The Psychic Within

Chapter 31: Dark

My head felt like it was about to explode. I lifted it, blinking blearily in a ray of morning light that fell across my face. My neck twinged painfully and nausea shivered through me. My stomach clenched, my throat seized. I rolled to my side, ready to expel whatever was making me so ill... But nothing came except for a weak, gagging cough.

It took great effort to pulled myself up to my elbows. I found myself tangled in a blanket and when I looked around, I realized I was laying on a mound of towels in the corner of the bathroom, close to the toilet.

The toilet... The smell hit me and I fought another dry heave, scrambling away from the scene of the crime. Now I knew why my stomach felt so empty.

I tried to stand but suddenly everything got blurry and my legs felt like lead. I tripped over them, falling face-first into the hall. I didn't bother trying to get up. I knew I would only fall again.

I dragged myself another few feet before my arms gave out too. Defeated, I rolled over onto my back. The ceiling was spinning above me. I didn't want to look at it—watching the lines of golden writing sway made my stomach tighten up again—but my eyes wouldn't close. Lying here on the hardwood floor... Something about this felt familiar. Recent, even...

"Rachel..."

I looked around the apartment, expecting to find someone lurking in some corner. But the room was empty. Just like me.

Whatever, I thought as my eyes fluttered closed. The room didn't stop spinning.

"Rachel..."

I struggled to open my eyes. Someone was here now, standing over me. Her face was hidden behind a flaming halo of red hair...

Polly!

"Rachel," she said. She sounded exasperated. "What did you do now?"

"Stand," I mumbled back. My voice was just a rattle. "Or at least, I tried to."

Polly sighed. She bent down and put something next to my head. A glass of water. Cold water... Condensation was forming on the side. I smacked my lips. My mouth felt like I had been chewing on sand.

"Drink," she ordered. "And take these." She opened her hand and held out two red pills.

I pulled myself up again, resting on my arms, and did as I was told. The water tasted like heaven. I chugged the whole glass back. The water felt strange in my empty stomach, but I wanted more.

"Feel better?"

I licked my dry lips. "Yeah. A little."

Polly took the empty glass and refilled it in the kitchen sink, then brought it back to me. This time it wasn't as cold but I chugged it back anyway.

"Easy, or it will come up again," she said, watching me. She took the glass and filled it again, this time leaving it on the counter.

I laid back on the floor, the water sloshing inside of me. At least the room had stopped spinning, and my head no longer felt like it was going to split open. I felt somewhat human again, even if just a little.

Something soft landed on my face. "Argh!" I sat up, pulling it off and holding it up. It was an old pink sweatshirt, something I hadn't worn in a while. Why...?

"You're gonna want to change," Polly said, answering the question before I asked. She gingerly stepped over me and disappeared into the bedroom.

I looked down and saw my t-shirt was splattered with... My stomach tightened and I ripped off the shirt as quickly as I could. It was little improvement; somehow the tank top underneath was stained too. "Ugh."