𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐎𝐂𝐈𝐄𝐓𝐘- a labyrinth sequel

𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘- 𝐎𝐍𝐄

𝐀𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐀 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐓-𝐑𝐄𝐈𝐃 𝐀𝐋𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐆𝐎𝐓 𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐊. Until now. She liked to consider herself to be a person with a fairly strong immune system. She didn't believe it when people told her that college students were always sick, but she believed it now. It started last week when Sydney had gotten sick and was rotting in bed for a week, which wasn't any different from what she'd been doing every day since that party. 

Aurelia had managed to avoid the germ-ridden storm that had swept through the dorms. Until now. It was as if the universe had decided that after all these years of dodging colds and flus with ease, her time had finally come. She felt the first tickle in her throat that morning and dismissed it, blaming the dry air in the library. But by mid-afternoon, her head felt like it was being squeezed in a vice, and every swallow was like dragging sandpaper down her throat.

She glanced over at Sydney, who was still cocooned under a mountain of blankets, sniffling and coughing like it was her new job. "I told you this place is a breeding ground," Sydney croaked between coughs, her voice hoarse but laced with smugness.

Aurelia groaned, pulling the edge of her cardigan tighter around herself as if that could somehow ward off the inevitable. She wasn't used to this—the heaviness in her limbs, the fog settling behind her eyes. She prided herself on being untouchable, the one who always powered through. Now, she was at the mercy of the same relentless sickness that had knocked Sydney out of commission for a week.

"Do you think this is what dying feels like?" Sydney croaked, turning on her side so she was facing Aurelia. Underneath those green eyes, there was something else bothering her, something she didn't voice to Aurelia in that moment. She sniffled and turned to face the girl, "I already feel like I'm dead," she admitted. Even if she wasn't sick, the thought still held true. She felt like nothing more than a walking corpse some days when she forced herself to get out of bed. 

"Do you think about it a lot?" Sydney said quietly, eyes fixated on the floor. "Dying, I mean."

"Sydney," Aurelia started, her body tensing up. She furrowed her brows at Sydney, who was staring blankly at her. If she didn't have a reason to be worried before, she most definitely did now. Ever since that party, Sydney had been like a husk of a person, and Aurelia knew something had happened, but this conversation only solidified the fact that something was so very wrong. "What happened?"

"Never mind," she replied back with a dry chuckle, one that Aurelia knew was forced. It was the same chuckle she gave to guys that pursued her, guys she had no interest in. She laughed like that when she wanted to get away from them, or change the subject. "It was just another one of those epiphanies I've been having."

"Syd," Aurelia repeated, her eyes softening. She felt like she was way in over her head with this, and Aurelia eyed her cellphone for a moment, knowing that if she opened her contacts, she'd find the number of Sydney's mother. She had reason to be worried about her, but maybe there was something that her mother could do to help. But then again, Sydney might get angry with her for getting involved in things that she had no right to be worried about. 

But then again, Aurelia would rather Sydney be angry with her then stand back and do nothing and risk something bad happening to her. 

"At the party, did someone try to-"

"I don't want to talk about it," Sydney cut her off, rather harshly. She'd never even heard Syd use that tone before. Aurelia flinched, and Sydney frowned as she turned around, her back now towards her as she stared at the wall. Aurelia wanted to push her, wanted to demand more answers, but how was she supposed to do that? Aurelia wasn't equipped enough to handle a situation like this. It felt like no matter what she did here, someone could get hurt.