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I drew in a ragged breath and tried hard to surface frohtmare “Jesus,” I moaned Sweat slid down ? If I was, this dream hurt like a bitch

Wait, dreams aren’t supposed to hurt

Without warning hevery cell in its path I clenchedhard to block the rush

Then, as quickly as it struck, the pain disappeared

The sudden loss of sensation jolted my brain awake and my eyes snapped open in the dark This wasn’t a damn dream I took a quick internal inventory of all led, but thankfully reen halo of ital clock read 2:07 am I’d only been asleep for a few hours I rolled onto ers caasped and snapped them away like a child who’d just touched a hot stove

Holy shit, I’m on fire

That couldn’t be right

Don’t panic, Jess Think logically

I pressed the back of et a better read on how badly I was burning up Hot coals would’ve felt cooler than my skin

I must be really sick

Sickness was a rare event in my life, but it did happen I wasn’t prone to illness, but I wasn’t iot sick, but if the virus was strong enough I was susceptible

I sat up, allowing er for a brief moment on a very different explanation of rip You’re a twenty-six-year-old fe to happen It’s probably just the flu There’s no need to—

Without so , another spasht My body jerked backward as the force of it plowed throughthe wooden slats likeround The explosion of irl scream “Shiiiit!”

Another tre its vile ash intolost in the pale haze of sleep, I ide awake I had to fight this

I wasn’t sick

I was changing

Jesus Christ! You’ve spent your whole life thinking about this very moment and you try to convince yourself you have the flu? What’s the et to the dose before it’s too late!

The pain buried s locked beside me I was unable to move as the continuous force of spasms hitclearly in ood and noas paying the price “Jessica, don’t argue with me This is a necessary precaution You must keep this by you at all tie of an exclusively engineered cocktail of drugs, would be entrusted toThe contents of which were supposed to render me unconscious if need be “You may never need it, but as you well know, this is one of the stipulations of your living alone”

I’m so sorry, Dad