A l e x Garcia
#3a0a4d
He also hadnāt been sleeping, and when he did, he had nightmares. These were different than the ones heād had before. In the weeks past heād dreamt mostly of wide scale death and destruction, but now his dreams were more personal, even somewhat disturbing in their scope. Alex knew what most of them meant, but he didnāt want to face the truth. He was too exhausted to face the truth, but he knew he needed to pull himself together, or he wouldnāt survive the next attack.
While the rest of the town went about their evenings, Alex found himself sitting on his bed the moment heād returned home from work. He felt completely drained, though heād only intended to rest for a moment. But his head felt so heavy, almost as if he hadnāt been holding it up his entire life, and he found himself lying down, just for a moment, heād said to himself. But his eyes wouldnāt stay open, and he felt himself drifting to sleep, feeling very much as if he were floating away, losing controlā¦
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Alex opened his eyes. All around him, there was a murky darkness, the kind where you can feel things floating just in front of you, but he couldnāt see a thing. His head was swimming, and he felt like, if he tried, he could swim in the thickness of the air around him. Then he heard the music: soft, instrumental, and vaguely celebratory. As he walked in its general direction, he found himself thinking, Am I dreaming? The fact that he even thought to ask was how he knew he wasnāt.
As he walked, and though at first the darkness seemed to stretch on forever, he noticed a small pinhole of light punching through the darkness; like a petulant child, demanding to be heard. To be noticed. He adjusted his course in that direction, though he wasnāt sure if it was because he wanted to, or because he didnāt have another choice. Either way, he walked for what seemed like an eternity before he came upon an ancient, wooden door. He recognized the song, then, and wondered what would be waiting for him beyond the door. He hesitated, for a moment, wondering if it would just be better to ignore it. This felt just like it always did when the spirits sent him a warning from beyond, but he didn't know if he wanted to understand. What kind of warning would they have for him at a wedding?
When he pushed the door open, he found himself outside, in a clearing in the woods. He knew it well, he went there often to think, and after he'd been attacked, he'd nearly gone there to let his immortal soul meet it's end. Today it seemed larger than possible, and filled with people. They were all sitting in folding chairs, dressed impeccably. Ahead of him was a wedding arch, beautifully decorated with twisting ivy, various white flowers, and deep red roses. A thousand thoughts crossed his mind, but the one that stuck was the reality that this was his wedding.
Something external propelled him forward, and kept him from looking to see the faces of the people in the crowd. He saw them in her peripheral vision, but couldnāt make out anything- or anyone- specific. When he reached the front, he stood, alone, for what seemed like an eternity, until someone appeared at his side. The excessive material of her dress brushed against his leg, but he couldnāt bring himself to turn his head, to get even a glimpse in her direction.
Then, all at once, he turned, lifted up the veil, and took in his new bride. She stood, lips cracked and thin- but spread into a wide smile. Where her eyes should have been were maggots, and her flesh in various states of decay. If Alex had ever met her, she was far beyond recognition. His head began to spin, and he looked out into the crowd, half filled with his friends and family, the rest resembling the woman by his side. Fire began to slowly fall on them all, as if sent as some sort of judgement from the heavens, and yet no one moved or even flinched. They were totally unfazed. One by one, however, they all began to decay. It started slowly, but quickly spread, like a plague among the living, until he was the only one left untouched. He turned to look at his bride, who was unfazed, and patiently waiting for him, and when he looked back at their guests, they all began to fade away, like a memory being slowly forgotten, until it was just the three of them left.
Alex, his undead bride, and a terrifying sense of urgency.