The sun was setting over the softly rolling hills and the amber light filtered through the windows of the cramped apartment. Amanda was moaning and babbling, her eyes clamped shut, and she began to draw her legs toward her chest. A soft touch against her nose snapped her out of the blackness and she was greeted by the concerned face of Moxie.
"Uuuuh, good girl Moxie." She extended a hand and found the soft hair of the tiny poodle there to comfort her. "It's getting late isn't it kiddo." Moxie climbed into her lap as Amanda slowly brought herself up to a seated position on the mattress. Her head was pulsating and she could feel herself boiling. She could see through her post-dream blurred vision that Kaylee was in the bathroom brushing her teeth while the shower was running. The sudden flapping of bare feet against the floor and Kaylee running toward her.
"Oh, my god, I was so worried about you." She nearly slammed into Amanda at a full run but tried not to hurt her. Her arms gingerly wrapped around Amanda and for a moment she didn't feel the intense pain. Kaylee's platinum blonde hair hung past her shoulders and brushed against Amanda's skin. "We've been worried sick about you and now you're here burning up you really should've gone to the hospital."
"Kay, I'm gonna be fine."
"Everyone says that, and they're always wrong."
"What're you doing home I thought you had to work?"
"What are you talking about? What happened to you? I wasn't going anywhere with you like that. I wanted to make sure you'd be okay."
Amanda explained the ordeal to Kaylee and in the intervening time, Elli exited the shower. Leading Moxie to rush to her side and hover around her ankles. Kaylee's reaction to the story was largely shock and confusion.
"Well, wha… I. Um… This is really bad. That was probably a rabid bear Amanda you need to be tested and treated right now."
"It wasn't a bear. I've just got a fever, I'll be fine."
"I swear I will tie you up and drag you to the hospital if you don't go on your own babe." Elli chimed in as she was brushing her hair and getting prepared for the night shift.
"Like you could Polly pocket." Amanda proceeded to make a juvenile face.
"Are you kidding? I could climb up there and knock you on your amazon ass." Elli smiled and walked toward the two. "It's good to see you up and about. We're all worried. Please, listen to Kay and go to the doctor. Besides you were planning on seeing Jennie at the hospital anyway right. You and Kay just take the bike and go." Kaylee watched Elli as she walked around them. Elli's colorful tattoo sleeve caught the evening light and came to life with vibrance. She placed a hand on Amanda's shoulder. "We're all here for you, all three of us just like always. We're just looking out for you."
"Okay, fine. You two win."
Elli was dressed for work with Moxie in tow and waiting at the bottom of the stairs for Amanda and Kaylee. Amanda was unsteady on her feet while being supported by Kaylee as they descended the stairs from their tiny apartment. The van was parked at a weird angle it's cheap cloth seats felt amazing as Amanda let her body fall into the passenger seat.
"I'll be at work, so y'all give me a call if anything comes up okay. See you soon, be safe." Elli began to walk down the street the five blocks toward the gas station where she works with Moxie prancing around behind her.
"I've gotta go to the bar first, tell Tina what's going on, and get some time off." Amanda sleepily mentions as Kaylee climbs into the driver's seat.
"Alright, but you're not getting out of going to the hospital." Kaylee smirked.
"Lay off, I'm not feeling great anyway. Please just take me there first I don't want to get fired." Amanda said as she slumped in her seat.
As Kaylee urged the aging van to life Amanda dropped into sleep again, far faster than she had in years. The darkness closed around her and memories of the nightmarish events she saw sped through her mind with vivid and truly stomach-turning detail.
Gleaming red eyes burned in the darkness as a warped form loomed above Amanda's eye line. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears and feel it behind her eyes, her voice was gone. She screamed but no sound could be heard. Her blood sang a chorus of adrenaline and fear. She could smell blood and the matted fur of the beast. Her feet were gone, she was running? No flying. She was trying anything to escape this creature. As she tried to escape the heavy shadows cast by the monster Amanda dives off the shadowed city streets into the thick forests. Gnarled trees cast shadows in the bright moonlight the looming shadow of the creature approaching behind her. Looking back to see it growing to eclipse the buildings she turns around to see massive jaws closing around her. Teeth shaped like broken glass and larger than eighteen-wheelers bearing down on her.
"Amanda wake up. We're here." Kaylee's hand was clasped around Amanda's wrist gently shaking her.
"Gee, aah! Don't ahh. Sorry, I dozed off; and had a nightmare."
"Yeah, I could tell you were restless and squirming the whole time. Are you alright?" Kaylee's sparkling blue eyes reflected the streetlights, caring and warm like they always looked.
"I, uh… I'm probably traumatized. I'm betting a doctor would agree. You don't see a friend get…" The end the of sentence flashed into Amanda's head and she froze in her tracks. "Never mind, you wanna come with or you want to just wait?"
"I'm going with you, I'm not letting you out of my sight come on."
