The revelation of the moss was hanging heavy on my mind. Logically, I knew it was possible that I had completely blanked out on something. That, maybe I might have found a nice clear spring to drink untainted water. However, I was smart enough to know that it was about as likely as having found a four-star restaurant and having a full eight course dinner in the middle of the forest.

The other option was that I might have eaten some critter or other. Which also did not sit well with me, but the potential made me feel instantly nauseous.

“Maybe… you heal…?” Rowan asked in a hesitant tone.

“Yeah…. Don’t think a healing factor is going to help me fight off starvation or dehydration.” I muttered. “I… I don’t think… How is this possible? Like… how does this even happen?”

“Rain… were you… in the rain?”

My mind flicked back to standing out in the rain at the airport. How I had held my hand out and caught several of the crystal drops. It played over and over in my head. Other people had been avoiding the rain. Trying to hide from it. I was one step short of doing a personal musical.

“You think the rain did this?” I asked, my voice still barely louder than a whisper.

“Yes.” Rowan shifted a little in the dark. “Things changed… with rain.”

I groaned and rubbed my face before speaking. “I was out in it. After my plane got here, I stood out in it.”

“Then… you changed.”

“I’m… not going to grow another mouth or want to eat people, am I?”

“I don’t know.” Rowan’s voice was hesitant for a brief second before there was a sudden surge of confidence that I did not share. “Probably would… want to eat me… on Highway if you… wanted to eat people.”

Eat.

I blinked and turned my head towards Rowan. Three weeks without food should have killed me. Should have left me feeling weak and like I was going to die. Yet, I had carried Rowan for hours. Even ran with them. I did not feel at all like I had been starving.

“R…Rowan…” I somehow managed to talk in an even quieter voice that was barely audible. “Do… do you think I ate something while affected by the moss?”

“….Yes.”

“You said that awfully quickly.”

“Have… you not looked… in a mirror?” Rowan asked.

“Uh… no?” The absurdity of that question made me speak like a normal person. “Why?”

“When… the sun is up… look in the mirror.” Rowan answered. “You look… well… you’ll see.”

I frowned but said nothing in response. It was not clear if this was Rowan’s attempt to distract me from thinking about the fact that I had survived the supposedly unsurvivable and that there was a gigantic monster sleeping just a room over. It just had me not wanting to talk any longer.

Rowan said nothing for the next few minutes, but then I heard the soft snores from the other end of the couch and knew he had fallen asleep. That just made me stare harder in the dark.

“Really? You can sleep with that thing in there?” I muttered.

The snoring was my answer, which just made me sigh.

I tried to close my eyes and sleep, but it felt like I was just sitting there for hours. My mind kept revolving over everything that I had heard and witnessed. Everything that Rowan had said about me and the moss. It did not help that every time I dozed off, I’d see that guy explode in all his technicolor glory and jolt back awake.

Maybe I did sleep, but I finally gave up trying when I noticed the room beginning to lighten. There were no windows here in the living room. There was light shining through the busted bedroom door and from the kitchen. Enough for me to make out other things in the living room.

Rowan had fallen sideways on the couch, half leaning over the arm in a position that did not look comfortable. That red film over their skin had darkened a little. No longer looking as soft as it had before. The skin on their face had grown back enough that they looked more like a person. They just happened to look like they were wearing a mask. Their skin was tight, as if there was no fat beneath it.

I almost preferred how they looked without the skin. A thought that instantly grossed me out and made me look away.

Climbing off the couch, I sighed to myself and wondered what this day was going to bring. It could not be any weirder or more horrifying than anything that came before it. Which I was not sure if that thought was comforting or not.

I rubbed my face and remembered what Rowan said about looking in a mirror. Letting out a stressed breath of air, I strode for the bathroom.

Tentatively, I pulled open the door and stepped inside. There was no window in the bathroom. I had to leave the door open to get enough light to see. It was far dimmer than the living room, but there was enough that I got a clear glimpse of my face in the mirror. A glimpse that made me let out a terrified squeak.

