#die. and now your superiors (including your evil parents) are all breathing down your neck and observing you like a goldfish. and also

[poptartmochi]

hm.. closing thoughts. bennie deserved better 😔

[doineedastone]

Dead World Order

Smoke hovered like clouds over the decaying skyscrapers of a once grand city. It covered the ground and clouded the sky, making what was left of the city's destruction almost nonexistent to the naked eye. Rats scurried through the barren streets scavenging what was left from the abandoned buildings that were lucky enough to still be standing. The only sounds that could be heard besides the squeaking if the mice and the cawing of the crows were the light footsteps of a figure passing through the city. A boy no older than twelve gleefully skipped around the debris and waste scattered amongst the crooked ground. His skin was smoky grey and his vibrant purple eyes glowed through the thick fog of the city. He halted in front of a large building that seemed to tower hundreds of feet above him. With one gauntly jump he leaped onto the rooftop of the skyscraper, landing gracefully on it's edge. Without a moments notice he broke into a sprint across the rooftop and leapt from it's edge onto the rooftop of the neighboring building. He proceeded running, jumping from building to building as if the rooftops served as a hopscotch mat.

Giggling gleefully he finally stopped at the place he was looking for. An abandoned laboratory. He halted to a stop and landed on one of the window sills. Peaking inside he looked eagerly at a scientist working on chemicals and diagrams that served no significant meaning to him. Licking his lips he quietly snuck inside and crept along the shadows until he was only amongst a couple feet from the tall man. Opening his jaws, layers of teeth greedily clenched at the thought of blood pooling over them. He got closer and closer until-

"That's enough now Moby. I'm busy." The scientist groaned. The boy fell back and whined, a grin spreading across his face.

"Aww come on, old geezer! I'm so bored here. Nothing ever happens. Can't we do something different today?" Moby asked hopefully. The scientist put down the beaker he was filling and looked over his shoulder to see the boy looking up at him with puppy dog eyes. The scientist sighed, annoyance growing in his tone.

"How long will you refer to me as 'old geezer?' Thirty five is not old! And I'd appreciate it you'd call me Franz for once." The scientist groaned,"Further more, you know those eyes don't work on me Moby, and besides that, I can't play with you today. I have a lot of work to do. Why don't you take a stroll in the city instead? That's always worked before." Moby fell back on the floor, a pout forming on his lips.

"I was just there today! There's nothing left to explore..." The scientist sighed again, taking off his gloves and setting them on the counter. Usually Moby was a kind and affable boy to speak with, but it was easier dealing with him when he was smaller. Now that he was grown, the world had shrunken in his eyes. He was beginning to be trouble.

The scientist leaned back on the undulated lab table and looked down at the boy, feeling torn. There wasn't much he could do for him, and he was a better scientist than he was a father, not that he could call himself his dad.

"Franz?" Moby asked, lying on his stomach lazily and using his arms to prop his head up to face him.

"Yes, what is it?" He asked, preparing himself for another speel from the spiky haired kid.

But he was wrong.

Instead of another speech, an entreat look landed itself on Moby's face. The scientist's eyes widened as he watched the boy's eyes darken and dull, his skin turning into a darker grey color. Franz would have been scared of Moby's transformation if he didn't know him better.

An almost sadistic smile spread across the child's face.

"What are you hiding from me?" Moby hissed, a hector of a demon seeping through his humane cover. A little smirk made it's way into Franz's features as he turned back around to his work table.

"Many things. More than you can ever imagine. I'm one of the last in this world, and you are one of the first. That being said...I can't make any mistakes." Franz's voice deepened, "Because we are humanity's last hope. Which is why, you must never ever leave the city, and why I must stay here and work until my last breath." Moby frowned, anger darkening his face. Franz could feel his malice from across the room. It crawled on his back like cold slender claws piercing against his skin

, threatening to pierce his heart. Moby sat up on his knees and cocked his head unnaturally to the side.

"But aren't I what you're trying to exterminate? An undead parasite that craves the flesh of the living, that took this world from humanity and holds no remorse for it's actions. It's quite incongruous, you keeping me around like this. Why haven't you killed me next-"

"You aren't like the other dead Moby." Franz interrupted. "You can control your dark desires. Yes, you are the product of vile and sin. A mistake that is feared and hated by both man and dead. However, from the day that I saved you from death, I knew I was making the right decision."

"Your people died with the decision to grant me mercy. Why do you not show hatred against me when I already know it exists?" Moby growled, his appearance morphing into an even more grotesque creature.

"You know, I used to be very parsimonious. It started when I was about your age. My father was quite strict, and my mother sickeningly piquant. They were the makers of their product child. Me. There was never a solid moment I could repose and act like myself. I turned out to be a selfish brat, but a brat that follows orders. A brat that only looks out for himself. In order to carry on as a successful scientist in my family's line of work." Moby grew impatient and unmollified. Reproaching the scientist, he raised his voice.

"I didn't ask for your life story you ignorant worm! I want to know what you're planning. It makes no sense, no one would go as far as you did to save a vulgar creature like me. Are you planning to experiment on me?! Answer me, or perish." Moby screeched bounding towards the scientist at an unnatural speed. The dead part of Moby was acquisitive, and greedy for blood.

The boy's mouth unhinged and prepared to bite the scientist when his voice spoke up.

"I knew your mother." Moby froze. His body lurched back, prying the claws away from the man's neck. Moby's hair flared on end, brandishing a wave of locks over his face and over his glowing red eyes.

"A lie...it must be. You couldn't have-" Franz's walked towards the corner of the room and stepped up to a safe hidden in the wall.

