Chapter Text
Day 1
Monsters.
That’s all they were.
It didn’t matter where you looked or what you heard. The notion was everywhere, & it was the truth. The news said it. FEMA said it. The people outside said it. The strangers in your house said it. Even their name itself cemented them as nothing but ‘other,’ inherently separate from you & other people. No matter how people wanted to refer to them; zombies, parasites, intruders, skinwalkers… it was the undeniable truth. Visitors are nothing but monsters.
You wouldn’t say you were afraid of monsters, & the Visitors themselves didn’t really scare you. Those little details they smuggled into the house, the things that made them just that bit ‘off,’ weren’t ‘scary’ enough to make you hesitate putting them down. Fear wasn’t enough to stop you. As revolting as the thought sounded, “connection” wouldn’t stop you either; even if they had a familiar face, & humane conversations to pass the time quarantined from the sun, any friendliness that they faked wouldn’t stop you from planting metal in their heads. That face, the one you thought you could trust, stared back at you from the floor, with a black bleeding hole in its forehead.
This Visitor had stayed in your living room when you let it in for shelter. It took the appearance of a strange woman; she was friendly enough that you took pity. You had talked to it for a few days. The supposed “woman” had a passion, a life, & a story to tell from before the world fell apart. No wonder you were convinced it wasn’t a Visitor. Until the most recent sign to identify them was aired on the TV that morning. No matter how much that thing had convinced you to care, you were caring for a person that didn’t exist. The history you both created - the times you thought you shared - weren’t enough for you to hesitate.
You stared at her on your living room floor. Her body laid more lifeless than before, although that didn't say much. The black pinpoint hole in her skull stared at you like a pupil, trickling tears of blood & tissue. Seeing her motionless carcass made your stomach sink. Fucking nonsense. This cataclysm was taking a toll on your reasoning; there was no other reason you’d be reacting as if you could care about a Visitor. You grimaced at the inhumane nature reflected on her corpse; her bloodshot eyes, her bleeding gums despite her impossible teeth, her mangled fingers… she didn’t have any excuse for those anymore.
Despite your disgust with her lies, your brain forcibly reminded you of those times you had laughed & talked together. Those few times you found something in common & clung onto it for dear life; like you were drowning, together. As if that could happen with someone who wasn't real. Pathetic, you affirmed to yourself. She was merely a good liar, at least for a while. You didn't want to hold onto something that was merely an illusion of a soul, even if that was the only thing your mind constrained onto you now.
You nudged her limp hand & it made you sick. The other times you had done this, you felt nothing. She was probably the third Visitor you’ve had to dispose of this week. The action you should’ve been getting used to just… hurt. It hurts now. It couldn’t be sympathy of any sort… that wouldn’t make any sense. Perhaps it was just some weird form of betrayal.
You dumped its corpse by your front door for throwing outside at nightfall, once the sun wouldn’t consume you as well. Walking back through your quiet hallway, you tried to ignore the desolation you felt from the living room. It was just her & another person you had let in; any other guests you had were scattered throughout the decrepit house. She was almost completely dealt with, so it wasn’t something you had to worry about now. A lot of your energy was drained from testing her for signs & then putting her down; your tiredness had to be the only reason you were playing the situation up. You went to bed.
Creaking open your bedroom door, your heart sank at seeing a dark silhouette on your bed. A bundle of winter clothes curled in a ball on the corner, next to where you sleep. Oh, right.
The other person in the lounge was a young man. A stranger who was unusually cold, constantly shivering & wrapped in an abundance of thick clothes despite the scorching sun. You had asked him to leave the room when you put the Visitor down. Just because you could deal with the sight of killing a person didn’t mean you’d assume he was the same. You just didn’t assume he’d go on to find solace in your bed, of all places.
You sat down gently on your mattress, wondering how to get his attention. But, he seemed to be asleep. He still hugged himself tightly & shivered uncontrollably, but he seemed to sleep through it. You couldn’t find the energy to wake him up, let alone what you’d say to him. Instead, you just silently laid down on your side of the bed. You pulled your share of the blanket up to your waist & tried to fall asleep.
You woke up in the middle of the night. While sleeping in the middle of the day & waking up now was becoming part of your routine, tonight was too uncomfortable for you to wake up normally. Your stomach twisted, remembering what you couldn’t avoid.
Getting up, you rushed over to the corpse next to your front door, & pushed it outside with your foot, down the porch steps & onto the charred grass. Hopefully, the gnarly sight would deter anyone from knocking on your door tonight. You risked moving away from the door & not looking out for any wandering survivors.
Dragging yourself back to your room, the hallway was repulsively quiet. You’d think that having company - sleeping on your floors & seeking safety in the same house as you - would’ve brought life to these walls. But, when you all could wait on nothing but death, the holding of your breath made the house suffocating. This place had become an impending mass grave, & starved of loneliness. You wanted to be mad at the outsiders that took your space away from you, but it never felt like yours to begin with. Even if you preferred that people weren’t here, you always knew this place would become your tomb. The only thing you could do now was ignore the presence in your bed, & try to resurrect your alone time.
You laid back down, although it wasn’t as soothing as you’d hoped for. You listened out, lazily staying in bed, but you heard no noise. Only the ambience of your room, tinted a poisonous sea green from the apocalyptic night sky. You guessed no one would be knocking on your door tonight.
The only thing you could do now was stare at your ceiling, your mind fuzzing out into nothing. You traced your eyes along the creases & flaws in the material; the paint was peeling, hanging from threads like a corpse, & you thought you could see spots of water damage. No chance of fixing that now. If you were to rot in this disaster, or you were caught under the unforgiving sun, you guessed this house would be crumbling with you, too.
Your absent-mindedness was broken by rustling next to you. You had almost forgotten he was even here. Was he awake?
You tried to keep your eyes away from him. You didn’t have any business caring for a man in your bed right now. But you saw him turn, now facing towards you. He was definitely still asleep; although he had buried his face into his thick scarf, his tightly shut eyes peeked out from underneath. His hand had moved with him, resting just beside your head. You could somehow feel the cold air coming off of his periwinkle blue skin.
Instead of staring at the ceiling, you studied his hand. Dark violet veins curled through his palm & his defined knuckles. Some of his fingers sprouted necrotic flesh from his exposed nail beds, dark & purple like frostbite, while others were lucky enough to still have jagged & weak nails. Not a single one had dirt, though. From his signs & conversation that he’d shared with you, he was simply a man in a lot of pain. That was better to have in your house than another Visitor. Much better to have sleeping in your bed, too…
That frigid breeze from his hand grazed your sweating forehead, sending a tranquility through you that took you by surprise. It made your body calm down & rest, quicker than anything else you’d known. It was a welcome aid after the hot nights had stolen the privilege of sleeping comfortably. You subconsciously leaned towards the alleviating temperature as you slowly fell asleep.