Feeling Ill

Once Zagan left orders with Brandt in the kitchen to make sure Penelope and the Luna were well fed, he started to feel ill. Feeling ill was not something he was terribly familiar with. As a non-living being, he didn't have much that could go wrong with his body. At most, he would feel weak when he had little blood to sustain him. But other than that, there were no bodily processes that he had to concern himself with.

But now it felt like fluid was making its way up his throat, and he found a vacant room to shut himself in for the time being. He bent over the arm chair to brace himself, and then he did something extraordinary. He coughed. It was not a pleasant feeling.

And then he coughed again. And again. And when he drew his hand away from his mouth, there was a splatter of red blood there. Penelope's blood. The blood looked black in the dark room.