"You're old enough to know now." Franz took our a key form around his neck and opened the door."I don't know her name, I'm sorry. I barely had a chance to speak with her...You should know what happened. Moby, about a year after the apocalypse started, my brother and a couple of my other friends were kidnapped and taken to the Dead Society." Moby's form began to shift back into it's original state. The conformation of his body slowly deforming.

"It was still early in the Dead's new world order. A couple friends and I were able to infiltrate the society ourselves, so we could save the ones that were captured." Franz hand clutched the item in the safe tightly. "We were too late though. We underestimated them. Dead like you aren't like the zombies from comic books or horror films. Your mutations were so complex they were able to kill off your brain yet preserve it. I have been trying to decode the inscriptions on how this is possible, but even after all these years I've only been able to scratch the surface of it." Franz turned to Moby, a box in his hands.

"Before human scientists were exterminated, they called this disease, Reapers Malice. Since the victims would die in a short amount of time before resurrecting into these inhumane creatures, called undead. The undead after long would go after humans and do one of two things-infect others or devour them. What made them the most fearsome was the fact that these undead acquired intelligence, Physical prowess, and overall a wicked evil personality. Every human infected would grow to become cruel and heartless, showing no remorse for those they've killed or hurt. And because of their intelligence, they didn't just stop when they destroyed the world. They took it over. That society I was talking about before was one of their first established. In their societies, they used enslaved humans as livestock and amusement. Their government was effective and absolute. As sick as they were, they're ruling properties and loyalty to their cause surpassed what humans were able to accomplish." Franz chuckled half-heartedly, a droll thought rolling around in his mind. Moby sat, listening intently.

"They were better than humans...maybe that's true -but can I call them superior? No, no. Despite their duplicity and craftiness, they were still heartless monsters. I've seen them do horrible stuff Moby. They run on desire, and so-they took advantage of everything...everyone. Including your mother. She had no choice when she was taken from her husband and children, and then taken advantage of by the undead men there. She must have been quite a happy person before that. I could picture her being jaunty and unabashed, heh but this is irrelevant. Here is what you should know." France opened the box in his hands. A little vial, a photo of a family, and handgun sat inside. Franz pulled out the photo first. A man that looked like him was smiling next to another man and an older couple.

"Your brother and parents?" Moby asked. Franz nodded.

"When I ran into the society I went to the hospital district first. I had disguised my myself as one of them with makeup and a lab coat. When I ran into one of the rooms I saw one of those dead fuckers in the room. I was about to take him out when I saw something he was carrying. He was holding a baby, and a scalpel. My presence barely stopped him from taking that tool, stabbing it in that child's head and scrambling it's brains around. I don't remember what I said, or what happened in that instant, but apparently I persuaded him into giving me the baby. I guess I lied and said I would take care of it. Don't be upset by what I'm about to say next but- I was horrified when I saw that baby...it was you, Moby." Moby began to tremble, his eyes dilating in and out of his sockets.

"I didn't know what to do with you at first, but before I could do something rash a women's voice caught my ear. That women was your mother. She cried weakly for you, for her baby. I thought that maybe it was my eyes going and that you were actually human after all. So I promised the women I'd take her child out of there, and I escaped. I never saw my brother, my friends or comrades ever again after that. They didn't make it." Franz looked deeply at Moby and took out the small vial.

"Now, about what you were saying about experimenting. The truth is, I already experimented on you. When you were a baby. I couldn't finish you off when I saw what you truly were, I didn't have the heart to kill an infant. So as a scientist I did the next best thing. I used you to see what undead beings actually were, and I discovered something. You are only half-dead. Only sixty-five percent of your brain was dead and under control of the disease. In this vial here is your blood from twelve years ago. Your genetic code. Over the years I kept you around to see what you'd become. I thought you'd be evil and cold-hearted, but you weren't. You were a charming curious boy, and

showed all of the characteristics of a human. When you were three, I monitored you again, and what I found changed my theory on science for the rest of time. In your brain, only sixty percent of your brain was dead and under the influence of the disease. And the part of the brain that was resurrected were your creative and emotional sections. You overturned death Moby. You brought hope into this world again. Because even if I can't find a vaccine for the disease, apparently there's another way this disease can be diluted and reverted back. Though, i don't know the direct cause of this."

"Franz..." Moby whispered softly, his eyes slowly turning back into their natural purple color.

"I don't blame you if you hate me. This is a lot of take in at once, but Moby I don't want you to misunderstand. I care about you no matter how I felt in the past. I think of you as my own family now. You're the only thing I have left to hold onto. My last family, my last hope. I'm so sorry that I haven't been the best parent to you over these years, but I promise, once I find the cure for this, I'm going to put all of my focus on you, and we can start living happier better lives in the new world." Franz , putting his hands on Moby's shoulders. By now Moby had completely reverted back into his original form. Little tears escaped from his purple eyes. A couple moments later he started sobbing, falling into Franz's hug.

"I-I'm sorry Franz! I was really sad and a-angry, b-because I found old journals in the b-buildings I was exploring. T-they said a lot of scary stuff, and I-I" Moby's voice drifted off as hitches and sobs racked his body. France just stroked his hair and patted his back soothingly.

"It's okay Moby. I understand. You don't have to continue if you don't want to." Moby sniffed and wiped his nose, shaking his head furiously.

"I've j-just been scared of myself. I-I don't wanna hurt y-you. I wanna live with you passed this. I've just been scared. I've been r-really scared." Moby repeated, hugging the scientist tighter.

Based off a real dream I had.