New version of my story for English. The newly added section (at the end) has been italic-ised, like this, for easier identification. Read it and figure out how out of it I am from how stupid it is.
I glance at my watch, quarter-to-three, great, the game doesn’t start for another 15 minutes. I walk faster, I don’t care how stupid I look, that bitch already took everything from me, my kids, my car, hell, even my pride. I don’t really care, as long as I have clothes on my back and a heartbeat, I’m fine.
I peer at the time again, ten-to. The streets are awfully empty for a Sunday afternoon, but then again it is Superbowl Sunday, it’s eerily quiet despite the shuffling of garbage in the next alley, I wonder what it is, a stray cat? The garbage men? Working on the Superbowl? I doubt that, I chuckle at the idea.
Now I hear mumbling and growling coming from the alley as I approach it. A drunken lunatic who’s too into the spirit of today? “Whatever it is, don’t look,” I say to myself. “I might piss him off.”
Damn my curiosity. I quickly peer into the dark alley in the very corner of my periphery. I was right in my assumption. About 30 feet into the alley is a shadowed figure, appearing to struggle to stand. He turns, facing the street I’m walking in “Ah crap,” I mumble to myself. I know he saw me. I hear bare feet slapping the concrete. I break into a full sprint, I’ll be damned if I’m going to let this guy make this day any worse.
Right at the edge of my field of vision, I see a thin black thing flailing about. Crap, my shoelace! Just as I realise that my shoelace is undone, I trip over it. I haven’t a chance recuperate from the fall as the maniac is on my back clawing at my shoulder blades, I manage to throw him off and roll onto my back as he lunges onto me again. I throw my arms up in defence and close my eyes tightly. I feel a sudden pain and open my eyes to the man with his teeth dug deep into my arm. I notice how dirty his skin is, and how he appears to drool like an infant, and how his eyes are extremely bloodshot.
I punch the man fair in the temple; he hardly flinches. I see half a hockey stick lying next to a garbage can. I grab it and swing with all my might at the man’s head, I hear his skull crack from the impact of the blow, his teeth also loosen on my arm. I pull it out of his salivating jaws and jump to my feet, I don’t stop running until I reach my apartment. My lungs are burning, I’m hardly able to breathe, I see stars and pass out, falling on the couch.
I awake several hours later to screaming and cheering coming from next-door, Damn, I slept through the game, I might as well see who won. As I grab the remote I notice that the bite on my arm has swollen up and the surrounding skin is a dark purple. “I should probably get that checked out..,” I think to myself. I flip to the 24/7 news channel, and notice the time: 7:14. “Hmm, I’ll go tomorrow.’ I change into a pair of boxers and a singlet, my usual sleepwear. I then climb into bed and fall asleep by twenty-past-seven.
I wake up about an hour later with something forcing itself up my throat , I tumble out of the bed and crawl to the adjacent bathroom and put my head over the toilet bowl just as a large, constant stream of bile and lunch shoots from my mouth, This goes on for about 10 seconds until it suddenly ceases, I hit the flush button without even glancing at the mess I made. I turn to the sink to clean myself, and notice the bite again, it looks worse than it did an hour ago: it now has a small trail of pus oozing from the holes. I open the medicine cabinet to wrap it up. I do a double take when I notice that there’s something wrong with my face in the split second I see my face in the mirror. Upon the second glance at the reflection, I see a paler complexion with heavy rings around its eyes looking back at me. I continue to wrap my arm and go back to bed, struggling to do so, I did some damage to my knees when I crawled into the bathroom.
The whole vomiting episode happens once more, only this time I’m sure I have a fever. After cleaning myself of vomit again, I check my temperature; 40°c. Wow, I’m definitely taking tomorrow off. I struggle into bed again, now with all joints aching. I fall asleep pretty fast this time.
I awake once again in the morning, this time to the sound of the alarm clock. I feel kind of better now, though I still have the fever from last night. I’m still going to call in sick, just to be safe. I climb out, but collapse as soon as I try to stand. “Oh God, my legs!” I punch them a few times in a failed attempt to bring feeling back into them again. I drag myself to the phone and call the emergency services. I sit against the back of the couch, getting increasingly dizzy as I wait. The paramedics burst through the door, this is the last thing I see before I pass out.
Distant screams and cries draw me back into consciousness. I open my eyes to a blurred vision, everything has a kind of bloodstained, red tinge to it, and for some messed up reason, I want to kill someone, anyone. I try to call out for someone, but all that comes out is a mixture of mumbles and growls, I also keep salivating uncontrollably. I arise from the bed, still growling and gurgling, the saliva rolling down my chin and onto the floor, I see that it also has blood mixed into it. I suddenly lurch forward, throwing up the contents of my stomach yet again, only this time, a mixture of bile and my own blood, burning my oesophagus on the way up. I stagger towards the door of the ward and collapse after a few steps.
I push open the door and see a horrific sight; nurses, doctors and patients all attacking one another. I look to my left, this one’s distracted. I grab hold of his ankle and pull myself within biting distance and latch on. I see his free foot fly toward my face, everything goes blurry for a bit. I feel blood start dripping from my nose and mouth, a hard knock to the face and I hardly felt it. The doctor grabs a folded wheelchair and swings it right onto my cranium, collapsing my eye socket, I’m now blind in my right eye; I think I can see it swinging freely with my remaining eye. Well, at least it might be, it’s getting hard to tell as everything gets more red. I feel a sudden force slam down onto the back of my neck, and the world looks like it’s spinning. It stops after I bump into the wall and see my body lying motionlessly in the middle of the hall. How am I still alive? My head’s gone. I feel so helpless as I watch many stagger past me, until one accidentally kicks me, sending me rolling through a door way. From the glimpses I catch, this room has a whole wall missing, facing outside. I keep rolling towards the edge, gripping the splintered remains of the floor with my teeth. I clench down too hard and feel most of my teeth shatter, losing grip. I feel cold air against the remains of my spine as the abandoned roadway becomes more and more large and closer. The tip of my neck-stump starting to shatter against the road is the last thing I feel before nothing.
What’s happening? Why can’t I see? How am I still thinking, my brain must be like mush on the road. This shouldn’t be possible. I should be dead, gone. I guess I’m stuck in this darkness until my sanity rots away? Great..
