Weeping Fred

The sky was orange. Times like this were usually peaceful. The lives of most weren't affected by the stillness. Usually people went out of their way to be back home before sundown. He almost felt unreal in the slight breeze. His breath fogged the dying light.
Jonathan didn't often walk alone. He typically had the company of his pet or friend. Today was simple and there hadn't really been anything on the news in a while. He simply didn't feel it was necessary to have someone accompany his walk home from work.
Walking down a dark alleyway, he saw the shape of a seemingly homeless boy - around 14/15. The boy looked rugged, as if he hadn't showered in days. Jonathan decided to ask him if he was okay.
"Hey, kid. Are you okay?" He asked softly.
The boy made a sound like he was crying and didn't respond. His face remained neutral with the noise of sobbing still erupting from him. Stepping closer, Jonathan noticed a school uniform.
There was a high school close by the alleyway. He assumed the young boy had come from there.
Jonathan realized he wouldn't respond and handed him a 10 dollar bill. "Well...just, uh, arrive home safely."
With this, Jonathan left, not thinking much of the boy from the alleyway. When he got home, he turned on the news. There was news of a boy who had been brutally murdered inside of the basement of a shop. The shop was reported to have an alleyway where the murderers escaped from.
Thinking this strange, he looked closer at the school photo. The boy had black hair with a too-pale face. His eyes were thin and brown. He looked almost surreal, being the same boy from the alley.
'Young Frederick [_____] was murdered on June 20th, 2003. His body was found today; 5 days later.'
Jonathan shook his head. He wasn't tired enough to think that she's said 2003 over 2023. And why couldn't he remember the boy's last name? He had just heard it. For a moment, he thought he heard crying. He turned the volume up in hopes he could drown out this hallucination.
There was no boy crying in his house.
Jonathan turned off the television and went to bed. His head was pounding and he felt nausea sweep over him. He forced himself to go to the restroom to let the contents of his previous lunch out.
In the sink lay a pulpy and bloody mass. It sort of wiggled and shook. There were small creatures writhing inside the mysterious goop. He thought back to the enigma of a child he had seen in the alleyway. Had he gotten a disease from the stranger?
Jonathan decided to check it out in the morning. He thought of ways to pass the time before his roommate came home. As he thought, he started to clean the sink of the goop - which was still pulsing.
Jonathan rubbed his scalp. His hair was closely shaven and a dark brown. He wiped the goop off his face until his skin looked as it hadn't been stained with said goop. Jonathan's face felt raw. He shook his head and brushed his teeth. He would sleep it off.
Putting his toothbrush away, he pulled his clothes off and put on more comfortable clothes. He lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling. Jonathan drifted off to a dreamer's sleep. It didn't take long for him to wake in a cold sweat.
He could not move. Jonathan felt the same bile liquid forming again in his stomach. The sobbing he heard while watching the news appeared again. The young boy sat next to him on his bed.
He was crying, though in the dim light, the tears looked dark. Jonathan at first thought he was crying blood.
The more time that passed, the more he realized it was not blood. He attempted to move or speak, but couldn't do it. He simply watched in horror as the young boy's face turned from a living creature to a seemingly undead one.
The pain was what made him realize he wasn't dreaming. The boy had his hand over Jonathan's chest cavity. His chest began to deform and flatten.
The grisly scene ended soon when Jonathan's roommate unlocked the door and let himself in. The boy looked up, stopped his actions, looked back to Jonathan, then whispered something.
Jonathan realized as soon as he left what the boy had said, 'Weeping Fred'.
Jonathan's roommate opened the door and saw him laying there in a pool of growing blood. He quickly called 911 and tried to help.
Jonathan later found himself in a clean hospital. His room smelled like cleaner and vaccines. The TV was on and illuminating the room.
The same news lady as before was ranting about a murder, 'the police found the murderers, Vincent Williams and Sasha Valencia. They are charged with the homicide of their classmate, Frederick [_____]. The report states they poisoned him and kicked in his chest. He died painfully after the 2nd day due to dehydration.'
Jonathan's breath caught. He heard the sound of the same crying as before. Jonathan remembered high school; he had gone to school with this kid. He knew the killers and he had done nothing. Jonathan realized why he'd said 'Weeping Fred"
That's what they all called him for crying. Weeping Fred. Jonathan felt the same numbness as before, with the paralysis coming back. He knew his other classmates had died a few weeks before under the same conditions.
Fred this time finished the job. He used his hands to break the ribs of Jonathan. He allowed them to puncture his heart.
Dying, Jonathan looked at Weeping Fred for the last time.
Category:Beings
Category:Weird