The memory is hazy.
Ashton blinks, his eyes hollow as he stands near the kitchen sink, his eyes downcast as he watches the facet drip before running heavy like a waterfall. Ashton doesn't move, he just stares at the water continuously trying to fill the kitchen sink, hitting the bottom of the sink hard while it continuously drains like a never ending cycle.
Ashton hears the television softly playing in their small living room, the bright lighting of the small television creating big shadows like monsters throughout the living room.
Ashton slowly raises his head, his eyes briefly focused on the t.v. screen ahead of him.
Ashton doesn't move from his spot in the kitchen. He ignores the muffled noises behind him too.
...
Ashton sits in the corner with his head hung low, his ears ringing, and the world around him feeling like it's caving in.
He remembers the screams--the echoes of cries each boy let out as they met their untimely end. He remembers how each of his friends died, how Jordan left this world first. How Rodney was prepared to escape if it met leaving his friends behind. How Jake sacrificed himself to make sure at least Ashton survived, even if that meant leaving Ashton alone in this world.
Ashton feels everything and nothing, keeping his eyes on his limp hands as he watches his fingers twitch, the blood from his old head wound covering his tan fingers with a dark red. He stares at the cuffs of his uniform, the white long-sleeved shirt dyed with dirt and caked blood.
Ashton slowly swallows, hearing soft voices and screams echo from distances away, but he also hears them patter through his ears. It beckons him to slowly gather the nerve to crawl out of his hole and into the now voided outside world, where Ashton almost looses his confidence, meeting face first with he world of dead bodies, blood, human remains and insides splattered--it looked like a war happened in the small alley way that moments ago was just a ploy to have another stupid school fight.
Ashton walks ahead, numbly meeting eyes with Jake's detached head, his dark eyes glazed over and faded out, reminding Ashton that Jake is dead, and he is never coning back.
Ashton looks to his other friends--Rodney and Josh, both of the bodies barely attached enough to be recognized. Ashton shakily swallows, stepping forward, his black sneakers stepping into puddles of dark blood as he slowly retreats out of the alleyway to the sound of screaming and chaos.
Ashton steps into the outside world, his eyes wide as he sees the monster grab a large group of people, open it's mouth, and plop them in as it chews loud, loudly enough that Ashton hears bones crushing from the monster's jaw. People surrounding the scene are screaming, running away to try to get away from the monster. Cars are stopped in the middle of the road, stopping traffic and causing various accidents in the road. Poles are falling, people are ramming into each other and pushing each other out the way--it is utter chaos caused by a large, hideous monster that doesn't seem to care.
Ashton swallows, taking a step back, not sure what to do himself, but he hears soft crying not too far away, and he turns his head quickly, spotting a young child, tears in her eyes as she's crying over a limp body, her big, innocent eyes watering and sad.
Ashton gulps, narrowing his eyes, watching between the little girl and the monster, who is now alert, turning its body at the little girl as she weeps harder. Ashton reacts first, rushing forward and grabbing the little girl before the monster can attach where the girl once was.
Ashton slides down a broken pathway and lands against a pole, flinching as his back hits the metal hard enough for his shoulder to cry. He cradles the little girl in his arms, breathing heavily as he looks over his shoulder, watching the monster as it eats more people, causing more chaos than before.
"M-Mommy...!" The little girl cries, causing Ashton to scowl, holding her tighter in his arms, "Mommy i-isn't moving-."
"I'll check on your mom..." Ashton said. "but we should get you to safety first-."
"No!" The little girl cries. "P-please! Mommy! She's all I have!"
Ashton stares wide-eyed at the kid, remembering his parents, and his overbearing father and tight-lipped, always propitious mother, but he shuts his mouth, reminding himself that the kid is more important than him right now.
"I'll...I'll check." Ashton said. "You need to hide. Now. Alright?"
The little girls snuffles, but she nods in his arms. Ashton sighs, turning his head as he looks around him until he spots a wall within sight, good enough for the small girl to hide and for him to keep watch of her.
"Stay over here." Ashton said, rushing over to the corner in the wall and placing the little girl there. "I'll be back, alight?"
The small girl nods, holding Ashton's hand tight before letting it go. Ashton awkwardly nods, motioning forward and taking steps ahead back to the limp body. Ashton gulps, slowly raising his hand as he grips the limp body's shoulders, turning the body to face Ashton. Ashton flinches back, landing on his butt as he comes face to face with a dead body--the woman's eyes are wide, her mouth agape as she was readying to scream--and Ashton dry heaves, fighting back the throw up waiting to bubble up.
He hears a terrified scream, causing him to quickly turn his head in the direction of the little girl, who's loudly crying, staring at her dead mother as she wipes her eyes.
"Mommy!" The little girl howls. "Mommy-."
There's a loud sound coming a few feet away, causing Ashton to whip his head around, meeting eyes with the large monster as it moves towards the little girl, raising its hand to crush her to bits. Ashton grits his teeth, raising himself up and pushing himself from his knees to run as he outstretches his hands, trying to reach the little girl in time to protect her from the monster.
Ashton and the little girl's eyes meet. She cries, reaching for Ashton, but then the monster slams its fist on the little girls small body, causing blood to cover Ashton's cheek, and for Ashton to fall to his knees, realizing that today, he has lost everything.
Ashton stares at the little girls dismembered body, his eyes wide, his breath heavily, his hands shaking, and his heart hammering in his chest. He can barely see, his vision blurry as he watches water hit the ground, realizing that its sweat slipping from his face and tears slipping from his eyes.
Ashton blinks, realizing that his hands--his nails are slowly growing, painting themselves black, and he feels his ears painful stretch to a point where he can hear himself scream in pain, feeling his teeth sharp in his mouth, and something odd, weird, round, moving around his skin, sliding up his right leg and arm, glide over his shoulder blade, and land in the middle of his forehead, causing Ashton to scream louder, holding his head as his eyes snap open as he feels the thing blink on his forehead, before everything suddenly goes black.