"You are up?" He whispered in surprise.
"Why are you whispering?" I asked.
"The neighbour killed an underground monster that came up to the sound of the radio. Everyone thinks it's safer to whisper, especially in quiet hours. How are you feeling?"
The fact that the sentence made complete sense to me was disturbing.
"Like a dishrag. Where is my phone?"
"In your bag," he pointed towards a duffel bag by the wall. "But it's dead. The lights went out around four a.m., and I had forgotten to charge it beforehand. Sorry."
"Damn… How long was I out?"
"Two days," Andy said, walking over to the kitchen sink and reaching for the glass. "Judie helped to load you into the car, and we took the long route around town to avoid all the nests."
"Nests?"
"That's how people call the areas with larger monster populations. There are a few around town."
I took a moment to think. Andy brought a glass over to me and put it on the table. I nodded gratefully, and despite being overly full less than an hour ago, I still drank all of it in one gulp.
"But the town is so small. When we were in the forest, we met monsters, every what? Twenty miles. How come there are nests?" I emphasized the last "s".
"No idea," Andy shrugged. "They must be attracted to humans somehow. Want PB&J? We try not to open the fridge too much."
"You have some protein powder? You can just put it in the water. If I were out for two days, PB&J would be too much."
"Oh, right. Of course. It's a little stale, but I have chocolate and vanilla."
"Vanilla, please. And add some salt for electrolytes," he came over to pick up my empty glass and started carefully rummaging through the shelves in search of the powder. "What's up with electricity?"
"It's spotty," came a muffled response. I decided to move closer to the kitchen island, while my means of transportation would go unnoticed. "Internet, electricity, water - all go on and off. Someone on the radio said a few towers were down, so there is no cell service in this area. But you can still send a text if you go to the western end of the street. It's up the hill."
I parked my ass under the kitchen island. Andy finally pulled out a black plastic container and started mixing my salty water-protein shake. The consistency was chalky. It smelled of vanilla, but the taste reminded me of my dream about drowning in the ocean.
"How about the Greenmore area? Are there nests?" I asked after finishing my second drink.
"Is that where you live?"
I shrugged. When Andy was picking me up, we met at the coffee shop five blocks away from my place. He was just a fan who agreed to help me. There was no way I was giving him my address.
"A lot of Apartments are infested. That's another reason why I think people attract monsters."
I breathed out and rested my head on the wall behind me. It was a townhouse with lower density than a regular apartment building, but there were still enough people around. It's not like I could even make it there in my current condition.
I looked over Andy, just now noticing a dishevelled look and dark circles. He wasn't in tip-top shape when we met, but he clearly made an effort back then, with a clean-shaven face, fresh clothes and too much cologne. Right now, he looked like a shell of that man. Somehow, it seemed like he lost even more weight than I did in these past two days.
"Thank you for taking care of me while I was out. How is your mom?"
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He looked down the hall, towards the other closed door.
"Not good," his voice trembled, before he got a hold of himself. "She has been running a fever this whole time. I'm giving her Tylenol, but it doesn't help. She said a big dog bit her. I'm sorry, I used some of your antibiotic cream, by the way," I waved a hand at him. No one ever finished a tub of antibiotic cream on their own. "So the bite is healing well, but she still has a fever and refuses to go to a doctor."
"She can walk?"
"Barely. To the bathroom and back…"
We were quiet for a moment. Then Andy continued. "She is also… Angry. I know she is hurting, but my mother has never raised her voice. And last night, she threw her favourite mug at me…"
Honestly, I didn't care much about his mother. We were strangers, and I had no intention of changing that. But the tense silence demanded some kind of response.
"You can still see the doctor?" I suggested.
"How? Bring her by force?"
"No… Bring the doctor here."
"Oh," Andy fell deep in thought. I looked back at the window, uncertain now as to what might lurk outside. "Maybe you can try your healing card on her? To heal her bite mark? Maybe it will kill off whatever infection got through?"
