'This little shit’.

Those were the only words that crossed Jason's mind. For the past few months his food, his weapons, and even his medical supplies had been stolen forcing him to beg to the greedy committee for more. He knew it was Daniel under the mask his voice may have gotten raspier but it was the same kid who would run errands for him. The same little shit that was such a pushover that he whipped himself to be his friend. Jason stared ad Daniel his once short brown hair turned long while his white mask sat cheekily on his face. It was disturbing. Jason never had someone buck up to him.

He could always skirt by on his charms and looks but now, it seemed as if the Daniel that he used to know was gone, and in his place stood the mask. Yet Jason knew he could sway him to his side no matter what he would always be the needy little kid desperate for friends. “Hey Danny boy how’s it going” Jason happily went to put his arm around his neck like he used to do in the past yet just as he did a large smoldering hound came to bite him. Pulling his arm away Daniel soothed the hound with a hand way while the rest of his body remained fixed. Like a statue frozen in place. Clearing his throat Jason knew he had to keep trying “that's a real nice clan you got there, whatcha been up to lately?”

“Oh you know it’s' been a long time and I've been really busy being dead. You know after you murdered me, but it’s all right now I'm fine” for a second Jason could've sworn Daniel was reaching for his neck but it simply went to his hood releasing the unnatural length of hair hidden beneath.

Jason was ready to start choking the little rat that stood before him but he knew the second he did that the dog would try to bite his arm off. “Well Danny boy why don't we team up, I'm sure I can ask the committee to give you some-” but Daniel held a lone pale finger to his lips before cautiously pulling it back. “Look, we both said a lot of things you're going to regret but don't worry it will all be over soon”. Whipping around on his heel Daniel began to walk off as the rats around him began to swarm to the nearest exits but Jason wasn't having it. Gritting his teeth together Jason drew the kitchen knife strapped to his side and made a mad dash for Daniel, yet it wasn't until he was in the midst of the crowd that he noticed the range of blades all pointing at him. For once he could see no way out of this until Daniel interjected: “wait, lower your weapons he means no harm”.

Slowly each member lowered their weapons leaving Jason to stand stationary as Daniel made his way towards him “you know, I should really thank you. If you hadn't murdered me I wouldn't have such a good life. I wouldn't have loving parents. Hell, I wouldn't have a loving sister to look forward to so thank you, Jason. Thank you for killing the weak me”.

Boiling with rage Jason listened as the blood pumped through his body. His breathing growing short and heavy as he said through gritted teeth “I didn't fucking kill you”.

“Oh yes, you did Jason and now it’s time to repay the favor” as Daniel wrapped his hands around Jason's neck he could feel a shiver roll down his spine. His hands were calloused and rough like wooden beads while his fingers felt like shards of melting ice closing around his throat. Trying to think of something anything to say to save himself yet only an estranged noise left his lips, no matter how hard he looked he saw no trace of the Daniel he used to know.

“Psycho drain.”

“Crack!”

Daniel slowly pried his hands from Jason's neck watching as his body followed suit, he practiced that move for a while. Using psycho drain’s push back feature finding it always hits center mass and never the whole body. Daniel looked at Jason with a warming sense of pride. It was over. Picking up his knife Daniel continued his exit as no speech was needed, the actions spoke for themselves.

Jumping with a start Max saw she was still in the courtyard, the area covered in bodies and an unsettling odor. Slumping back against the wall she turned to see a jock or what was left of him as flies buzzed around his carcass. His body looking like a diced meat mango roughly cubed squares of meat spaced apart yet still together. Max tried to move her arms, her legs, but nothing happened.

Her arms were strained and heavy while pins and needles flooded the lengths of her legs, leaving her to sit and stare at the glimmering night sky. ‘Now what?” exhaustion ran through Max's body its weight bogging down her movement yet her mid still raced a mile a minute. She had no clan to protect her, no friends to help her, and no real way of surviving. Something rumbled in Max's throat, it was warm and hearty. It climbed its way through her throat before exploding in a torrent of laughter, seeing as that all she could do. She could only laugh at the solemn predicament she found herself in. there was nothing else she could do. Turning tor to corpse Max simply stopped thinking and let her mouth flap carelessly. “You wanna know something, I was a very stupid person. You know, I mean really stupid I mean borderline retarded cause guess what. I thought I was special.”

“I thought I was being unique and true to myself when I made the big switch. I thought I was being bold, and guess what? Nobody gave a shit! All those years of feeling like I had a secret like everyone was talking behind my back were years wasted. Brain cells misplaced in a vain attempt of self-importance”

“Then this whole apocalypse thing comes and I find people who I think are my friends only to find I'm just some third wheel sideshow hack for people the coddle and support. And now look at me. My friends are dead, my supposed leader is crying in her little pity corner and I'm sitting in a field of fucking corpses. Ain't that fucked up?! And to top it all off I'm probably going to die in here without seeing my parents again. I'm just stuck in this fucking hell hole with no way out and in the end, the only person to have ever listened to me is a dead guy.”

Max could feel her voice leaving her as tears streamed down her face, each shimmering in the starlight like glimmers of hope finally leaving her eyes.

The war was over.

The rats had won.