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The air felt like lava, splashing across his face and body and burning him away layer by layer.

No more… no more.

And then something brought him back to the here and now. Something familiar. Something that he knew would save him and make all the pain go away.

“Stop! What the fuck!”

Zak?

When Kip woke up, he was on his back. He was sure it was Zak’s face he would see, Zak telling him that he would be okay, that he wouldn’t let anyone hurt him anymore.

But it was Jade’s face that materialized before his eyes. She wore a mask of blood, and it looked like she was trying to speak, but only wet sounds were coming out of her mouth as she giggled and clenched her teeth, eyes wide and insane.

Her tongue ran across her lips, and then she began to lower her face, long ribbons of crimson drool hanging from her mouth.

“No… no don’t…” His voice was barely a whisper now, each word popping from his mouth like weak, thin-skinned bubbles.

Just before her lips touched his face, a foot came flying out of nowhere, collided with the side of Jade’s head and made her disappear from Kip’s view.

Kip managed to sit up. He was completely naked, covered in blood and open wounds. Bite marks covered his torso, but it was the scooped-out holes that bled the worst. The places where zits once were, sucked completely empty of their filling. His skin pulsated, and though the pain was intense, there was something else he could feel. Anger. Poisonous anger crackling across his flesh. It took over his every thought, brought him to his feet.

Zak was on the ground now, covering himself as the others stomped on him, punched him. Chuck screamed with laughter as he rained down blows again and again, his entire body speckled or awash with blood.

“Enough,” Kip said.

A pair of hands took him from behind, and Kip seized them, flung Jade around so she faced him. Her eyes were alive with hunger, need, and she squealed as she tried to get back to him. Kip reached out, grabbed her by the throat, pulled her toward him so they were eye to eye. She fought at first, but then went slack, looked like a child who just realized she was in trouble.

“I said… enough.”

She nodded, lip quivering. When Kip let her go, she dropped, crawled away and whimpered like a kicked puppy.

A puddle of blood began to form at Kip’s feet as more and more of it dripped from his body. His chest heaved as he breathed in and out, now almost enjoying the pain, using it to find strength to face the kids. His people… his addicts.

“I said that’s enough!”

As he screamed, blood squirted from various wounds on his body, painted the walls, the floor, the ceiling.

All movement stopped. All eyes were on Kip.

“You’ve had enough. Leave.”

Zak crawled away from them, jumped to his feet. He grimaced, but was still in one piece. He spat a wad of blood onto the floor, his eyes jumping from the group of stunned kids to Kip.

They all just stared, almost all of them now devoid of any clothing. Their skin was covered in Kip’s fluids, and when he took a step toward them, they collectively flinched.

“I said leave!”

Jade was on her feet first, sprinting out of the room and charging down the stairs. The rest followed, thundering out of the house, leaving bloody footprints in their wake.

Kip strolled to his window, watched as the blood-drenched congregation ran down his street in all directions, tits and balls flapping.

“Kip,” Zak said from behind him. “You motherfucker. You fucking—”

As soon as the kids were gone from Kip’s view, the anger seemed to subside some, bringing his pain right back to the forefront. A strangled whimper burst from his lips as his knees turned to jelly beneath him, and he crumbled to the floor. The open wounds on his torso wept endless blood as his skin throbbed, constant throbbing.

“Kip?”

Kip could barely breathe as he rocked himself in a pool of his blood, praying for the pain to ease up, just a smidgeon, anything.

Then Zak was beside him, lifted him to his feet, draped Kip’s arm over his shoulder and walked him down the attic steps, into the bathroom. Then Kip was in the tub, the back of his head resting on the hard porcelain, his blood swirling down the drain. Kip didn’t know how much longer he could bleed like this before he bled completely out. Before the nothingness came back and ate him whole.

“Hold on, Kip. Just hold on.”

Water hit him then, and though it was ice cold, it felt like fiery needles burrowing into him. He screamed and his mouth filled with water.

“I’m calling an ambulance.”

Kip wanted to turn the water off, but he couldn’t make himself move. Then the water became warmer, soothing. He breathed a sigh of relief, and in that same instant, the pain began to slowly fade away, replaced again by the euphoric vibrations. As the water pelted against him, he had to grab the edge of the tub as a powerful orgasm began in his stomach, spreading to his groin and legs.

Pearly seed spurted from his penis, which he just now realized was hard, and it mixed with the blood and swirled down the drain. Kip laughed. He ran his fingertips across the crater-ridden flesh of his chest and face, shuddering at the sensation, and he laughed and laughed.

“Yes! My cousin… something’s wrong with him. I’m not sure! Just please… shit I don’t even know. Hold on.” Zak lowered the phone. “Kip… your address. What’s your address!”

Kip spun his attention to his cousin who had his cell phone pressed against his ear, his eyes perfect circles, brow beginning to furrow as he studied Kip’s face.

“No,” Kip said through his laughter. “No ambulance. I feel great.”

“What? Are you fucking… I’m trying, ma’am. I’m trying…” Zak dropped the phone at his side, stepped closer to Kip. “Kip, please. You need help. You need to be checked out, seriously. Look how much blood you lost already.”

Kip only smiled and shook his head. “I promise, Zak. I’ve never felt better than I do right now. My body… it’s regenerating. I can feel it. I’m better than ever, Zak. Hang up the phone.”

“No. I won’t. You’re getting some help—”

“Hang up the fucking phone!”

Kip was on his feet before he knew it, and just that quickly, the anger was back, pumping through his bloodstream, making him want to cause pain, making him want to kill.

But not Zak. Never Zak. Right?

Zak backed away, the woman’s voice barely audible through the phone as she shouted, asking, begging for the address. It looked at first like Zak had been hurt by Kip’s outburst, but that look quickly twisted into a countenance of terror as he stared at Kip’s chest, then finally rose a shaking finger, dropped the phone.

Kip already knew before he looked. He could feel it, could taste it with every breath he took.

“Y-your skin. What the fuck…” Zak stared at Kip the way people had been staring at him his whole adolescent life. Face full of disgust, revulsion.

Kip ran his hand over the new bumps there, each one almost full again. The blood had slowed, nearly stopped completely now.

Kip stepped out of the tub, the water still hissing behind him as it sprayed from the showerhead. Zak took an equal step away from him.

“Zak… don’t look at me like that. It’s me… it’s still me. It’s Kip. Your cousin, remember?” Kip spun so he was facing the mirror, watched as the craters inflated like red bubbles over his face and chest, the skin thin and glistening as it pulsated. He could feel the flesh of his neck, back, and ass thrashing as well, could feel each new pimple filling back up with pus.

“Kip… what’s going on? This… this can’t be… We have to get you some help, man.”