I looked straight from a haunted house. My hair was, thankfully, unmatted, but sticks and leaves were stuck all akimbo throughout it. A dark brown stain covered nearly my entire face. A shade that got darker towards my mouth. A few bruises lay under that and made me look like some kind of mottled abstract painting.

Glancing down, I could see that there were rips in my jacket that I had seemingly never noticed. Those brownish stains also flecked over the material before it became a solid stain from the elbows to my wrists. Even my hands were not clean.

“Oh no. Oh, no. Oh no, no.” I felt a rising sense of panic. I knew what was usually that color. Anyone who had scraped their knees on a walk would know that color.

I had dried blood all over me, nearly from head to toe.

How… how did I… where…

Panic set in as I wracked my brains and tried to rationalize my appearance. I had jumped from the car, killed the hare-creature and then found Rowan.

Maybe… maybe the blood was from Rowan?

I knew some of the blood had to be from the first two events, but there was just too much for it to be from only them. The idea that it might have been Rowan’s blood from when I was carrying them calmed me a little.

As long as I did not think about how the blood on my outfit was heavy on both sides of my body.

“Ava?” Rowan’s voice was a little panicky. Which somehow managed to calm me down a little more.

“Here. Just… in the bathroom.” I answered.

Rowan did not respond, but I could hear the faintest whine from the bedroom. It seemed the wendigo-creature had not left yet.

Which brought my panic right back up to eleven.

I had no idea what I was supposed to do about that creature. Even if it was acting friendly, there was still the chance it could go like any hungry big carnivore and see me as a snack. The only thing I could think of was that I hoped it was not hungry. I did not have long to think as the sudden screech of metal went up my spine like nails down a chalkboard.

Hurrying to the bedroom, I saw that the creature had pushed open the bars once more and climbed out. It looked back at me with a slightly indignant look before it forced the bars to close like it was closing a door. The creature made a few other noises at me like it was trying to tell me something before it huffed and then dropped off the fire escape.

I strode to the window and realized that there was now no room for a normal-sized person to get out the window. It had bent the bars back in such a way as to block the hole off.

“Wonder… what it wants.” Rowan’s voice came from behind me.

I whirled in panic to discover them standing by the edge of the couch. They had both hands on the arm of the couch, using it to keep themselves upright. Their legs were wobbling, but they managed to keep standing.

“I’m hoping it went off to feed itself.” I said. “As I don’t want to be the alternative meal.”

“Maybe.” Rowan said before their stomach growled. “You… wouldn’t happen to have food?”

“Oh… yeah… I don’t have anything that hasn’t expired without keeping cold.” I thought about what was in my fridge and my sparse cupboards.

“Oh.” Rowan said with a sigh.

“I’m going to see if there is anything left in the little store across the road.” I motioned to the door as if thinking about robbing my neighbor was perfectly normal.

The little store was nothing major. Just a simple “Mom and Pop” convenience store that had managed to survive the change into franchises and international companies. Mostly thanks to the apartment buildings nearby and all the hungry college students who lived there.

Had lived there.

I corrected my thinking. I sincerely doubted any of my neighbors were still around.

“Okay… I would go with you…” Rowan said in a helpless tone.

“Eh, no worries. Not like there is going to be much to grab.” I answered.

If things played out like they did in the horror movies, people had probably already vandalized the store and taken whatever goods were there. I was just hoping that there was something that did not require fire to cook with.

Even crackers would be good at this point.

“I’ll be here.” Rowan laughed. This time, it sounded like a laugh and was not rough in my ears.

“Yeah.” I answered while shaking my head. I walked quickly to the door and stepped out into the hallway. The only sound following me was that of the small click when the door closed.

There was another reason why I wanted to get out of the apartment. Staying in there and doing nothing would make me think too much. Especially about where all this mess on me might have come from. I just did not want to think about that or anything else at this point.

I took a breath as I leaned against the door for a moment before looking at the hall before me. I did not really get a chance to look when we had run inside, but now I could see that the hallway was a little messed up.

It looked like people had abandoned their things in a hurry. Including garbage. Some of it was strewn loosely across the floor. Clearly, people had just tossed things as they left the building. I had the feeling that people might have filled some bags with belongings and piled them haphazardly about. I just did not have the inclination to check.

