Rohan

Tuesday, May 31st, 2022 (70 days after the Shutdown)

Weeks worth of precipitation came in a torrential downpour. Droplets as large as his fist rattled the shutters and hammered the roof, filling the house with perpetual white noise.

Water.

His body quivered as he watched streams of the life-sustaining substance rolling down Daliah’s window. It was the most valuable resource yet one of the most scarce. There was a river with its tributaries a couple of kilometers away but imagine trying to regularly avoid Sorrows while hauling enough water to hydrate 49 people. On the best of days, each person in the school could barely manage to drink a cup of water.

Tentatively taking steps forward, Rohan’s fingers fumbled on the window latch, his body threatening to capitulate unless he reached the rain. As he lifted the window, water drenched his clothes, leaving him shivering as it trickled down his arms.

His body’s reaction was immediate. His skin greedily sucked at the rain until he began to sweat brown fluid profusely. Like his eyes had been the first time he’d activated the thermal vision, needles danced upon his skin as if a change was upon him. Ah fuck, not here.

Remembering the albino snake’s warning to not restrain the process, he carefully leaned his upper half out the window. The rain grew stronger as drops the size of golf balls began drumming into him.

His body began its purification cycle. In. Out. In. Out. Water was absorbed and the brown fluid was ejected. Opening his mouth, his cracked lips stung as rain struck it but the exultation as it ran down his parched throat made it worth it.

From past experience, he gripped the edges of the windows and braced himself for the nauseating pain. Muscles and tendons stretched under his skin and as it did so, his paper-thin skin recovered its original elasticity. His shirt finally clung to him, no longer obstructed by the ribs that protruded from his skin. Panting in anticipation, the pain he expected never came.

***

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!”

Rohan woke up clutching his head, a vise-like pain around his temples and the back of his head. Clenching his teeth, an electric pain flared behind his eyes as he realized where he was. He was on the bottom floor of the house and above him, the soldiers that came with him were scowling, their clothes soaked and a puddle forming around them.

“If you want to commit suicide do that on your own time, not when there are other people with you!” the lieutenant bellowed.

Suicide? Why would I— Feeling the back of his head, his hand drew blood.

“Tholl, leave off on the kid—”

“WHY?! We had to risk our lives for this shit head and he’s not a kid. He’s 18 which means he is responsible enough to know that you shouldn’t jump out of a fuckin’ window!”

Jump? Trying to recall his last moments conscious, all he remembered was hanging out of a window while his mutated body hydrated itself. Did I black out? Then what happened to my evolution thing?

A list of worries started to queue in his head but at the forefront was that if he didn’t know the change he’d been through, there was no way to control it. Even if it was an accident, he knew the thermal eyes existed meaning he could try and train them. But since these changes were by luck, if you missed out on one, trying to use it would be like searching your house for an object you never had. Chewing on his lip as he contemplated what the power could be, a pair of stormy gray eyes stared at him. On the steps Daliah, the toddler they found had gone through a makeover.

Her skin, teeth, and hands had been washed of the blood so she no longer looked like a wendigo and her freshly rinsed hair had a single baby braid adorning it.

“Look at him! He’s not even paying attention! And now we have to head back without having secured any supplies.”

Frowning at those words, Rohan asked, “How? I thought there were Sorrows surrounding this house.”

Flexing his fist, the lieutenant took a deep breath. “No. They’re weak to the rain. That’s how we were able to save you. While they’re incapacitated, this might be our only chance to escape. If we find something to eat along the way, we’ll grab it and go.”

“Tholl, we still have to decide what to do with the kid. We can’t just leave her here to die,” Private Molino interjected as the rest of them got ready to leave.

“... Claire, we can’t just take her. However heartless it seems, we’re not qualified to care for her. Someone else will come along eventually, someone better than us,” Tholl sighed, turning his attention to the other soldiers. “Let’s—”

“And if they don’t. You saw what happened with her parents. They left her alone and gave her a rotting dog to eat. We are better.”

“Are you going to care for her? Will you give your food to her?”

“...”

“That’s what I thought. Braun, secure the dog food. That might last—”

“Rohan and I will take care of her!” she declared.

Rohan who’d been spectating the exchange gaped at the mention of his name. Wait… wait one second here. When did I agree to that?

“Deal. But you’ll have to explain to Major Hogue why we rescued a toddler when we can barely take care of ourselves.”

Sputtering, Rohan managed to protest, “E-Excuse me—”

“If there’s nothing else, we have to go before the rain lets up,” the lieutenant announced, completely blindsiding him.

What the hell is this injustice?!

Unable to voice his dissent, he was dragged along as the squad charged out of the home. Even after two hours, the rain hadn’t reduced to a drizzle. Covering his head as he ran, he understood what the lieutenant meant by “incapacitated”.

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Like they were in a trance, the Sorrows didn’t even react as the group ran past them, appearing as if their preceptory senses had stopped working. By the time they arrived at the school, not a single Sorrow had followed them.

Slipping away from the group as they introduced Daliah to the major, he made his way upstairs. Apart from the missing garbage and recycling bins that had been taken to the roof, Room 212 was as neglected as always which was just how he liked it.

Listening to the hymns they sang to the rain, he studied a Sorrow that was standing placidly as it was pelted by water. On the run here, he thought he might’ve gotten some insight into his latest modification. His body had slightly filled out, adjusting to his larger frame and though he’d shied away from conventional exercises, his muscles pressed against his skin and his body was more elastic.

I can’t cover this one up. He’d successfully avoided any questions about his physical appearance by claiming ignorance but with everyone else starving, skeptical eyes would turn to him and wonder how the scrawniest amongst them had thrived in these conditions. But this can’t be it. Sticking his arm out the window, he couldn’t feel the purification process anymore as the rain struck it. If mass cannot be created or destroyed then where the hell did it come from?

