Until We Fly

Chapter 19: Blank Stare

"Nim! Nim, where are you?!"
Jake shouted, storming through the house while me and Köleil stood at the door.
Köleil held my hand still as I kept the infected one against my chest.
That's what Jake had called it.
An infection.

"Nim?! Come on! It's an emergency! Where are you?!"

No reply.

"James, why is Nim not replying?"

"Sh-she's probably just in the garden or gone out, Kö. Don't worry."

Jake slammed each and every door opening, all of them struggling to hold on to their hinges.

We met him in the kitchen, knocking over the table.
With a dagger in his eyes as he panted, he saw us.

"James, look in the garden. I'm going upstairs!"
He growled, running off again.

"Kö, stay here. Sit down and rest. I'll be back in a moment."

"B-but I can help!"

"No. Just...stay here."
Letting go of her hand, I ran to the back door.
I didn't know why, but I had a really bad feeling.

"Nim?! Nim, where are you?!"
I called out, searching every small patch of land in the garden.

The sky was black and starless with the clouds shielding their precious silver moon.
No shadows, no shades, nothing.
Just dark.

Then I saw her.
Her back against the wall, her arms straight and tense, her hands gripping the ground beneath her, her teeth tight closed as she panted.
Her eyes were wide open, looking out directly in front of her yet still seeing nothing.
Both eyes glowed bright, pure white.
It reminded me of Charlie...

Running over, I skidded to my knees in front of her, holding her shoulders gently.

"Nim? Nim, can you hear me?"

No reply.

"Nim?"

Nothing.

"God...what happened to you?"
I mumbled, carefully lifting her up in my arms.
"Come on...we gotta go show Jake and Kö that you're alright."

Though I said that, I could tell she definitely WASN'T all right.

Not at all.

"Jake? I've got her!"
Jake skidded into the room, panting still.

Him and Köleil both watched in silence as I lay her down on the couch.

"...h...how can..."
Jake whispered, kneeling down beside her.

"What is this? What does it mean?"
I asked while Köleil's hand found mine again.

"...this stage won't last more than a few hours. We should...put her to bed. Let her rest."

"But why is she like this?"

"That's not important!"
Jake snapped.

"...alright. I'll take her to bed and-"

"No, I will. You stay down here. I won't be long."
He mumbled, lifting her up again and walking out of the room.

"Köleil? Do you know what this means?"

But Köleil just seemed sad, burying her face into my shoulder and clearly not wanting to talk.

So I just sat us both on the couch, in silence, waiting for Jake to come back.

Though when he did, he too was silent. Ushering us off to bed without giving me a chance to ask.

Köleil quickly changed into her PJ's and snuggled down underneath the covers.