There was not much of a distance between my apartment and the stairwell, but all the doors I passed were closed. There were no sounds. Nothing at all to hint that there might be other people in the apartment building or on this floor.

Figuring out what became of my neighbors was not very high on my list of things to do, so I continued on my way. It was not long before I reached the ground floor. I stopped long enough at the front door to peek out the windows. The street was just as empty as it had been when we came barreling in. There was no sign of people, monsters, or even cars.

I took another deep breath to psych myself up before I quietly pulled open the door and stepped outside. Like a little kid learning how to cross the road, I cautiously looked to the left and then to the right down the street.

It was still empty.

Sighing in relief, I crossed over to the other side.

The convenience store was much how I expected it. Someone had smashed open the front door. While most of the debris was gone, there were still some broken pieces of glass. It was almost as if someone had tried to clean it up before they left.

I did my best to step over the mess. I did not want to make any noise in case it attracted something. Not that I knew if there was anything inside the store, but that was always how it happened in movies. There would be something lurking in the back, just waiting for the scavenger to make the wrong move, and then it would be the end for that character.

I definitely did not want to be that guy.

Alright… if I was food…

I looked towards the various small aisles. There was the typical junk food still sitting on the shelves. Bars, chips, even those overpriced beef jerky sticks. Further back, I could see packs of ramen- the food of choice for poor college kids everywhere- and assorted cereals.

Cautiously, I walked further into the store. I made a point of checking down each aisle before I even considered the idea of what to take. Perhaps it was an instinct or maybe I just watched too many movies, but I did not think it would hurt to be extra careful.

Once I was certain there was nothing hiding between the aisles, I walked over to the cashier’s station. The little displays had been all knocked over. Everything lay strewn over the counter. Gift cards, packs of gum, even cigarettes. I let out a breath of relief when it was clear there was nothing crouching on the other side of the counter. That it was just that mess.

Sliding behind it, I grabbed a few of the plastic bags that were wedged in one of the shelves. Even though the government had rolled out a policy of plastic reduction, I knew the shop still had these. Just in case someone forgot their reusable bags.

From there, I moved strategically through the aisles. I quickly but quietly filled one bag with beef jerky and cereal. Then I went further back to the coolers. It was not all that surprising to find that almost all the water was gone. Thankfully, I found some sports drinks. I filled my other bag with water and sports drinks.

I turned and was halfway to the exit when I suddenly remembered the lack of lighting at night. I placed the bags on the floor and immediately moved back to look at the “housewares” section of the store.

It was the kind of stuff a person would need but might not want to go to a bigger store for. Like small packs of clothes detergent. I rummaged about for several long minutes before I found some candles and those little tea-lights that need batteries.

I shoved a couple in the bag with the food before I grabbed my bags and quickly moved for the exit.

Like leaving the apartment, I stopped to peek down the street in both directions. Just a cautious look. And like earlier, there was nothing.

Only my attention became caught by the sight of one of those newspaper boxes. The kind that had today’s newspaper on display where you could put a coin in to get a newspaper. There, in all its glory, was the last newspaper printed before the city went belly up.

GOVERNMENT ISSUES BOIL ORDER

That was the main headline but the picture below it was of people trying to leave the city. I couldn’t make out any of the words below because someone purposely folded the display newspaper to showcase that sensational header and not much else.

I chewed on my lip for a moment before deciding I wanted the paper. I needed to know what had happened in the city and that might be a better source of information than Rowan. I certainly hoped there would be more information.

Rummaging through my pocket, I managed to find enough change to pop open the box. I reached in to pull out the newspaper before I froze. Sitting on the very top of the pile of newspapers were three little lengths of what looked like beef jerky. Only the stack of newspapers beneath them had all become dark brown.

Morbid curiosity wanted me to pick them up, but I only pulled one of the bottom newspapers out and caused the things to roll. My breath stuck in my throat as I realized bone was sticking out of the end of one of them.

Instantly, it clicked in my mind what they were, and I screamed.

Fingers.

They were human fingers.