"What makes a human, well… human?"
Our biology teacher, Mr. Kelter, asked the question like he already knew the answer. Or like he was tired of waiting for one.
Silence.
Someone in the back with blondish hair muttered, "Opposable thumbs."
A weak ripple of laughter.
"Wrong species Blake Adams," Mr. Kelter said seriously without laughing. "Try again."
a beautiful yet neat looking girl perked her head up and raised her hand.
"Empathy?"
He looked at her. Paused.
"Closer, Mara Quinn."
"Memory?" a guy with black hair and a slim but toned build said
He nodded slowly.
"Good, Nathan Sloan, we remember. And we imagine. And we choose. That's the trifecta. Take away any one of those, and you're not human. Just meat that moves."
He clicked the projector on. An image flickered: a brain scan, heat-mapped, glowing.
"The brain holds it all. But the line between choice and instinct? It's thinner than most people want to believe."
The bell rang. Noises of chairs and desks being pushed would be heard across every room as school would end
As we grabbed our bags, he added, almost to himself:
"When fear takes over… people don't stay human long."
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That was pretty ominous Nathan would have thought to himself jokingly
While exiting school and walking home, he would see Blake walking and put him in a headlock "Wassup my boy!" Blake would shrug him off telling him to get the hell off before judo flipping him to the ground
"Ouch ouch ouch ouch ouch, your strength is genuinely unnatural man."
They would both laugh as Blake would help him up
Blake was about to speak but be cut off by Nathan already sounding exhausted
"Don't even ask broo, moms hot on my ass man I gotta get these grades up, andd honestly I just haven't been feeling basketball as much anymore"
Blake would look at him reassuringly "Nah we all understand, and you know especially after what happened with your si-"
"Don't say another word, Adams!" an angelic voice said coming from behind us running to catch up as they would end up Blake on the shoulder, as Nathan would look at her stargazed but still have held his composure
Maya would speak again
"You can't bring something like that up so easily."
the vibe would seem a bit down before Nathan would say
"It's cool."
They would walk as normal talking before saying bye to each other and heading home
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"I'm home" Nathan would say taking his bag off and throwing it in his room
He would walk around and hear nothing before he would see a note on the refrigerator saying
We're going away for a few days, serious business meeting!
ps: left money under your pillow
After reading it he would have sighed and walked away walking past his tv as it would briefly say
"zombie cosplayers apprehended..."
Nathan would turn it down, "do people have nothing better to do?"
He would have went to his room and do his usual routine after school which is usually chores and actual responsibilities , however he was feeling lazy so this time he would do his usual workout routine
After two hours the session would end
"Phew" Nathan would say exhausted, he would go into the bathroom and start showering
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Time would pass before Nathan would hear a knock as it would turn into banging and more unordinary loud banging
"What the hell, its 9:00 at fucking night"
He would turn the shower off and open the door not even having time to dress as the noise would become unbearable
He would open the door annoyed
But what the fuck was he staring at.
"What the f-"
Out of nowhere he would get lunged at by this unknown creature
Nathan would dodge the creature's attempt to claw at his face, grabbing its back of the neck while he was on the ground. He headbutted it as hard as he could and kicked it in the jaw.
He would scurry back out of fear and caution before getting up to his feet
"T-Tony?"
it was his next door neighbor and ex friend who split up after going to different schools
The creature would snap its head to him unnaturally as its broken jaw would hinge and be fixed back into place making grinding sounds
Nobody moved blinked or breathed
It felt like a year to Nathan
The creature would dash sprinting unnaturally, as if all of its bones were broken, and it ran with its limbs slung limply.
Nathan would dash to the kitchen, the creature tripping over the sudden movement that missed its target. Nathan vaulted over the kitchen counter, grabbing a knife.
Nathan crouched low behind the kitchen counter, his eyes locked on the creature's leg the only part visible from his vantage point. He circled slowly, trying to anticipate its next move. The thing began to rise, and for a moment, their eyes met. Then, without warning, the creature snapped its head toward the kitchen.
Nathan froze.
Confused, he hesitated until the creature bolted.
"Fuck!" he shouted, lunging forward to intercept it.
They clashed at the kitchen's edge. Nathan drove his knife forward, but the creature was fast. It snatched a kitchen blade of its own, steel flashing in the dim light. Blades collided, grating metal and desperate grunts echoing through the narrow space.
Suddenly, Nathan staggered.
A hot wave of pain surged through him. He coughed, and blood splattered across the counter. His eyes dropped to his gut, he'd been stabbed. But so had the creature as Nathan buried the blade in its shoulder. Unlike Nathan, though, it barely reacted. Blood poured down its arm as it shoved him backward, the wound oozing into his left eye.
He hit the floor hard, dazed. The creature lunged, jaws wide, ready to tear into him but Nathan's left hand shot up, open-palmed, and cracked it across the face. It stumbled. He coughed again, more blood spilling from his mouth as he scrambled to his feet.
The creature tried to rise.
Nathan didn't let it.
He roared, tackling the thing and slamming his fists into it over and over, knuckles slick with blood, his vision red and swimming.
"FUCKING"
Another punch.
"FUCKER!"
His fists didn't stop until the creature was still. The kitchen was drenched in blood. He stood over the mangled corpse, chest heaving, staring down at what remained of Tony. His skull was crushed, brains leaking out onto the floor.
Nathan turned and ran.
He barely made it to the bathroom before vomiting violently into the sink. Gasping, he looked up and froze. In the mirror, his left eye glowed a sickly green, and a thick vein pulsed from the socket, spreading like rot across his face.
"No…" he whispered.
He spun around, nearly slipping, and rushed back to the kitchen. His hands trembled as he grabbed a clean knife.
Back in the bathroom, the infection or whatever it was had already spread further. It crept across his cheek like a parasite, the green glow intensifying.
"DAMNN ITTT," Nathan growled.
He clenched his teeth, grinding them against each other so hard that he almost drew blood before raising the blade and, with a desperate cry, plunged it toward his left eye.
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