You just can't do enough for some people, I guess. A Zayn Malik Sickfic

Through the Dark

Zayn was vaguely aware of being moved, of gentle hands helping him lay down and then of his clothing being removed. A quiet male voice was speaking but it wasn't in a language he recognised. A smaller voice, a child's ,responded  and then a door was opened and quietly shut. Zayn tried to wake himself up but he felt stuck in a twilight world, neither waking or sleeping. A small , cold hand touched his forehead and he pressed his head into the coolness. He felt like his entire body was on fire. He was being burnt alive and he started to struggle to try to escape the burning hell.

A soft ,cool  and damp cloth was being wiped over his upper body, his face and arms and chest relaxed as the burning sensation reduced. He was then covered over and then he was aware of his lower body being uncovered and he felt  the  same cooling sensation on his legs. He so desperately wanted to wake up but he was trapped in his own  dark world. The same small hand on his forehead, not so cold this time. He fought to open his eyes but only saw a blurry image that he couldn't make out , then complete unconsciousness claimed him and he fell back down into the dark once more.

He had no idea how long he had been sleeping as he slowly cracked his eyelids open. The  soft glow of an oil lamp cast a dim light and enabled Zayn to examine his surroundings. He was on his back in the centre of a wooden framed bed and covered by sheets that smelt of lavender. A beautiful intricate quilt was providing warmth. The whole room radiated peace and calm and, even though he didn't know where he was, he felt somehow safe and cocooned from the world.

There was a slight noise and Zayn turned his head to see two little girls, identically dressed,  staring at him with wide eyes. He tried to smile but he felt a surge of pain and he struggled not to be sick. The girls looked at each other, seeming  communicating in that  one glance ,and one hurried out of the door.

A tall man, not much older than Zayn himself, entered into the room and shooed the other little girl out before sitting in a chair next to the bed. He looked familiar and Zayn's brain struggled to remember why and also why he , Zayn, was in a strange bed. The man stretched out his hand and Zayn took it in a brief shake. 

"I am Josiah" he said, his english as strangely accented as that as woman at the roadside stand. "You collapsed at my door"

"I remember, I think" said Zayn frowning as he tried to recapture the memories of what had happened. "I'm Zayn Malik"

"I know, my wife told me" Josiah said with a grin which confused Zayn even more. Who would know him in Pennsylvania County of all places?It was a Mennonite and Amish stronghold and neither sect had much to do with the outside, modern world.

 Zayn pushed himself up onto his elbows only to scream in pain  and violently vomit all over the bed. He felt an arm support him and a bowl held under his chin as he continued being sick. Josiah called out something and a small boy appeared, listened to what the man said , and took off running. A small woman appeared and whipped off the bed covers , then brought a bowl of warm water and cleaned Zayn up before covering him with clean blankets. Zayn lay back, exhausted and fell back into the dark yet again, still aware of the searing pain even in his unconscious state. It was consuming him and he felt like he was dying.

His temperature was rising again and he became delirious as he got caught in a dark nightmare world where he was being attacked by people whose faces he could not see, voices he could not understand. Perrie was standing there, yelling at him but her words were soundless. His former band mates were pushing him away, and he pleaded with them to stop, to save him. He felt himself falling into a pit and started screaming.

"Shhh,shhhh" gentle hands soothed him. He couldn't hear a voice apart from the shushing type sound as a hand smoothed his hair . He was gentle raised and a bowl of cool water was held to his lips. Then  he was  helped down onto his  pillow and once again his body was covered in a coolness as the damp cloth brushed against his  burning skin. Vague sounds on a man's voice and then what sounded like the pounding of horses hooves, Then silence.