Page 65 of Cruel Malady: A Necrosis of the Mind

Blue flames spark on impact. A white-hot liquid fire races across the floorboards, chasing every flammable material and igniting the cabin like kindling. The flames start blue and hot, then surge into a wall of red that rises up between us.

22

ESCAPE

BLAKELY

Imeet Alex’s eyes across the flames. My whole body is paralyzed, waiting. For him. I’m not sure what I’m afraid of more: the fire, or Alex’s pain swallowing me like the void of this room.

This one moment of hesitation, of indecision, will haunt me a lifetime.

The dark room glows with its own roaring sun, the light of the fire almost blinding amid the blackness. I lose sight of Alex, and as the heat intensifies, I run toward the only escape in the room.

Fire takes hold of the cabin with a punishing violence, consuming the dry, timeworn wood like rain drops in a parched desert. The walls crackle. Thick smoke billows down the stairway as I race ahead of the flames.

Panicked, I grab an armful of clothes from the cot. Using a shirt to cover my nose and mouth, I start toward the storm door, pausing at the stairway entrance just long enough to look for Alex.

A loudpopspits out, and I dash toward the basement stairs, using the key to unlock the chain and sliding the bar aside. I cough to clear my lungs as I make it free of the basement.

Looking back once, I watch the plumes of smoke rise into the morning sky like dark storm clouds. There’s no other way out. Alex is trapped in that blaze.

And I left him there.

A sick weight pulls at my stomach. With trembling hands, I slip on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, then I shove all doubt away as I follow the trail toward the other side of the river.

The fear of Alex emerging from behind a tree chases me at the corner of my mind. Every shadow, every snap of a twig, causes my heart rate to spike. It’s a twisted mix of dread and relief, and it forces my legs to move faster.

My bare feet hit every bramble and thorny vine, but the adrenaline coursing my bloodstream numbs the pain. My mind turns obsessive as I search for the vehicle.

Another loud explosion from the cabin shakes the ground, and a root reaches up to snag my foot. I trip and fall face-first into the dirt. A pungent earthy smell assaults my senses as I glance around at all the spongy mushroom heads.

Classic, I think, as I use the heels of my hands to push onto my knees. The final girl fleeing the bad guy trips during her escape.

Some foreign ache burrows into the hollow of my chest.Guilt. Alex may have been the villain, but that doesn’t make me the hero.

I left him.

Sharp pain stabs my hand. I curse and dust the dirt off my palm to inspect the cut, my gaze trailing to the offending object protruding out of the ground. “Shit.”

With an unsteady hand, I swipe at the mushrooms, knocking off their pinkish-brown caps to expose the rich soil. Not just any crop of mushrooms—ghoul fungus—the kind that grows over dead things.

My breath stalls as I catch sight of the bleached bone.

A terrifying realization that this bone doesn’t belong to an animal seizes me, and as I look around, I know exactly where I’ve stumbled.

This is a graveyard.

What’s left of Alex’s subjects that couldn’t be dissolved by chemicals lie here, waiting for the earth to decompose their remains. An ill feeling sweeps through me as I realize I would’ve been next.

With sheer willpower, I’m back on my feet and running toward a thick row of trees. I reach the other side and, nearly falling to my knees, I find a black truck. Oh, my god. There’s really a fucking truck. I get the door unlocked and hoist myself into the driver’s seat. My hands shake as I key the ignition.

The engine cranks.

I close my eyes in relief. One second to center myself, then I drive the truck through the cut of the forest.

Once I’m free of the woods, I steer onto a paved road and a frantic laugh tumbles free. I have no idea where I’m going or where this road leads, but it’s not important. For the first time, there is absolutely no plan—just the desire to keep going.

I drive until the last wave of adrenaline is depleted from my system. I sense a hard crash coming on. My eyelids are heavy, my body is beginning to ache. Every cut, bruise, and injury makes itself painfully known. I turn the stereo on to find a song to keep me awake and distracted.

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