him, a look of immense worry on his face. "Yeah I'm grand. How are you?" Mark smiled weakly, hiding his paw in his jacket pocket. "How am I? Your the one that was bleeding all over the table. Gimme your paw, I want to see how it is." Mark reluctantly held out his left paw, and he could see that Daniel was hesitant to touch it. Eventually, after an akward amount of time Daniel grabbed Marks paw and inspected it. "It's... perfect. Gashes like that shouldn't heal that quickly, not naturally. What were they doing to you in that white room?" Mark took a massive step back and eyed Daniel suspiciously. "How the hell do you know about that?" Daniel sighed and stepped a bit forward. "In the coffee shop, when I touched your paw I saw and felt things... Things about you. What happened. Out there, the white room, I saw it in bits but I still saw it and I... you felt hopelessness, sadness, lonliness. But," Daniel frowned questioningly "I didn't see anything from before, do you have any memories at all? Childhood... family... home... anything?" Mark hung his head for a second, then lifted it back up and chuckled "Nothing. At least nothing major, just a few things. I think it's better this way, anyways. If I have nothing to compare to how I am now I don't feel so bad. Ignorance is bliss, I guess." Mark took a few steps towards the windows, he didn't want to continue on this topic of conversation "Is there any place I can put my bag? I'd like to meet this room mate of yours." Daniel sighed "I have the spare room set up for you, it's en suite so you can take a shower if you want. You can wash your clothes too. Derrick should be back soon, he's a good cook." Mark felt a sudden cold come over him, he turned towards Daniel to see he'd stopped moving. Well, almost stopped, Mark could see him slightly moving as if in slow motion. A voice chuckled "Hello you pitiful fucking mut."
Mark turned to the kitchen a wolf with pitch black fur with blood red eyes and an evil, toothed grin. Except for those, he was an exact copy of Mark, even the clothes were the same down to the dried blood on the sleeve. Mark stepped over towards the kitchen as calmly as he could and leaned on the counter. "Your wondering who I am, and you notice how much I'm like you and that's because I AM you. Not saying that being you is anything to brag about, though." A pair of black feathered wings formed quickly on this "other" Mark, the bones cracking and snapping together is they did. Mark felt something on his back, then a sensation like someone had put a fairly heavy rucksack on his back. He glanced to the side and saw a his own pair of wings, except with white feathers, creating the same sickening noises as the "other" Mark's did. "What do I want, you ask? And yes, I can read your thoughts, but all I want," He picked up a ceramic knife from a wooden block on the counter "Is not what you've been trying to do, keeping out of the way and trying to disappear. To be forgotten by the world like you've forgotten your past. All I want, to put it simply, is death. Everyone, everything, even us eventually." He walked around the counter and slowly started walking towards Mark, flicking the knife around elegantly as he did "You're ignorant of all of the potential you have to achieve that goal, aren't you?" He slashed across Marks chest, exposing the bone. Mark felt no pain but instead felt immense cold, as though the life was being sucked from him by this entity through the knife. "And you can't get rid of me, not now" He slashed again, Mark staggered back, losing all but some of his energy "Not ever" He slashed a third time, across the stomach. He felt all happiness drain from him now, and he helpless to stop him. "But... I need you alive." He ran his finger across the side of the knife and licked off the blood."And I know you'll try and get rid of me, but I'm tagging along for the ride because remember I am you." Mark regained his composure, feeling a mass of hate welling inside of him. The other Mark chuckled, the exact same way Mark does, and smiled "The funny part is..." He leaned in right next to Mark's ear "I've always been part of you." He leaned back and slashed the knife across Mark's neck, making him gasp back into reality. "He's concerned that I've just picked up a random hobo" Said Daniel, looking towards Mark to seem rubbing his neck. "You ok?" Asked Daniel. Mark looked at him blankly for a second then smiled "Yeah I'm grand." He looked out of the window, still feeling his phantom wings on his back "Perfectly fine."
