Hunt

Chapter 51: Spin Cycle

Whatever voodoo witchcraft Reyna cast on me wasn't a permanent fix. She even said as much. Before I know it my world is spinning once again as I'm staring up at my ceiling, trying my best to keep from throwing up. As much as I wanted to do something, anything, my brain was too focused on going through the rinse cycle to even form complex thoughts. I couldn't even think of how I could be of any help. Sitting here was the best I could come up with.

Eventually sleep does find me, my spinning room slowing down just long enough for me to doze off. My dreams come fast and in flashes. Pictures framed in a blur of light, all of it moving too fast for me to focus on anything or make sense of it. Waking up continuously throughout the night, the line between my dreams and reality quickly begins to blur together. At some point during the night I force myself to sit up. Which helps ground myself on one side of my fever dream, drenched in a cold sweat. My body demanded water, anything to replenish what I had been sweating throughout the night. But as I begin to roll my legs over the edge of my bed the spinning world forces me back down. Spinning too hard for me stand, let alone make the journey to the kitchen.

It was still dark when I look outside, the early hours of the morning by my guess. But I couldn't be certain whether or not it had only been five minutes or five hours. In the end I can't be bothered to verify, my clock just a blur of light on my nightstand. Heavy eyes pull me back towards the cycle of blurred dreams.

My road to recovery was going to be long. Days spent slowly shuffling around the house being under the constant surveillance of my parents, and my nights spent unable to find sleep. Either from my now clinically diagnosed concussion or from my natural restlessness. The medicine I got from the doctor helped a bit to slow the spinning of my world, but it wasn't as effective as whatever Reyna had done for me that first night. It also had the added benefit of making me relentlessly thirsty. So my brief moments of relief are spent making constant trips to the kitchen for more water.

Julie went off to start training with the Silverlocks under the strict supervision of Paul and the others. She reassured me she'd keep me updated on what's happening over there and that she's do everything she could to keep her identity a secret. But I knew it would only be a matter of time now before she was found out. All it takes is one slip up. However, the worst thing was that as the days drag on she'd talk less and less about the training. Not being in the loop with everyone was quite rapidly driving me insane. Like I was stuck outside looking in. I guess this is what Julie felt like when I tried to keep her out of this whole situation. I guess it serves me right. Maybe that's the point she's trying to make...

I was now on my fourth night spent trapped in the spin cycle. The light in my ceiling was looking more like a ceiling fan as I desperately try to keep my stomach contents where they belong. Sleep wasn't even on my mind as tonight has been far worse than any of my others nights by a long shot. But, like a switch being flipped, exhaustion crashes over me. Like being hit over the head with a brick I find myself slipping towards unconsciousness. My vision going dark around the edges as my focus narrows to nothing.

"What the..." I yawn, struggling to push myself up into a sitting position. This sudden wave exhaustion didn't feel natural, but I still couldn't fully process what was happening to me. My still spinning room not leaving much of my brain for processing this new exhaustion.

Try as I might, this was a losing battle. My eyes shut with heavy lids as I can feel myself falling asleep. My body going limp as the mattress under me feels like it's swallowing me, like I was sinking through my bed. Falling.

Opening my eyes I expect to stare up at my ceiling, but I'm surprised to find myself in a shaded forest. A low cool fog clings to the foliage as it swirls around me, an overcast sky casting the forest in a gray and drab light.