Radioactive - Book 1: Birth 🪼

Twenty Six

"I'm going to go get some ice." R says and I nod.
When he leaves, I quickly grab the Nexenaf and take the required dosage. I feel myself calming down almost immediately and I'll have to think Mr. A for buying this for me. When we get to another rest area I'll have to buy some more. I feel ashamed about what happened in the car, making R feel like the bad guy in the situation. I just wanted him to understand how I felt while he was gone. He's the last friend- no, not even a friend anymore. He's family. He's the older brother I lost but finally gained back. He's not just my friend anymore but my brother... I laugh because now that I think about it, I bet that hotel owner thought we were a couple or something.
The door opens and R walks in as I'm laughing.
"What are you laughing about?"
"It just hit me that the hotel owner and that guy who came to repair the window at the other hotel probably thought that we were a couple."
R thought about it for a moment and grinned. "I guess the comment the recent hotel owner said would make sense then."
"What, what did he say?"
"He asked if we wanted one or two rooms and I said one then he said, "I have a standard room with a king." And I said, "We need separate beds." And he said, "Have a fight?" I thought he was just being a dick but that actually makes sense now!"
He starts laughing harder and doubles over. It's good to see him laughing again. It makes him look more like him, more alive. He gets a hold of himself and wipes his eyes.
"Oh my god, we should play this thing out."
"Why?"
"It's funny. We have to act like we're fighting if we're around him."
"You're cruel." I say with a small laugh.
He laughs too when there is a knock on the door. R looks over in suspicion and puts his finger to his mouth. He walks over to the door and looks out the peep hole and then opens the door.
"Yes, how can I help you?"
"Good evening, the hotel owner wanted to know if you would be ordering any room service today as the kitchen will be closing soon." A deep but smooth voice says from the other side of the door.
"So soon? It's only- holy shit! It's 9:30!" he yells, looking at his phone. "Um, Nalak, are you hungry?"
"No, not really... Hurry and close the door." I say, getting an eerie feeling in the pit of my stomach.
R gives me a look but looks back at whoever is asking.
"No I think we'll be good for the night."
"I'll let him know."
I can feel him leaving and I breathe out, not realizing I am holding my breath.
"What was that about?" R says, looking at me.
"I don't know. For some reason I felt something hostile about him. Like a threat."
"Really? He seemed super nice."
"So did Ted Bundy."
"True..." R yawns and goes to the bathroom. "I'm going to take a bath. Don't get weird on me and stuff."
"I can't guarantee that. Just tell me I can't come into the bathroom."
R frowns. "The last time-"
"It's different now. We're all normal. You're normal; I'm not fighting a large craving..."
R looks skeptical but nods. "Don't come into the bathroom."
I feel his control over me and I nod. He goes into the bathroom and I can tell immediately when he gets into the shower, his scent exploding into the room a breakneck speed. My stomach growls and I put my hand on it. I then remember that there is a life within me now and I smile slightly. I have to tell Ramey at some point but I don't know when would be a good time. I just don't want him to get mad at me... I mean, he can never carry a child now and I don't want him to feel bad...
I hear a weird noise outside and go to the window to see what it is. Usually I wouldn't care but this noise isn't natural. It's... weird... I go to the side of the window and pull the curtain a little to look out and feel my already pale skin getting paler.
"Oh my god..."

