A Long Time Ago, We Used To Be Friends

[Delroy†]

((Travis Webster continued from Huddle...))

The whole situation was quite ironic. Had his pursuer Tyler Lucas merely stuck around the school grounds for a few more hours, he would have stumbled upon his prey, now so weak and pathetic that Tyler would barely have been able to recognize him. Travis Webster was covered in cold sweat from head to toe, and the back of his head was sending a small but constant drizzle of blood going down the back of his spine. He could barely move two of his fingers, suspecting Edgar had cut deeper than first thought.

Not only that, he had left half his equipment behind, along with his hedge trimmer. All he had now to defend himself with was a scalpel.

When he'd stumbled out of the shopping center, numb and dizzy, he hadn't had any plans. He merely followed the road south, desperate to get away from his friend-turned-enemy, Joe. Half crawling, half running, he'd finally reached the schoolyard where he clumsily collapsed.

After several minutes, he finally sat up again, eyes fixed on the steadily sinking sun. He shakily pulled out his (now only) medpack and garbled down a couple of Ibuprofens, hoping it would help with the fever and headaches. He then, with much difficulty and many swear words, bandaged the back of his head. He quietly pulled up his hood to cover it. Any sign of weakness was bad, he thought, standing up in his now blood-drenched hoodie and jeans.

He stumbled over to one of the broken school buses in the parking lot. This would definitely have to do for the evening.

He could still barely comprehend any of this. He couldn't understand how quickly he'd gotten a fever when he'd felt fine a day or so ago. He couldn't understand how he'd allowed himself to get into this shape. He couldn't... He couldn't understand why Joe had turned against him. The thought of the betrayal stirred up his emotions again. He felt a lump in his throat, and he his cheeks began blushing up with anger. His head started to ache again.

But then, before he felt the need to punch the nearest wall, there was a small thought that emerged. A small, soothing voice of reason that still existed in the feverish mind of Travis Webster.

You know exactly why he did it. Come on now.

He looked out over the school grounds, darkness now slowly eating it up. He watched it for a full minute. Meanwhile, the pounding in his head stopped. The anger subsided. He had a sad smile on his lips.

From Day 1, you were one of the bad guys, fuckface. That was what you wanted, "monster". You've killed and done some pretty horrible shit. But Joe isn't you. He clearly wasn't going to put up with your shit. You knew that from the second you met him.

He was still serenely looking at the school grounds. It was getting darker and darker.

Be honest with yourself, you knew it was coming. Hell... I'm surprised he didn't betray you sooner.

He laughed out loud. A bit too loudly, as if trying to hide the fact that he wanted to cry. But who was there to hide from?

He thought back to the stuttering, nervous wreck of a friend he'd met on the playground so many years ago and couldn't help but keep smiling. He thought of the first time they'd smoked pot together. He thought of when him, Joe and Chuck had gone swimming together during the summer. He thought about the dumb pancake-oreo-mix idea they'd had when they smoked.

"Pancakeos..." he mumbled as he laughed.

The smiles, the laughs, the happy times. Now gone. He hadn't cried for Chuck when he'd heard his name on the announcements. He hadn't allowed himself to do it. Would he cry for Joe?

You might have to kill him, you know?

The entire school grounds had gone completely dark, the last rays of light shining through the trees now slowly fading away. And yet his calm smile remained.

((Travis Webster continued in Hortensius...))