Mark walked into the spare bedroom. Its decoration was almost the same as the rest of flat. There was a double bed against the wall opposite the door and everything on it was white except for the pillows, which were black. To the left of the bed was the entrance to the bathroom, there was no door, and to the right were the windows with large wooden vertical blinds. Mark dumped his bag on the bed and began to strip down. He emptied everything from his pockets and laid everything out on the bed. He took out the new set of clothes he had bought from his bag and brought them with him into the bathroom. Inside the bathroom was all white marble, with a sink, jacuzzi and a walk-in shower. He stepped in and looked around for some sort of knob to turn on the water. He eventually found them and figured out how to change the temperature after a shockingly cold spray made him yelp and jump back a bit. He took some shampoo from from a shelf inside the shower and started ridding his fur from all of the dirt and grime that he had picked up over the past while. Mark deeply enjoyed the feel of the water running over his body, and spent about half an hour washing himself from head to toe. While he was doing so, he heard a knock on the bedroom door. "Hey, Mark! Need any clothes washed?" Daniel said loudly. "Yeah" Mark shouted back "They're on the bed!" Mark heard the door open and the sound of footpads on the wood. Mark waited until he heard the door close again before getting out of the shower. He dried himself off with a black, fluffy towel and got dressed in his new outfit. He checked himself out in the mirror and nodded, satisfied that he looked alright. He left the new coat on the bed and pocketed his knife and some cash. He walked back into the living room and smelled something delicious coming from the kitchen. He walked over, his spirits lifting at the smell of the food. He leaned on the counter beside the gas hob, watching the large medallions of meat sizzling on a pan. He was almost drooling and was thinking of grabbing one when there was a whistle behind him. Mark spun around to see a raven, taller than Mark and maybe even taller than Daniel. He wore long baggy camouflage trousers that completely covered up his feet. He wasn't wearing a top and was quite muscular, which made him quite intimidating to Mark as he stood over him. "Stay away from the food." He placed a hand on Marks chest and firmly pushed him to the side. Mark stood up and held out his paw "By the way, I'm-" "Mark, yes, I know, Daniel was telling me all about you. Well, all that there was to tell." He turned to face Mark and looked him straight in the eyes so seriously that it freaked him out. "I'm not sure about you. Your accent says you're telling the truth but if I find out your mooching off of us or if you hurt Daniel, they won't find you for days. Understand?" Mark nodded and started thinking. "Good" Derrick said and went back to his cooking, adding some salt to the medallions. Mark patted the counter and briskly made his way back towards the bedroom. "How long are you planning on staying here? 'Cause like I said, I don't like leeches." Mark popped into his room and opened his bag. He took out ten thousand of the twenty five plus thousand that was left. He went back over to Derrick and placed it fairly hard on the counter. "Right. If this isn't enough to convince you that I'm not trying to screw you over... I'll be gone by the end of the day." Derrick picked up a chunk of the money and examined, making sure it was real. "Hmm... I guess you could stay in the guest room for a while. Still, if you hurt Daniel even once I'm going to kick your ass. Now grab some plates, food's almost ready."
