Endless Dawn

The bed creaked as I awoke, resonating the sound through the near empty room. The covers were no longer comfortable, the pillows were itchy, but i always had the best sleep of my life. I sat up, proping myself with my arms. As my eyes bevcame more adjusted to the little daylight, i noticed the room was its old shade of a dull gray. There was an old spot on my wall, from when I had come home drunk one night and sliped, banging my head into the wall. Even though i remembered the spot was of blood, it was grey; everything was. I sighed and had to face the reality that i really couldnt see far without my glasses, so i reached for them. Every time i put on my glasses i could see, which was a wonderful feeling, despite whatever mood i was in. As i toyed with the glasses, trying to get them open, i could feel the leather bindings fading away. When i had finally unfolded them, i slipped them over my eyes, as i did every day. The room was suddenly bathed in color, the vibrancy unprecedented. The blood stain on my wall became a rich hue of red, the floorboards a vibrant yellow; but then it faded. I was silly to get my hopes up. The color faded just as it did every day, back to the same shade of grey; my heart sank to my shoes. I had no idea why i thought today would be better, i had helt tight and lost all hope long ago. The room was silent and dull, not even my clock ticked. It was worth barely anthing staying in this room.

After coercing myself out of bed, slipping on pants and shoes, i left my room. The kitchen was a mess, piled to my knees with trash and grime, a group of flies hovering over long roten fruit. I had a single chair sitting next to a table that i had once used to eat, i had never been truly hungry; in fact i had nothing to eat or drink in weeks. This was all just a process at this point, nothing out of the ordinary had happened. It was worth nothing to clean it, as it would somehow get durty again the next day.

I soon went back to my room, put on a shirt and jacket. Upon the arrival of my room, i noticed the window was slightly ajar, the curtains still blinding the view. I reluctantly pulled back one of the curtains, revealing what i had seen every day for months. Fog. The campus i lived in had been under a thick coat of fog, ever since i can remember. I could spot two tzaller dorms, much like my own, on the other side of the street, both with windows cracked and broken, the bricks torn and smashed. I once again had no idea why i had expected something different today, i guess it was just an optimistic feeling. I smiled a bit, i was feeling lucky today. Seeing as how power had practically become non-existant to me aside from my freezer,  i had to leave my house to find entertainment. Leaving was something i had never enjoyed. The first steps out of my dorm were the calmest, because i only had to look forward, but once i reached the hall, the thing could came at me from any direction. Broken ceiling tiles and glass panes lay as a thick coat of debris on the hallway carpet, i knew the glass once had color, but i knew i would never see it again. The fog continued inside as much as out, seeing only around thirty feet in fron to me, adding to the suspense of the situation. I had taked the same route for the past several years; down the hall six doors, turn left, four doors, then right to the stairwell. I was so confident in my route i could do it in the dark with my eyes closed;  which unfortunately i had to do on several occasions.

Outside i heard the things raoming the streets, the mindless drones and husks of what used to be people just like me, only with no sense of fear, empathy or remorse, only a sense of universal freedom, which was frieghtening to me. There were none of the things in my dorm, i could often tell a few moment after i entered the hall, this was good, i could continue. I began to walk the hallway, glas shards and wood crunchi ng under my feet as i walked. The other rooms in my dorm had been long since locked, as to my knowledge it was every floor, but i had not tried them all. Ouside the broken windows in the hall showed fog leaking into the hallway, it gave off and empty smell, almost like you had to concentrate to smell it, but even if you did you could never point it out. Everything was off about the fog; and now that i think about it, everything was off. I chucked slightly, i always tryed to analyze too much when i was walking the lonely hall.

After descending the flight of stairs at the end of the second hall, i faced the main foyer, two large glass doors to the outside. I prepared myself for what i  was about to experience, the husks, the emptyness and the fog. At last i was ready. The doors swung open with a rush of wind, letting the thick fog flow even more into the dorm, the atmosphere was cold and erie. Though no wind was felt, a nagging cold sensation nipped at my neck. I ran into my first husk. A lifeless body of a young blond woman hund lazily mid air, giving off no sound other than a faint heartbeat. The husks never talked, or moved or interacted, they always just floated, and waited. It never saddened me to see the husks, in fact, i think they had lost all concept of emotion, they felt no pain, so why should I? Just two buildings down from my dorm, sat an old gas station. It used to be a warm and bright place, but now it seemed to just blend in with the grey. Along the way i counted the same 7 husks i saw every day; one is a old man with a broken walker, three of them were a group of teenage boys, all in a group drinking energy drinks and wearing school backpacks, one was a single woman who looked abnormaly out of place, the last two are a man with a dog, much like my old one. They never moved, they never talked, they never did anthing, anything but survive.

After approaching the station, i swung the doors open eagerly awaitng my only pleasure to date. Cigarettes. I never once needed them, and especially now, when i no longer get hungry or thirstiy, but i always took pleasure in using them. I placed a dime on the counter as i "bought" them, i had always done it out of courtesy, even though there was no attendant, or need to pay at all. The counters were never cleaned, so the pile of dimes i had always left grew each day. The dimes were also how i kept track of time, i counted them out like i did every day, even though i just needed to add one to my previous count.

247

247 days have passed; a new record.

With one hand i slipped a cigarette out of the package and put it in my mouth, searching for a lighter with my other. It was in my back pocket. a silvery zippo light, never once had ran out of fuel. As i lit the cigarette, the grey only brightened, never turning into the red it should; i had always liked the look of flames, the way they moved was beautiful.

Something was off. No, no, no no... what was it that is off?

I placed my head in my palms and rubbed my eyes.

What is it?

The feeling was gnawing at me, the feeling to look up.

The husks had awoken, thye were moving.

At first i was scared, too scared to scream; too much in awe. The husks had not moved anywhere in 247 days, and it was happening. They began to turn. They all turned towards each other, looking and staring, mouths agape