Song Recommendation: I Don't Even Care About You by Misso
Dilen groaned as he pushed himself off his bed in a sluggish manner. He picked up his glasses before taking a glance at his watch, 9:00 AM.
Given the drama he was framed for, he had been up all night, drinking his frustration away; and fortunately for him, his morning welcomed him with a blasting headache.
"Finally, you're up!"
He snapped his eyes to the door, sighting his dear friends.
"How long have you been here?" He asked.
"An hour. We've been downstairs ever since", Andrew shrugged.
They then stepped forward to the bed.
Dilen gingerly stood up, still dressed in his attire from the previous day.
"Here!" Andrew thrusted a piece of paper to him. Dilen looked down at his grip, confused. "What's this?"
"It's your ticket to Nigeria. Your father gave them to us".
"Already!?"
"Yep! So get set, you leave at noon". Andrew added.
Dilen was not at all please with the fact that his father wasted no time in sending him out to lie to the public, especially without giving him the benefit of doubt.
"You guys aren't coming?"
"Of course not", Andrew chuckled.
Despite being one of Dilen's oldest friend, Andrew saw no need in poking too far into Dilen's personal shit show. Especially not one that would complicate his reputation as well.
"Not yet, at least..." Roman stepped forward. Being a soft-hearted person, Roman knew they couldn't just let their friend suffer on such a journey alone. "We'll be there a week or two after you get there".
"You know what?" Dilen seized the ticket. "Fuck it, I'll handle the shit alone, you don't have to come". Dilen turned away from them, pacing towards the bathroom door.
Andrew held back his arm, "Look man. We didn't find it important to come with you because once you find the girl, you'll come back here with her. But if it matters that much to you, we can still follow".
And with those words being spoken, a sinister grin appeared on Dilen's lips as he gently pulled his arm away. He relaxed his shoulders, cocking his head at his friend. His lunatic mind kicked in.
They gave him a confused look, wondering the cause of his sudden change in demeanor.
"Leave".
"What?" Andrew's brows quirked.
"Get out. Now", Dilen's expression remained calm and unhinged with a static smile, presenting the exact opposite of what he was feeling inside.
Roman couldn't help but speak, "Dilen, why—"
"I said get your worthless asses out of my room. Now!" His expression didn't change.
His grin widened as he looked at each and everyone one of them. Andrew clenched his jaw in annoyance, knowing Dilen was being nothing but dead serious.
He stepped back. "Fine!" Andrew turned back to stride for the door and step out without another word. Paul and Roman stared at their friend for a few seconds before they walked out as well.
• • •
Dilen stood in his bathroom — in front of the mirror with a towel around his waist and his hands resting on the edge of the sink. His heart was pounding at an unusual rate.
His breathing quickened as he tried to control his fidgeting arms and fingers, taking in large gasps of air.
It was starting again.
"This isn't you", he whispered to himself, shaking. His voice was fluctuating.
He fell his elbows to the edge, feeling the numbing sensation spread to his limbs.
With his blonde hair dripping down and sticking to his forehead, he looked up at his reflection. Groaning with struggles to push himself up, he stretched for the cabin closest to the mirror, picking out two bottles of pills.
He hastily uncapped them, tossing a random dose into his mouth. Staring at himself, he grinded the pills, before swallowing them raw.
He washed his face, pushing his hair backward. His body was still quivering and his hands were twitching.
Unable to control the unwavering cocktail of emotions flooding his mind, he smashed his fist into the mirror, damaging the skin of his knuckles.
He sighed, staring up at the cracked mirror. He then realized he had accidentally washed out one of his contacts, revealing his real eye color.
His dark blue hallow eyes stared deep into his reflection. "This isn't you", he whispered to himself again.
Hoping this time his body would pretend to believe...
Dilen sighed as he stretched out to pull down a pack from the cabin, putting on another pair of eye contacts.
His two eyes were now back to dark green.
He exhaled once trying to calm himself down. "Fuck!" He thrusted his hand through his hair. "Keep it together...".
"You can't let it control you", he clinched his teeth.