Amanda and Kaylee pile out of the van and head toward the front door of Tina's Top Shelf, the neon sign was just beginning to glow, casting the two in unflattering pallid light. After opening the door and wandering into the dark bar the harsh buzzing sound of the neon was replaced by the mid-level rumble of a crowd on a night with no entertainment. Bartenders dressed in low-cut tops held conversations with new and old patrons alike and poured overpriced drinks while wishing they were anywhere else. Weaving through the light crowd the two made it to the back of house where Tina's office sat. Amanda cracked a knuckle heavily against the hollow wooden door and was given an invitation by a voice from the other side.
As they entered the door Tina stood, her tussling brown hair bouncing in every direction. Tina had the look of a dollar store Marylin Monroe doll. "Amanda, sweetie, it's good to see you. How are you feeling?" Tina nearly yelled in her thick southern drawl. "After what happened I tried to call but I couldn't get through to Jennie." She said as she moved toward Amanda and offered her a hug. She accepted knowing it was most likely disingenuous, but she was raised to be polite after all.
"I'm not okay, I thought I could bandage this up myself but I think it's getting infected and I'm heading to the hospital in just a minute. With any luck, I'm going to try and see Jennie and Terry there too. I was hoping I could ask you first about not coming in for the rest of the week because, well you know."
"That's ridiculous of course you can, do you know anything about Terry?"
"I saw him lose his arm, I got him to hospital and last I heard he was still among the living so that a miracle all on its own. I'll be trying to see how he's doing but I don't know what's going on." A cold chill ran up Amanda's spine; however, that icy feeling settled into her bones before she could finish thinking about it. "Ss, So um, I'll just catch you back on Friday night when the crowd picks back up I should be feeling better by then."
"Sounds good."
"Thanks, Tina I've got to go. I'm really not feeling well this is bad." Amanda started breathing heavily. "Kaylee can you help me out please."
"Yeah, no problem." Kaylee rushed through the doorway where she had been waiting and allowed Amanda to stabilize herself on her shoulders.
The two walked out of the bar slowly trying not to worsen whatever was causing Amanda excess pain. "Uh, I feel like I'm about to freeze to death, I'm so tired. I, I. Thank you for helping me." Her words faded out as she was placed into the van by Kaylee. Street lights began to pass over the roof of the van and the two made their way to the hospital. Amanda's vision was fading in and out as she was exiting the vehicle leaving her trembling and nearly blind relying on one of her best friends to guide her.
The automated doors open in anticipation of their approach, and the two women shuffle through the door. Finding a wheelchair nearby Kaylee ushers Amanda into it and proceeds to lead them toward the emergency room. As Amanda begins to attempt to answer some questions being asked by the hospital staff, she can feel her mind clouding. She could feel her fever growing more intense, a pain shot through her stomach like she'd not felt before. Her world once again fell dark. The world around Amanda shifted from herself being wheeled by Kaylee into a stark white room with a loudly ticking clock and a powered-down television hanging haphazardly from the drywall. She could hear voices from the next room, footsteps on the hard tile floor above her, and the soft whirring of the air vents. Moving for a moment she felt a sharp tug. While apparently, they'd determined she needed an IV. She realized that she couldn't breathe properly. She lifted her free hand to her nose and realized that she had a feeding tube in.
"Goddamn that stings, well let's see." Amanda rolled in the direction of the IV and raised her eyes to the bags themselves. "Of course", she muttered under her breath as she realized the writing was facing out leaving her with two huge clear bags of mystery swill.
The door's hinges gave a loud crack as they opened, giving ingress to a young woman in scrubs. Her name tag read Ashley and her smile said please let me sleep. "Oh, you're awake. Good. Can you tell me where you are?"
"A hospital, I forget the name but yeah I know roughly where I am. Where's Kaylee, uh, the girl that brought me in?"
"In the waiting room. Miss our doctor will be back by in just a few minutes so relax and let the fluids do their work." The nurse began to turn.
"Wait, hold on, I feel a lot better. What was wrong?" Amanda called feeling a small amount of desperation in her voice.
"Oh, let me see." The nurse's shoes squeaked as she walked to the foot of the bed and retrieved the clipboard. "Mild dehydration, a fever that seems to have broken (most likely from dehydration), and a severe degree of malnutrition. Thus the vitamins and saline they're pumping you. They'll be giving you dinner in a few minutes. Can you tell me when was the last time you ate?"
"Last night, uh, wait no this morning at about six-ish. I'd gotten off work and it was a rough night. Got bit by an animal, and my friend lost his arm trying to help me get away from it. Can you tell me where Terry Green is? I don't know if you can tell me but I just want to know what room he's in. So I can go see him and his wife."
"Umm, did he get brought in this morning?"
"Yeah, he had a tourniquet on his arm and was going in and out of consciousness." Amanda could feel herself beginning to weep, and just let it happen. "We heard screaming and tried to help but that poor guy was dead by the time we got there and I… I, please just tell me he's okay."
"I'll try to find out." The nurse extended a hand and squeezed Amanda's hand. "Try not to dwell, relax as much as you can. He's being taken well care of and you need to focus on yourself. It's okay to be selfish now and then."