The Monster Inside Me

Chapter Eight

I sat up having a panic attack. I looked around trying to remember where I was and what happened. I was in an unfamiliar bedroom. There were posters of people on the wall, makeup bottles all over a dresser, clothes hanging over stuff, and a few stuffed animals sitting in a chair staring at me. I got up and looked at the mirror attached to the dresser. A picture was taped to the corner of the mirror reminding me of where I was. It was a picture of Ava and Colton. I was in Ava's bedroom.

I forgot, I had fainted outside the café. They must have carried me back somehow. I walked out of the bedroom and was startled by the dog barking at me.

"Buddy, tais-toi!" Milo yelled in another language. He looked up and realized I was up. "Milly," he said standing up, "you shouldn't be out of bed, you need to rest." He pulled me over to the couch and had me sit down.

"What happened?" I asked. "The last thing I remember is fainting. How long has it been?"

"It's been five days."

"Five days!?" I shouted in shock. "Absolutely not, there's no way it's been that long."

"You were really sick, Milly. It was to be expected. You said you lived underground for a long time, you've never been exposed to all these germs at once. Your immune system is trying to adapt to this new environment."

"What's happened? Where's Colton?"

"Colton is out, still trying to find a job, he's okay. Not much has happened since you've been sick. I've been staying here with you and I haven't left the apartment. Colton did stop by my place a few days ago to take a look around. It seems like everything is back to normal there, as if nothing ever happened. The incident never made it to the news channel and my apartment is nothing but storage for the pizza shop. All my stuff, everything, it's all gone."

"No one is saying anything about it?"

"No, we're thinking maybe someone paid some big bucks to keep everything hushed. In the mean time, I was making some living arrangements. I booked a flight back to my parents' house, I'm going to stay there for a while."

"I'm so sorry, Milo. Everything you worked so hard for is gone because of me."

"What happened, happened, it's time to move on now. I'm just glad you're feeling better. We couldn't exactly take you to the hospital after your fever started to get worse. Colton was worried about you, we both were."

"Thanks for worrying, but I'm fine now."

"I'm going to see what Colton has for you to eat, I'm sure you're starving." He stood up and went to the kitchen.

I sighed and rubbed my forehead in stress. I was out of it for five days. Was Zachariah searching for me this whole time? Here I had been hiding in someone's apartment and he would never know. The whole incident at Milo's place had been covered up too. Someone didn't want information getting out. Who did they not want to attract to the scene? Could it be possible they are keeping things hushed so Zach doesn't find me first? Or is it they don't want the public to find out about what's going on? Maybe a little of both.

I got up and went to the windows. I looked to the sidewalk below, full of people minding their own business. A part of me wanted to be them. Someone who was normal and oblivious to the troubles I had. I was being chased for no reason, my friends had been killed because of me, and my whole life had been lived behind walls. These people who walked the street had the freedom to do whatever they wanted. I envied them.

As I was glancing around I noticed someone out in the crowd that stuck out. They looked exactly like Zachariah and they were heading this way toward the building. Was it really him? The height, the figure, the hair, it all resembled Zach. Could it be possible? Was it really that simple to find him? I had to find out for myself.