Cupping his hand, rain pooled in the creases of his palm. Could it be alchemy? I don’t know how it works but that could explain it. He dribbled the contents of his hand into the wilted beanstalk. As the aurora borealis foreshadowed the first Sorrws, the first rain since the Shutdown was surely a prelude for the next wave of the apocalypse. He had to get a hold of his body before it was too late.

Wednesday, June 1st, 2022 (71 days after the Shutdown)

Something had woken him up. No, it would be more accurate to say someone. All of last night had been spent trying to convince a four-year-old that it was in both of their interest to fall asleep.

After having officially been assigned to him and him alone as Private Molino was "indispensable", he glumly stared at her as she wolfed down a porridge made of dog kibble and boiled water they’d been collecting since yesterday. Rohan stuck to the spoilt vegetables no one else could stomach.

As soon as dinner was over, Laura and Peyton gushed over the little devil but apologized and declined the responsibility when he offered.

“What do you want?” he growled as she continued to poke him. Rolling over on the couches in Room 212, her expressionless face was centimeters from his. “Gahh! What the heck is your problem?!”

“I have to pee.”

“Why are you telling me this? Please don't tell me you're not potty trained.”

“... I-I don't know where tha washroom is.”

Ah. That's a problem.

Grumbling under his breath, he led her to the washrooms and waited outside. Daybreak's glow was uncharacteristically hazy, with most of the school still covered in a tapestry of grays. Yawning, he slumped against the lockers.

Feeling his consciousness ebbing away, for a second he thought he saw something move across a window. Before he could check it out Daliah had concluded her business and his investigative thoughts immediately rolled over and begged for sleep. Who was he to refuse such a noble request?

Returning to Room 212, he threw himself onto the couches without a care in the world.

***

Noises outside had woken him up again. Eyes burning as he cracked them open, a crowd of people were frantically sealing the doors.

“Don't let them in!” someone shrieked.

Sorrows?! The nearest people flinched as he jumped to his feet.

“How did the Sorrows get in? They can't come up the stairs.”

“Ha! These ones float so stairs don't mean much,” a soldier trilled.

“These ones”? There's more of them?

Eyes widening, the soldier reached for someone past Rohan.

“No, little girl! Don't open— Get away from there! STOP!” he screamed.

Daliah was struggling with the window handle. Squeezing it till her arms trembled, the window popped open and she fell backward off the table. Just before the soldier slammed it shut, one of them slipped in.

Daliah, who bumped her head on the floor, was howling in tears while everyone else had already abandoned the room to the little creature. Walking past her, he stared at the beanstalk the soldier had knocked over. … I'm going to kill him. Tenderly refilling the dirt that had fallen out, he sat it back on the window sill.

“Oi, can you shut up?! Screaming doesn't make the pain go away!”

If she heard him, Daliah gave no indication. Crying with renewed strength, Rohan awkwardly waited for her to tire out.

“Are you done?” he plainly asked after her concert of tears had drawn its curtains.

Sniffling as she regained composure, she muttered, “You a meanie.”

“You, and most of the people here. Find something more original.”

“You look stupid.”

“Getting better but at least I'm not stupid. What did you think would happen if you opened that window?” he inquired.

The little Sorrow was resting peacefully on the little girl's head. They don’t turn people? Kneeling to get a better look, he noted it was more akin to jellyfish than their relatives outside; its tiny, translucent body was the size of an adult's fist and it traveled in a linear path, up and down.

“Did you open the door because you knew that they don't infect people?”

Wiping her tears, a trail of mucus clung to her hand.

“N-No, they were telling me they wanted to come in.”

Stunned by how straightforward her answer was, he paused before answering. “So… If a stranger were to knock on your door and tell them to follow you, would you?”

“But… you're a stranger.”

Touché. “Nevermind— Wait did you just say they talked to you? How?”

“I don't know. I just heard voices.”

That's not a lot of information. “Can you talk back to it? Try and get it to float on your hand.”

Nodding, she closed her eyes and reopened them a second later. “I don't know how.”

… Bruh. You didn't even try. Trying to decide the best way to guide her in something he had zero expertise in, a soldier peeked through the doorway.

“You guys can come out now, oh...,” realizing that one of them was playing with a baby Sorrow. “Well, yeah, they’re harmless.”

Hoping to slip away while the child was occupied, Daliah waddled up to him before he could make a clean escape. Grabbing his finger, she walked beside Rohan as he followed the soldier. Trying to pull his finger away, she tightened his grip. Ah, so close yet so far. If I kicked her to get away, would I get in trouble?

Near every window they’d passed by, students, soldiers, and teachers had at least 10 of the light-gray Sorrows frolicking around them. Yet their attention was directed outside. In numbers they hadn’t appeared in before, dozens of dark-gray, amorphous Sorrows stood in rows. That, or a large chuck of a cloud had fallen to Earth.

“Why does it feel like they're staring at us?” Rohan asked.

“They’re waiting. The Faeries attracted them here,” someone amongst the crowd replied.

“Aren’t fairies supposed to be good in folklore?”

Rohan watched the soldier fidget with his holster.

“Not these ones. Nope. It doesn’t matter that we’re inside anymore, these things are fucking beacons,” he said, knocking away the nearest Faeries only for them to float back. “And if you were thinking about it, don’t bother checking out the front. It's the same all around and no amount of people going to the roof will put a dent in that. Hell… they’ve turned this into a waiting game, and we’re one spark away from this whole matchbox setting aflame.”