"I have been feeling a bit low these past few days. I'm not sure what is wrong, but I'm quite nervous. I have seen people go mad for no particular reason; and they keep dying. I have been seeing things that no one can explain... felt things that are too strange to feel... am I sick? Or have I just gone mad?"
"Darrel! The baby won't eat." I balked at the sound of my wife, Coroline, calling for me. This had caused me to draw an unnecessary line through the fresh words in my note book. I pushed my glasses up to my nose and hastily stood.
At dinner, Coroline refused to speak unless I did so. "This salmon is delicious, honey." the lack of confidence in my compliment caused her to chuckle. I couldn't help but smile. She nodded, and still refused to speak. "Why won't you speak to me?" I asked as I stared down at my plate of food. "Are you sick?" Coroline asked, the words coming out so fast they were attached at the ends. I dropped my fork and placed my hands on my face. I moved them up and down before looking at her. Her eyes grew red and water-filled. "Corol-" "Please don't tell me you have it." she emplored.
The rest of the night I spent writing about my progress with my illness. I have been assimilating new symptoms and thoughts. I frantically opened and closed the drawers to my office desk. I don't know what I'm searching for, but I hope I find it soon.
Light shone through the small glass ball on the amulet sitting at the bottom of the last drawer. I stared at it for a few moments before lifting it from where it lie for years without any form of contact. I examined the rusty chain and twirled the pendant between my fingers. My grandfather had told me stories about the power of the liquid inside; but warned me to never open it. His voice echoed my thoughts.
"This liquid is very rare...
It was made to keep people alive no matter what happens to them."
"Does it save people?" I asked and he laughed as he rubbed my head.
"You may need to figure that out yourself, Champ."
When he died, his will stated that the amulet be given to me.
Pain pierced my temples as I reminisced my childhood memories. I began to see inanimate objects move and speak. My fathers voice is all I could hear from them. I begged him to leave me alone, but he refused. I lay the amulet on the desk and stand up. The hallucinations disappeared.
I decided to call a friend of mine that had been diagnosed with the unknown disease. I want to see if my fathers theories are correct about the power of the amulet. He arrived when Coroline left to her sister's house downtown with Farrah. I don't want them in the house because they're vulnerable.
I asked Thomas to lie flat on his back as I conducted a series of tests. First, I placed a droplet of the liquid into his mouth; which slightly burned his tongue. Next, I made a small incision on his forehead, and withdrew his infected blood with a seringe. I placed a bandage on the wound and sent him home.
When I was the only one present in the house, I tested the blood and liquid. With a new, clean seringe, I placed a drop of the liquid from the amulet into the petri dish with Thomas's blood. Nothing happened; therefore, I decided to wait until the next morning to examine it again.
I barely slept through the night; as my anxiousness forced my eyes to remain open. After breakfast, I raced back to my office and placed goggles on my face. I pulled the petri dish from the shelf just above the lamp on my desk; and was careful to set it in front of me. To my surprise, the blood had looked clear and uninfected from any outside damage. I knew then that my Grandfather had lied. The liquid doesn't keep people alive, nor does it save them. It kills what is killing them.
***The Next Afternoon***
"We should give her the amulet." I suggested and Coroline shook her head with a worried expression. "What have I told you about calling it that?" she whispered as she rocked our newborn daughter. "She won't know the purpose. It'll be my gift to her, please." I nearly pleaded. Coroline hung her head in moral defeat. I retrieved the rusty-chained necklace with a meager ball attached to the end. I carefully placed it onto Farrah's small chest and clipped the chains together; whilst staring into my beautiful wife's eyes.
YOU ARE READING
Us Against The World
Adventure" We stand there for a few more minutes just pointing our guns and staring at each other. My arms begin to hurt, but I know that I cannot let my guard down. I know that eventually I will die; but I don't want it to be like this. If anything, Jexton...
