The Calm Before The Storm

The Beginning Of The End

~Max~

-Dec 7-

I jolt into consciousness, a scream stuck in my throat. I'm half drenched in sweat, my breathing labored. I sit up, coughing painfully. I punch Chloe: who I just realized is sleeping beside me; in the arm until she wakes up. "Uhhg, what the fuck Max, can't you see I'm trying to sleep?" She mumbles groggily. "Wait..." Her eyes shoot open, "Maxholyshityou'reawake!" she says, all in one mouthful. I continue to cough, my chest feels like is on fire, I can barely breathe. Chloe sits up and pats my back, "Hey, take it easy,okay. Deep breaths deep breaths". Finally, after a few minutes, I regain control of my breathing, "Chloe... what. What happened?" I croak, "I-I don't remember". Chloe gives me a concerned look, "It doesn't matter right now. Just... just relax okay' she replies hugging me tightly. We sit there for a moment, holding each other in a warm embrace. "I love you so much, Max" She says, her voice sounding thin and frail. "I...I love you too" I mutter, choking on tears of my own. The last thing I remember... the last 'real' thing... was Chloe finding me at the lighthouse then.... Nothing. The voice, the one I hear in my head... I- I think it.... Uhg, you know what? My head hurts too much to even think about what happened. We pull away and smile at each other, wiping away tears. Chloe reaches over and places her hand on my cheek tenderly, "You're really hot" she says. I blush, "Ha, sorry Chloe but I'm really not feeling up to you getting all flirty on me" I reply, laying back down. "Huh, so not what I meant but good to know. Max, I meant that you still have a fever, how are you feeling by the way?". "I'm... okay, I guess. Tired mostly... a bit nauseous, other than that... I feel fine" I reply, facing her again. Now that Chloe mentioned it, I might have been having trippy dreams because of my fever... that would explain a lot actually. She reaches over and hands me a glass of water and a pill,"Here, Take this". I'm too tired to argue so I just take it without a second thought. "Okay, now will you be alright if I go get Joyce and David? They're kinda worried about you," Chloe tells me. I nod, "Yeah... yeah. I'll be fine, go ahead". She smiles and kisses me on the forehead. "I love you". Once she's out of the room, I desperately try and recall what happened to me but I can't, my mind is blank and fuzzy... I- I can't focus on what happened. "You're okay, Max" I say to myself, "Chloe is okay, Joyce and David are okay... everything's okay".

'Oh, everything is far from okay, Max' The voice in my head says, 'This is just the beginning... the beginning of the end'