The Curse of the Red Death | Hiatus

12 | Death was Here

It came onto them slowly. The first signs were not obvious. It was already hot, so a little sweating was not out of the question. Then came the chills. It started with Kymil first. Jane noticed it quickly. The dark rings around his eyes were their first clue that something was very wrong. When he began to slump over in the saddle, though, was when alarm bells began to ring.

Within the first two days of travel back to Ital, they all had begun to show signs of the deadly disease. For Jane, it was like living her worst nightmare.

What was worse, though, was the treatment they received upon reaching Ital. They were refused entry into the city. Jane knew why and it made sense logically. They had to protect their other citizens. But what were they to do out in the shack the king and queen allowed them to stay in? With very little food or water provided, it was a sure death sentence. Resentment began to burrow into Jane's heart.

It was hot. Sweltering. Muggy. The type of heat that you couldn't cool off from. It stuck to you like tree sap and swelled in the base of your neck until you couldn't think straight. She felt sick in numerous ways. Her muscles ached with every shifting movement as if weighed down by hundreds of pounds. She curled into a tight ball, tears burning her already pained eyes as her head throbbed with a resounding headache.

Death would be a welcome companion. Vaguely aware of her surroundings, she sensed the presence of her companions.

Kymil.

Andwen.

She couldn't die. They were still here and in even more agony than she. Jane forced herself to sit up and swallowed past the bile rising within her throat. She felt like death itself. Dragging herself across the floor by her arms, she reached out for Kymil. In the dim light of the cabin, she noticed a sheen across his exposed skin. He was stripped to his underthings, laying on his back with his head propped up on a piece of wood. Her hand came down on his arm, noting how tacky his skin felt with all the sweat on it.

"K..." Pain shot down her throat. She winced, trying to swallow again. They needed water. They all needed water. "Kym?" she asked and her voice was deep, hoarse from the lack of drink.

His eyebrows pushed together, eyelids moving as he tried to rouse himself. "Jane?" He could only whisper.

She didn't want him to strain himself further, so she squeezed his arm. "Shh, it's all right. I'm going to get some water for us to drink. I'll be back shortly, all right?"

A noise, somewhere between a grunt and a growl, rumbled in Kymil's throat.

She let go of him, looking around the cabin to get her bearings straight. When she located the door, she dragged herself toward it and her fingertips began to smart with every pull. When she reached it, she took hold of the door and pulled herself to her feet. A wave of nausea swept over her and she had to close her eyes, leaning against the door with her full weight, until it passed. Legs weak from no use, she wobbled her way along the journey to get the water bucket and then on to the well. Draped across the mouth of the well, she took her time pulling it back up the shaft to her. It was not an easy journey, and it took her well over half an hour to complete it before she stumbled back into the cabin. She dropped to her knees next to Kymil, dipping a makeshift cup into the bucket before pressing it to his lips.

He slurped it down greedily, water trickling down his cheeks.

That's when she noticed the sheen across his body was darker than sweat should be. Was it dirt? She pressed her hand to his arm and swiped her thumb across it, wiping some of it off of his skin. Lifting her hand, she held it above her head and into the light.

It was red.

Red as blood.

No, not as.

It was blood.