********************

R
As I take my shower, I jump when I hear Nalak suddenly knock on the door frantically.
"R, let me in." he says.
"I'm not falling-"
"Seriously! This isn't me trying to eat you. There's something weird happening outside."
"Well hold on, I'm almost done."
"No! Don't come out here! We need to hide!"
"What? Ugh, hold on."
I finish washing the soap off of me and turn the water off, grabbing a towel. I wrap the towel around me and open up the door. When I step out I feel Nalak press his face to my shoulder and I look over at him. He looks at me innocently and I feel his teeth settle on my skin but they don't do anything, just nip really.
"Are you kidding me?" I say with a frown.
"You're magically delicious..." He shakes his head and pulls away. "Sorry, not the point. The point is that those things from my house are here."
"What?"
"I know it sounds weird, but don't do anything quickly. Walk super slow and come to the window."
I do as he said, grabbing a pair of underwear while I'm at it, and go to the window.
"Don't make any sudden movements or talk loud but gently pull back the curtain."
I do as he says and pull back a little of the curtain but I don't see anything.
"I don't see-"
"Wait a second." He whispers.
I wait and sure enough, after a couple seconds, I see something lurching around in the courtyard of the hotel. I can hardly see it because it's so dark (both the night and the creature) but I see its eyes glow in the lights from the hotel and gasp, pulling back.
"What the fuck?" I say softly. "Are they following us? And how come you smelled them last time but not this time? You seem just as surprised as me."
"I think they may be wearing some sort of lavender-based stuff. I only heard the noise like they made in my house so that's why I went to the window. We have to get out of here, R."
"In my skivvies?"
Nalak makes a face at me. "Really?"
"Well last time you didn't hesitate to leave so I mean..."
"Ugh, put some clothes on." He hisses.
I go to the suitcase and get dressed as Nalak continues to stand watch at the window. When I'm done, I zip up the suitcases and go back to him.
"So what do we do? Do we run for it?"
"Last time there were only three but all I've seen is one so far. That means that the others are... elsewhere..."
The sudden banging on our door gives us such a fright that we can't even scream. We look at each other when the person on the other side bangs on the door again.
"Hello? Is there anyone there?! Please, let me in! There's monsters out here! They ate the hotel manager and the kitchen crew! Please! Anyone!"
Nalak grabs me and pulls me to him and I look at him in confusion.
Don't open it. he mouths to me with a look of fear I'd never seen before. He points up again and I hold onto him as he climbs the wall of the room to ceiling. Someone pounds on the door again.
"Please! You have to help me!"
Odd... if we didn't answer, then why stay? I look at Nalak as he looks at me and we seem to be come up with the same answer: the person at the door is the man who was with the melanistics at Nalak's house.
"Nalak, what do we do?" I whisper.
"We can't really escape so I was hoping to maybe punch a hole in the wall and go to the next room?"
"That's the stupidest plan!"
"You got any others?"
"Do what you did at the other hotel and just blast through the window."
"That happened because I accidentally threw you through the window."
"I'll duck and roll this time."
"R."
"Please! Please, they're coming! Please open the door!"
"He's persistent... Alright, the wall might be easier to deal with. I'll lock the bathroom door and you do your think, Bruce Banner."
Nalak travels down the wall and sets me down as I quickly lock the door and Nalak stands on the back of the toilet.
"Hulk smash!" he whisper-yells and punches through the wall.
A good sized hole is made and he begins to pull the sheetrock out and I go over to help him. We finally get to the hollow part where all the wires and stuff are and Nalak punches the other side. As we scramble to get the sheetrock out of our way from the other room, I can hear the door rattling from the front door of the hotel room and I put more effort into digging through the ashy wall.
Finally, there is a big enough hole to go through and we end up in the other bathroom of the other room and we step onto the back of that toilet. I hear the door break in the other room and we quickly get out. The bathroom door is open and we dash out, going out the door.

******************

As we bust out of the next room, our door busts in and I see the edge of a cloak go into the room we had occupied. Nalak grabs my hand and pulls me to him.
"I'm going to throw you again."
"There's no trees."
"No, to the roof. Can you catch the ledge?"
I look up and make a face.
"No, I can't."
"Fine, I'll have to carry you again."
He pulls me to him and before I can get my bearings, he's scaling the side of the building to the roof. When we get there, we look over the edge of the roof and see all of the melanistics, one eating the entrails of the hotel owner.
"How are we supposed to get to the car? I mean, are they zombies? Will we turn if we're bitten?"
"I know that Normals don't turn into albinos when they're bitten so..."
"Yeah but those don't seem natural at all. Not even to our world."
"Hey!" we hear someone hiss.
We look over and see a guy on the other part of the roof waving to us.
"I can't believe someone thought to do the same thing I did!" he says.
Nalak doesn't seem bothered by this guy so I stand up as he walks carefully across the roof towards us.
"Man, am I glad to see you two. I thought something was backed up in the other room but when I went out to ask the guy, I saw those things in the courtyard. I thought I'd be okay but then they started climbing up the stairs and so I shimmied up here to the roof. It doesn't seem like anyone else made it."
"No, it doesn't."
"Name's Triffin Deep." He says, holding out his hand.
"I'm R and this is my friend Nalak."
Nalak just nods and Triffin looks around for a second.
"How are we going to get down?"
"We were just thinking about that, actually."
As I think, I see Nalak out of the corner of my eye just staring and I turn to him.
"Nalak? What's wrong?"
His eyes suddenly get wide and he points behind me but I turn and just see Triffin looking like he's thinking too. I turn back to Nalak.
"What's your problem?"
Nalak looks like he's been frozen in place as he just points. He swallows a couple of times and his mouth moves but he doesn't say anything.
"What?"
"Run!" he rasps out and I look at him funny.
"What's wrong with you? It's just Triffin..."
I turn around and gasp, falling beside Nalak as Triffin stares at me with blood red eyes, his black hair stark white and his dark skin paler than before. He looks at me with a smirk as he sticks some gloves on.
"Sorry but I couldn't figure out how to get you both off your guard so that I could get closer to you. Good thing you're a naïve little boy; it makes things so much easier."
"Wh- what are you?"
"Isn't it obvious, kid? I'm a blood-albino. I'm also a bounty hunter. I've been hired by someone personally at the RDC to track you down... but I was happy to know my target was carrying around a snack." He sniffs deeply and his eyes roll in pleasure. "God I haven't had an RH- in years! And so young! I'll savor this moment."
Before we can do anything, I feel him sink his teeth into my shoulder and I pass out.