The sun had already set and they ate dinner on the couch infront of the TV. Daniel and Derrick sat beside eachother on the couch while Mark sat cross legged infront of the spot on the couch where he sat. He found it strange sitting on it but was much more comfortable on the ground. They watched a stand-up comedy which lasted for about an hour and a half. Each of them were laughing their asses off and when it ended Daniel brought the plates back to the kitchen and threw them into the dish washer. Marks clothes were washed and were hung up to dry. When Daniel came back to the couch the programme had changed from a comedy to a horror movie. Mark didn't find it particularly scary, quite funny infact, but Daniel seemed like he was scared out of his mind. This was most apparent when a door burst open unexpectedly and the killer came out with a knife, and Daniel screamed as though he was huffing helium and held onto Derrick. Derrick chuckled and started petting Daniels head and hair. "It's ok hun" said Derrick. Mark glanced quickly at Derrick, only realising now that he was as Mark was. Unfortunately, Derrick caught Marks glance and stared at him "What's wrong Mark, don't like this?" He pulled Daniel in and hugged him. Mark shook his head and sighed "It's not that, it's just that I didn't know you two were together and... well..." He looked at Daniel, his eyes begging him for help. Daniel nodded and turned to Derrick "Mark's gay too, Der, it's just that he's new to everything, including himself and his feelings." He smiled and prodded Derrick "Remember how clumsy with words you were when you came out?" Derrick chuckled and smiled at Mark for the first time "I was a mess, and I don't envy the position you're in. We're not together, not anymore, not really. We broke up before things got ugly so we're till close friends." Mark smiled and quickly hid it but, again, Derricks eyes see all. "Don't go getting any ideas now" He said light heartedly, poking him in the shoulder with his foot. Mark blushed and turned his attention back to the TV. They watched the end of the film and Daniel turned off the TV. "Ok, I'm going get some shut-eye. See you too tomorrow." Daniel stood up and walked off, as did Derrick. They both had rooms side-by-side on the opposite side of the flat to Marks room. Mark didn't feel tired, but he knew he should sleep. He walked into his room and closed the door. He shoved everything off the bed and stripped naked. He slid in between the covers and lay his head on the pillow. He rolled onto his right side and looked out the window. It took him two hours for him to fall into an uneasy sleep.
He was walking through a land on fire, surrounded by ruined buildings and scorched corpses. He walked through what looked like a high street. In the center, however, was a pile of charred bones and rotted flesh and it reached two storeys high. Looking down from the top of the pile was Mark, black furred Mark, with a mixed expression of joy and hate. Mark fell to his knees at the foot of the pile, only able to look up at the figure of his own evil above him. "Than" he said, "My name is Than, I suppose you've earned the right to know it now. You've successfully gotten a home and... Oh let's call them "friends". Your mind, I must say, is quite a strange one. Most people would have broken ages ago, believe me I know. You're different, but I'm sure you've heard that from enough people recently. I may just be able to begin to like you, depending of course, on whether you let me... "play". Oh, and believe me when I say this; Something big is coming, and you won't be able to do shit unless you get things under control." Marks wings returned, and instead of just staying on his back they spread and wrapped themselves around him like a large white blanket. Mark opened his eyes to see the white sheets of his bed in the morning sun. He rolled over and looked at the large red numbers on the digital clock. It read 07:42. Still half asleep, he sat up groggily and walked into the bathroom and had a shower. He dried himself off and wrapped the towel around his waist. Almost fully awake now, he walked through the main room to the kitchen. He wasn't particularly hungry but he poured himself a glass of water. Mark leaned back against the counter and started to sip at the water. Mark began to zone out, staring at the water, when Daniel walked in. "Hey Mar- WHOA!" Daniel chuckled and pointed at Marks waist "You may want to...heh...put that away" Mark looked down and noticed the massive bump on the towel. He blushed immensly and used his empty paw to cover it up. Daniel just smiled and came closer to Mark. He moved into Mark quickly, kissing him and running his hand over Marks wood. Just then, a pained gasp escaped from Daniel. He fell to the floor, a knife stuck between the base of his wings. Blood began to pool around him. It touched Marks feet, and the black feet of Than. He grinned his evil, toothed grin "I couldn't resist". He punched Mark in the face, apparently back into consciousness, because he was back in bed. He shot up in the bed and checked the clock. 07:49. He just sat there, staring down at the sheets with crossed legs.