For years, he had struggled to contain the barbaric urge in him; yet every day felt harder than the last. Not even the meds had any benefits to offer him aside their neurologic side effects...
He knew if he didn't try hard enough, he might return to the beast he once locked down. A part of him he would always be ashamed of.
• • •
Meanwhile...
Delia's eyes slowly wavered open as the blinding lights caused her to squint before pushing herself up off her back.
Her eyes slowly grazed around her surrounding, adjusting to the brightness.
"Shit!" She expression dropped in an instant.
The warm breeze blew between the tall orange leaves to caress her skin, shrouded above by a sky — cloudless and calm.
She slowly got up on her feet, accompanied by the cracking sounds of dry leaves under her feet.
"A forest..." She exhaled, "I'm in a forest now..." She held her waist.
Looking down on herself, she realised she was still in the same clothes she slept with. Again, a tiring sigh drew from her lips.
For someone who just woke up in an unknown forest after falling asleep on her bed, Delia remained unreasonably calm. Her eyes continued to wander the vase autumn vegetations she stood in.
"Delia..." The breeze whispered. She immediately turned, looking around to nothing but trees.
"Delia!" She snapped her head in the direction of a sharp feminine voice. Her eyes widened at the sight of the woman before her.
Standing was a tall and curvey woman of similar skin tone as Delia's.
Her hair was braided and tired into a bun, complimented by the long ankara grown she wore.
The woman looked at her with a smile. "Mum?" Delia whispered.
The woman was none other than Alan Rachel, her mother.
The woman parted her lips, "You came home late today, Delia. Did you go anywhere?" The woman's demeanor was composed and serene.
Delia stepped forward, "No, mum, I came home immediately after lunch with my friends–".
"Lies..." The smile was still imprinted on Delia's mother's lips.
"Huh... No, mum I--"
"Lies! Stop lying, Delia", Rachel's voice cracked slightly.
"Mum, I--".
"You love to lie, Delia. You always do...", Rachel's lips stretched into an abnormal length, reaching the points of her ears; as if an invisible force was stretching her lips apart, forcing her teeth out.
Her face slowly turned vile as her eyes hue darkening and her skin slowly deteriorating with enveloping pores.
Delia took a step back, watching her mother's face turn into disgust.
Rachel's teeth elongated to fangs. Blood leached from her gum.
"Mum?" Delia stepped back, watching her mother grunt and snort as she fell to her knees.
Rachel's eyes remained locked with Delia's as she shouted — her screeching voice laced with numerous voices at once.
"You lied, Delia. You always lie! Just like how you'd lie to bring about my death!!!"
She let out a loud high pitched inhuman cry.
Delia fell back in fright.
She gasped with wide eyes as she watched the thing that bore her mother's face, morph into something more foul.
"You. Lied. You. Lied. You always lie".
The creature's bones began to crack and curve into an animal's statue, with the same sinisterly forced smile on its face.
Its face began to decompress, letting Delia see the maggots fall out of its nose and crawl out of its eyes.
The creature cried out once more, arching its back upward.
She noticed a bony movement on it's back as if something was crawling beneath its skin.
Two long twisted horns cracked through its skull along with a roll of live maggots and worms. Its teeth grew longer as it's face stretched out into a snout.
Delia didn't need to wait any longer, feeling her adrenaline rush push her up on her feet, to race into the woods in the opposite direction.
She heard the creature roar out once more.
What then sounded like hooves running on the leafy ground, began the chase after her.
"Delia!!! YOU LIED!!!"
Delia fastened her feet with the growling sounds inching closer to her faster than expected.
"DELIA!!!" It continued to call out.
She felt something of the creature stretch out for the back of her leg. Shutting her eyes in fear of being caught, she continued to run, even though her legs wasted no time to begin to fail her.
The serpent-like tail of the monster reached to grab her legs. "AHHH!"
Delia's feet suddenly lost touch with the soil as she found herself suspended above a void underneath her feet — before her eyes could cast down in realization, her body plummeted into the black abyss.