Serena ran. Her high technological shoes and watch monitored her movements but, she thought to herself as she tore off the watch, they’re just computers; they don’t understand human emotions. She took a pitcher’s motion and threw it far, far with anger rushing through every vein in her body. She was mad.

It’s the twenty-fourth century with easier living styles, but dangerous infections all around. Serena, a fourteen year old teenager girl, had been partially stood-up and dumped over text. Meanwhile at her house, her gambling obsessed dad has lost twenty four thousand dollars of cash as her mother did nothing, yet lay in bed sick with a stage one infection. She screamed in anger, unknowing to the fact that another teenager was in her presence.

“Do you…” A deep voice interrupted her train of thought as the words came strong and fast, yet the question was unfinished. She looked over the hill side to see a teen, probably two or three years older than her, lying on the grassy hill with a slightly peaceful expression on his face. Was he the one that spoke? Did she ruin his peaceful nap? “…need something?”

Serena blinked, processing his slow words and appearance calmly.

Barely noticeable, transparent crystals had grown on the left side of his face as his skin seemed paler than what the people from around here thought of. His composure was relaxed, like someone had laid him out to dry in the sun and he was enjoying it. He had the infection. The infection that causes you to be delusional, stiff with arthritis, covered with crystals, more bruise easily, and have a time-consuming speech pattern. It wasn’t cancer, or an disease. It wasn’t given through contact or even having a specific cause like lung cancer. No one knows how you got it or get it.

His eyes fluttered open to land on her observing self and she noticed that he was someone who went to her school. Someone who was once popular in fame, yet now famous with bad news no one wanted to happen to them.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, shifting his position to turn and face her. He had twisted his torso and used his forearms to support himself to sit up. Serena then noticed she had unconsciously walked closer to him. Just great, she thought to herself in annoyance.

“Oh… nothing,” she replied, “Just life problems.”

The boy replied with a hum of understanding, but his eyes held a look of disapproval with the answer. He smiled a smile everyone knew in the school, causing Serena to remember him, because that smile was made by the smartest boy in the school named Connor Haze. He was athletically known by some others and known by everyone in town now by his delusional stories.

“What were you doing?” Serena asked, strangely settling herself close to Connor. She heard the rumors of how he was such a supportive friend that helped as much as he can. She needed that, support.

He raises his hand to point at the neighboring hill with a dying sunset.
“I was watching the skyline. It’s a nice image… Calming,” he explained, before turning back to her. “But really, what’s wrong? You suck at changing… the subject.”

Serena frowns, hating to be pushed, yet liking the interest he gave her. At least someone in the world was caring for her. She takes a deep breath to start complaining about her life.

How a stage one infection was taking her mother. How her boyfriend was actually caught two-timing and broke up with her. How her dad brought financial problems to the house. And especially how people blamed her for her younger brother’s death from a month ago.

Connor’s smile twitched as his disparate eyes memorized her deeply. He smirked.
“So?” His tone aggravated Serena, but Connor didn’t care. He was also disturbed about his life. That was his reason of being at such an isolated area. He thought she would leave after a while, but he guessed not as she sat beside him. He continued with sarcastically provoking Serena. “Would you rather be degraded from admired to being wary of? ...My family is disappointed in me, scientists want to figure out the cause of this random pandemic infection, and story writers come up to me, asking for what I see and what I hear. Everyone, and I mean absolutely everyone, thinks I’m some crazy kid!”
He rolled his eyes, lying flat on his belly as if rambling had caused him exhaustion. He then gave an exaggerated grunt and mumbled something along the lines of sorry. But Serena didn’t hear it and she didn’t notice it, judging from the fact of her narrowed eyes. Soon, Connor raised his gaze, his eyes flying to the top of his head to look at Serena.
Serena gave a tight smile. She gave him the best she could manage at the moment. She shouldn’t be mad. It wasn’t his fault she was mad. It was just his personality and existence.
“So you think it’s easier to live my life?” Serena asked, pulling her knees into her chest. She wrapped her arm as the wind blew her air into the air wildly.
“No,” Connor simply answered. He had responded back so quickly, he was on the edge of actually interrupting her. He paused suddenly as if an idea came to him. “Hey… Would you rather live a different life? Like, a better one?”
Serena scoffed. “Who wouldn’t?”
Connor’s face scrunched up, his left side of the face rigid with clear crystals. “This infection… I see things other don’t see, but people say it’s because I’m delusional…crazy. But it’s like I’m living a different life, a better life than before I had the infection.”
Serena stared at Connor in interest. He smiles.
“Yeah, I have a better life than you! Never mind then,” Connor sang jokingly. Serena saw that he was just playing around, calling his life lower and less important than hers, so she would feel better.
It was his way of helping her. And although she was partly glad, she was mad at the way he treated himself.
“You shouldn’t say that! Every life on earth is created for a reason!”
“But I don’t want your life.” Connor picks at his fingernails. Clear fluids were creeping out of his pores, hardening at his joints.
“My life isn’t so bad! You have a infection that can make you brain dead like that!” Serena gave a snap as an action for her words. She wasn’t exactly mad, but in the moment and being very loud.
“Is that so?” Connor smugly asked. His eyes flashed in anger at the comment of his infection, but he seemed satisfied with her first answer. “I’m not weak… And what? Would you rather have my life then?! You get to see pretty pictures with this infection.”
Connor wheezes loudly, coughing suddenly that he curls up on the grass. His outburst seemed to weaken his body. He hacks up some blood before his coughs become more muffled until Serena couldn’t hear it no more.
“Want it?”
Serena blinked. Connor fell flat to the grass.
Connor made no movement, instigating Serena to think he had died during their verbal fight. After minutes of silence, her mind gave her the conclusion that she had commenced another death other than her brother’s and the fear eased its way into her awareness. As she outstretched her hand, she gave a high-pitched cry, for her words were caught in her throat. And then she froze.
Connor had shifted, his shoulders rolling back with a cracking sound. It reminded Serena of those zombie actors in the movies as he moves quickly, appearing in front of her within seconds. He was fast. Probably even fasting than when he played sports at their high school. Serena fell and Connor supported her fall, but she was trapped in his presence.
“W-What?” Serena gaped. Danger crept in her brain.
Serena’s eye popped wide as she felt a cool sensation along her cheek, yet as quickly as it came, it disappeared, replaced by a burning rash. Connor grinned, this time with teeth. It scared her.
“Welcome to our skyline, Serena. And trust me, it’s a better world.”
It took several minutes before Serena was able to respond back.