I was tempted to tell him off, but I held back. I didn't want to get involved in whatever drama was unfolding in this house. We were about to part ways, and I wanted to keep it that way. But I was as weak as a newborn calf and needed somewhere to stay until I could walk again. Curing my cuts wouldn't make me instantly well, and I needed shelter and food until I recovered. My healing card refreshed every hour, and I'd probably need two or three uses to fully close each cut. That's nine hours minimum. I'd definitely need longer than that to sleep off whatever the poison had done to my body.
"Ok," I nodded. "The card is on cooldown for another fifty minutes, but we can try afterwards."
"Oh, thank you, Chloe," Andy said with so much relief on his face that it made me uncomfortable. "My mom means the world to me, and these past two days were hell. I can't…"
I zoned out his gratitudes. I felt a little better and had to use the bathroom again. When Andy was done talking, I successfully stood up and was even able to walk with the help of the wall. The progress was inspiring.
When the cooldown expired, we both went into Mrs. Hill's room. The air was heavy with the smell of sweat and vinegar.
Noticing my scrunched-up face, Andy said, "Her fever wasn't going down with Tylenol, and I remembered how mom used a mix of water and vinegar when I was sick, so…"
The curtains were drawn, just like everywhere else in the house, and when my eyes adjusted to the muted shadows, I could see Mrs. Hill's form, draped in a flowery flat sheet. She lay motionless on the bed, her breathing shallow and irregular. Her face was flushed a deep crimson, beads of sweat glistening on her temples and forehead under the wet towel.
Andy sat on the side of her bed and pulled the towel off her face. Mrs. Hill opened her eyes and swatted at him with a loose hand. Indistinct muttering came out of her mouth. She was looking at Andy with eyebrows drawn, mouth scrunched up in dissatisfaction.
Andy's hands shook when he put the new towel on her face.
The woman's red-rimmed eyes, flushed complexion and angry demeanour reminded me of the man fighting with the pharmacist at the gas station. Andy said she was bit by a dog, and that man was looking for a rabies vaccine. Could these instances be related?
I looked away, forcing my mind to focus on something else. This was none of my business. Andy wasn't my friend, and I didn't owe him my concern. I was here to use my card on the wound, as a payment for my short stay.
"She is still running a 102 fever," Andy said in a lost voice.
He got up and pulled the bandage off her leg. There, on the calf, was a series of puncture marks in two opposing arcs from the upper and lower teeth of an animal. It was scrubbed over. Purple bruising almost covered the red tinge of inflammation. But there was no pus, and the smell in the room didn't get worse when Andy revealed the wound.
I made two steps towards the bed, eyes fixed on the wound. All I wanted was to get out to the fresh air outside, unblemished by the heavy smell of an ill body.
I put one finger as close to the middle of the bite as I could without touching the actual scab. I activated my card and watched in awe as changes happened in front of my eyes. The bruise lightened and almost faded away, the edges of the skin beginning to flatten and knit together. This was my first time using the skill on someone other than myself, and the magic of it was astonishing.
"What are you doing?" Mrs. Hill mumbled. "Who are you? Why are you in my house?!"
"Mom, it's ok. It's Chloe, she is here to help."
"You ungrateful, little leech. I told you that you are not allowed to bring strangers into my house…"
"Mom, please…"
I didn't stay to listen. My job was done, and I used the support of the wall to get out of the room.
Prolonged standing weakened me, and my head was spinning too much to stay upright. So I walked towards the old, musty couch and fell on top of the sweat-soaked sheets without a second thought. In a matter of seconds, a dreamless sleep pulled me in.
Chloe's Deck (4/10):
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Blue Card: [Leap]
Instantly leap forward up to 6 feet. Beware of obstacles. Cooldown 30 minutes.
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Blue Card: [Heal Wound]
A small burst of healing for a single target area you touch. Cooldown 1 hour.
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Green Card: [Spear]
Basic proficiency with spear weapons. Grants +5% damage and improved accuracy when wielding spears.
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Green Card: [Poison Tolerance]
Dulls the worst poison effects, giving your body time and chance to fight it. Does not work on lethal poison dosages.