He sat there for hours, not even bothering to make any effort to get up. Sunlight was coming through the blinds, and Mark began watching as the lines moved over time. There was a knock at the door which shook Mark out of his daze. Daniel poked his head inside the door and saw Mark sitting there staring blankly down at the bed "Eh... Breakfast?" Mark nodded slowly, keeping his eyes down on the blanket. Daniel walked over to Marks bed and sat down beside him. He was worried about Mark. All Mark knew was suffering and lonliness. He knew nothing about family or friends, and although physically he was fine (Daniel lingered on that fact for a bit, but caught himself doing so and stopped) but mentally and emotionally he couldn't be certain. "Mark" said Daniel, gingerly putting his hand on Marks shoulder "How old are you?". A flash went across Marks mind. "Sixteen" He answered automatically, which was strange to him because he never thought about it before now. "Damnit" Daniel muttered under his breath. He was still just a kid. He stood up and went back to the kitchen where Derrick was making breakfast. Pancakes. Derrick turned to Daniel then back to his cooking. "Lazy bastard up yet?" Daniel grabbed a couple pancakes and put them on a plate. He grabbed a glass of orange juice and put them on a tray. "How old do you think he is?" Daniel asked, putting the tray on the counter. Derrick shrugged "Dunno... He looks about seventeen or eighteen. Why?" Daniel sighed "He's sixteen. He should be in school. He should be out having fun instead of living a lonely, tortured life. I'm almost certain we're the only people he actualy knows." Derrick nodded "Simple. We bring him out somewhere, get him used to everything again and he'll be fine." He turned from his cooking again "You seem into him. Could this be you trying to get him to fancy you?" Derrick chuckled and returned to his cooking. Daniel blushed and brought the tray back to Marks room. Mark hadn't moved since he was last in the room. He placed the tray on the nightstand, pushing the clock to one side. Daniel sat down beside Mark again and held the glass of orange juice in his hand. "Here" he put the glass into Marks paw "Drink up". Mark took the glass and sipped it. He didn't feel thirsty, or anything for that matter. "Are you feeling ok?. You're kind of quiet." Mark looked up and into Daniels eyes. He stared at them for a few seconds before looking away again "I'm fine" Mark wanted to tell him everything, that he saw him die right infront of his eyes, that his mind isn't totally his. He was afraid Daniel would abandon him and of anything that could happen to him that was the one thing he didn't want. When Mark looked at him, Daniel could almost see Marks soul in his eyes, and there was nothing. What little life there was remaining inside Mark was gone. Daniel could hardly bear to see him in such a way. Daniel hugged Mark, hard, and Mark hugged him back although weakly. "You're still a kid, you shouldn't be here." Mark backed away a little "So I'm just a kid to you..." Mark looked away. Daniel had a worried expression on his face "But you're just sixteen-" "And I feel like I'm sixty, tired, useless, and I only have about a week of conscious memory" Mark looked at Daniel "Sixteen is just a number to me, nothing more." Mark had a blank expression on his face. He felt everything inside, every single emotion, but kept them down. It was pointless to worry over the past or about the future. Daniel, to his credit, knew about people bottling things up and he got a hint that Mark had a lot bottled up. "Have you... dealt with everything? Like, in your head, are you ok" He petted Marks head-fur "up there?". Mark shook his head "Nope, who needs to, I'm fine". Daniel hugged him again, except without giving Mark the option to get free. Daniel felt something for this wolf, he didn't know what yet but it was something. Something big enough to make him cry, seeing Mark devoid of emotion. Feeling Daniel shaking, Mark suddenly felt worried. He was worried that he may have hurt this dragon, the only one who had been truly kind to him. Mark hugged back, trying to make Daniel feel better. Mark shed a tear, a single tear, but it was enough to smash the bottle inside of him. He felt everything. Everything at once. Once that tear had dripped off his face and onto Daniels back, it was followed by plenty more. No sound escaped from Mark, his expression was still the same, but he couldn't hold everything in entirely. Daniel, feeling partly guilty about this, felt better because of Marks sadness. It wasn't the sadness itself that made him happy, but the fact Mark was beginning to express things beyond a facade of happiness. Daniel and Mark, together, lay down on the bed, one in the sheets and one on them. Daniel held Mark, Mark cried silently.