He lowers me to the ground, tears off my jacket, exposing my lanky arms which uselessly beat against him.Make it stop, I try to yell.Stop! You're killing me!
He bites, and it's agony, but the blood loss is worse because I'm getting woozy, and my consciousness is slipping.
I can no longer lift my arms and fight back. My voice is lost, hot tears track down my cheeks, mixing with the fine mist of blood pooling, cooling beneath me.
I stiffen, as much as I can, when he pulls off my pants. Then he bites my legs. The pain is still there, but it's numbing. I'm losing feeling.
"Why?" I whisper, staring at the ceiling, at the yellowing water stain that I keep meaning to tell the landlord about. "Why?" I ask again. It's gargled, raspy. But I know he can hear me.
My body is on fire. Lifeblood drains out of me. Death rises. My racing heart weakens with each pulse. A panicked beat, steadily decreasing in strength.
I'm going to die here, in my apartment. My dad won't reach out until it's time to bring my meds. How long will I lie here, rotting, all alone? Will anyone come for me? Remember to check on me?
I want to sob, but there's nothing left.
When he crawls over me—this man, whose name I don't even know, who still smells like rain, the scent calming me in my final moments—I see a flash of regret. It's small, but it's there.His mouth and chin are covered in blood.Myblood. Coppery, citrusy, blending together.
He brushes a stray curl off my forehead. I try to ask why again, but I can't even whisper. I mouth the word,why. He watches me try to speak.
He takes a deep inhale. Emotions pass over his face, ones I'd not have guessed he was capable of feeling. This man is snuffing out my life without a reason. I've never done anything to anybody. I don't want to die.
I don't want to die.
I don't want to diealone.
I feel oddly betrayed by this stranger.
But the panic won't return. I still feel calm. My body is shutting down. My mind is hazy.
"Leave town when you wake," he whispers. "Go north. Do not stay here. My brother will take care of you."
He leans in and takes a deep inhale. Then licks my cheeks again, tasting my tears.
And then he's gone.
Chapter 4: Mona
Iwake with a start. Blinding light pours into my apartment, and I blink, letting my eyes adjust as I stare at the dust particles dancing in the stream.
There's something I should remember. A heavy boulder, right there on the edge of my consciousness. I stare at the dust and the stream of sun until the coppery smell of blood hits my nose.
And then everything rushes back.
I gasp for breath, but my mouth won't open.
Calm, a voice that is not my own, says.
Panic, which felt so elusive last night as I lay there dying, crawls up my throat, and I can feel my heart racing, every beat pounding stronger than ever, but try as I might to scramble up, my limbs won't work.
They aren't my limbs.
My body stumbles on wobbly legs. I'm low to the ground. I take a few steps, then fall, and I try to let out a scream, but nothing happens.
Calm!the voice says again.
I try to speak, but I can't.What the fuck is happening?
And though it was just a thought, a voice responds.We are free.
