The Monster Apocalypse

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER SEVEN

Every molecule of oxygen escaped through Brin's mouth as her eyes bulged out of their sockets and two tears shot up toward the ceiling. Her shoulders clenched; both her feet shot up against Ash's hands. The pain was severe. She saw her life pass before her eyes in less than a second.

Then all went black.

"Brin? Brin? Are you all right?" Ash's voice sounded far away, like he was talking to her from behind a closed door across a mile-long hallway. "Brin, answer me."

The light returned, and the image of Ash's face came into focus. His hands were pressed against her cheeks, and his legs were shoved up against her hips. When he slapped her lightly, only once, she immediately sat up and started to cough. She was shaking, sweating. She looked ill, like a bad flu bug had ravaged her body.

"She's OK," Mr. Barker whispered, tapping on her chest a few times, then exiting the room to dispose of the syringe.

"Is she hurt?" Anaya asked, now from the other side of the room. She stood with Dylan and Crispin, looking on in morbid fascination. "That took a whole lot longer than one second, Mr. Barker!"

Their teacher returned to the room, and to Brin's side. He wiped some sweat from his face—he was perspiring even more than she—then leaned over to look into her eyes. "She was out longer than I expected," he said. "The wound had caused too much damage. She was so close to turning, I don't even want to think about it. There wasn't anything we would have been able to do."

Brin was still coughing. She couldn't stop. "Am I..." she tried to get out. "Am I... still... alive..."

"Brin, look at me," Mr. Barker said.

"I can't..."

"Look at me!" He turned her toward him. She stopped shaking, and the coughing finally ceased. Now all she started to do was breathe.

"Mr. Barker?"

"It's me. How do you feel?"

She gripped her chest, then pushed her hand against her arm, against the wound. It had been bandaged up, with no more sign of blood or distress.

"My head hurts. My stomach's killing me."

"Yes. Anything else?"

"And... uhh... I'm feeling... a little sleepy..."

Mr. Barker smiled. He waved the others over, and he helped Brin off the desk. She was weak and had trouble standing up. But as ten seconds became thirty, and as the others assisted her toward the main door, Brin started to become her normal self again.

"You're all right," Ash said. "Thank God. That was so close. So very close."

Brin turned to Ash, a warm grin on her face. "I don't know how I can ever thank you."

He smiled. "It was nothing."

She hugged her friend tight. Then she kissed him on the cheek. "I love you, Ash. You know that, right?"

He didn't say anything. He stood in shock for a moment. "You love... umm... I mean..." He brought his hand up to his cheek and smiled. "I love you, too, Brin."

She smiled back and turned around. "And thank you, Mr. Barker," she said, giving him more of a half hug. "You've officially become my favorite teacher."

He chuckled and patted her on the back. "I'm glad."

"Even if you do like horror movies way too much."

"Who needs horror movies anymore?" Mr. Barker said. "We're practically living in one."

"You've got that right," Brin said. "What do we do now?"