Chapter 2: Morning Comes

By morning, I woke up bleary eyed and feeling heavy. My nose was starting to feel a little stuffy and my throat was a little dry. I didn't think too much of it and chalked it up to our late night of carousing. Alexa had had to leave early to go to work and Tamara's mom called her to pick her up. We locked up Alexa's apartments and I pocketed the key as I was going to give it to her when I see her at work. Tamara dropped me off at the same café the day before and made her promise to leave me there so she could go pick up her mom. I didn't mind. I liked walking. However, as I continued to walk I started to feel worse. The nose was getting more and more stuffy and it was getting a little hard to breath despite my already slowed pace. Soon I started to cough and I could feel my skin getting hot. My head started to ache and my eyes felt like they were about to pop out of the sockets. My already slowed pace slowed to a crawl. A growing sense of apprehension was building. Could this be something worse? Could this be covid?

As I was nearing the hospital half an hour later, I saw Tamara and Alexa. I was relieved. I waved them over. Just as they were in earshot I felt a hand grip my arm. Strong and firm. Pulling me back to turn to the owner. Helpless in my state, I turned. It was Raf. He looked different. His eyes glowed. His expression shadowed, his lips curved into a twisted grin. It was almost sinister. I was fast growing weak and I could feel him pulling me along beside him into his car. By this time I was growing out of breath, and in his hurried pace he was all but dragging me behind him. I could see in Tamara's and Alexa's faces the surprise that I felt, but they were too far away to do anything. Despite my sorry predicament, I didn't want them any closer lest he take them too. As he continued to drag me towards his car I could see that he was not alone. Worse was when I turned to his face and saw that he had every intention to take them as well.

"RUN!" I shouted with the last bit of effort I could muster. I could see them freeze for a moment then mechanically snap back into attention as they see Raf's burly companions make towards them. They ran and I was relieved. Raf waves a hand towards the other two and they went back into the car. My vision was getting fuzzier by the minute, the fever raging high. I clung to consciousness as hard as I could

Stay awake! I need to know where they were taking me. I thought; but exhaustion, adrenaline, fever and everything else came rushing in and I could not hold the tide of darkness back anymore. Darkness swallowed my vision as he started the car and was pulling away from the curb.

Slowly my consciousness crept back in. As I opened my eyes, my vision slowly started to focus. I was on a bed. I felt hot and cold at the same time. My nose was congested. My throat was on fire and it was getting harder to breath. I mentally tallied to myself. I thought the worse. I did catch COVID and it was progressing fast.

Where did I get it? Joshua? Raf? the girls? My mind whirled, but they were all alright. None were symptomatic when I saw them I reasoned to myself.

I started to get up and the world did a summersault. I had to close my eyes or risk being sick. As the world righted itself again, I hesitantly, swung my legs on the side of the bed and started to stand. Where am I? I remembered Raf taking me but to where? and why?

Slowly I walked to the door, shuffling footfalls were on the other side, and I could hear a voice arguing: "why the hell did you bring her here? what are we going to do with her now? infecting her was not a good idea! how are we going to get the others now?" a voice I didn't recognize shouted.

"they will want her back. all I have to do is call. don't be melodramatic. infecting her was just so it would be easier to take her." and a chill went down my spine as I clearly recognized Raf's voice answering in a placating tone.

So they were the ones who did this but why? I was so confused.

Just then my phone rang. I could hear my ring tone on the other side of the door. "see..." Raf said to the shouting voice. It was obviously one of the girls he was talking to. "if you want her back meet me in the address I will text you. alone... no cops." then silence, he was likely listening to the girls' replies. "sure you can talk to her." the footfalls came closer. I backed away from the door and it opened with a loud bang. "hello, old friend, someone wants to talk to you." I was heaving now, wheezing almost. I could tell I was slowly worsening beyond their help. I took the phone with unsteady hands. "hello?..." it was Tamara's voice, she was trembling, I could hear it in her voice. "Tam, I'm fine. I'm not hurt. don't do what he sa....." the phone was snatched away from me so fast I lost my balance and fell to the floor, catching my breath in short gasps.

"no no no.... don't be a naughty girl. just you wait and you will see them again." Raf tsk-ed at me. I was struggling to get up at this point. "get her in the car." he says to his henchmen and the burly men from before appeared in the doorway to carry me to the car. They deposited my in the back while one of them slid into the front and the other to my side. It was all I could do not to slump to my side. I could feel myself shivering, from the cold, the fever or the fear, I was past wondering anymore. My eyes were like fire and my breathing short and shallow. I could hear a small wheeze at the end of every breath and knew without a doubt that my lungs were failing. The airways were closing and I was retaining more and more carbon dioxide with each breath; but I had to fight the growing fog if I wanted to keep them safe.

Raf drove for quite a while into the middle of nowhere. I lost consciousness a few times and was already disoriented by the time I woke for a 3rd time. When we arrived in a small patch of land with nothing but fields the eyes could see, the men left the car to wait for the girls. Believing I was unconscious and too weak to escape, they didn't bother to leave anyone in the car. One of his burly companions was either not too bright or thought I was to far gone to do even move that he left my phone on the dash. I slowly reached for it and dialed Tamara's number. I was now slumped over the back seat, feeling out of breath and dizzy. "Tam... Listen... to me.... don't come... I'm in..." words came in gasps as I could not breathe properly. I knew my lungs were slowly filling with fluid. Soon I would not be breathing at all. "in respi failure... you... cant... save me.... he... infected... me.... covid... Don't... Come.." and the car door opened violently, the phone was snatched away from my hand. it's ok I said what I needed to say... I could rest now. I thought to myself. Slowly I closed my eyes and concentrated on my breathing. I was gasping short, shallow breaths, soon I will have apneic episodes and by then my brain will shut down and finally I will stop breathing. I said my good byes.

Just as I was going to take my last gasping breath, I woke up! I was on my bed in the dorms. I could hear the shower in the stalls running, hear the bustle of people preparing for the day ahead. It was all a dream? Did I really die? I stood to go to the showers, Alexa was in one of the showers getting ready for work, Tamara comes in the door, towel and toiletries on one hand. "hey!" she calls. It felt surreal like it was glazed over. Was I still dreaming? It was late and I had to prepare if I didn't want to be late for work. I gather up my toiletries and head to a stall.

"Tam?" I call.

"huh?" she answers.

" you know I had this really weird dream about dying... and you were in it."

The end