"I may have saved her from the monsters that crawl through the dark, but she saved me from the worst monster of all. She rescued me from who I would have become without her, the monster that would have easily conquered my body."
* * *
Reese Chambler...
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I HAVEN'T YET regained control over my wild emotions when the door of the infirmary suddenly bursts open. My puffy eyes startle open as a scream louder than anything I could have produced shakes the foundations of the building. Maggie's folded body is dropped on the gurney across the room. She grips her stomach with her curled talons, digging into the exposed skin. Sweat dots her pale forehead and drips from the tips of her short hair. She would look dead if her body wasn't violently thrashing as another cold scream surges from her chest.
"Reese," Mr. Grimes shakes my shoulder and looks at me like he has been trying to get my attention for a while. My mind goes blank as my eyes lock on him.
"Reese!" He shouts again, this time grabbing both of my shoulders. I can almost feel my brain rolling around in my head. It hurts.
I blink and my eyes forcefully refocus.
Maggie's screams are choppy, sounding almost like a bird slowing getting its feathers ripped from the tender skin. The room is crowded now, there are too many bodies in here for me to breathe. The people around look familiar, but my overwhelmed mind struggles to identify them.
I know the girl standing next to the gurney tightly gripping Maggie's hand. She's my friend. I know the man who stands in front of me, his scared blue eyes looking desperately into mine. He's my enemy. I know the boy in the hat standing at the door, his quick feet carrying him into the already packed room. He's my target. I know the child that is cradled in his arms, the one that cries but still manages to smile when she sees me. That is my Meghan.
My mind clicks, then my eyes snap back to Mr. Grimes'. I harden my expression, shoving down all the fear, all the hurt, all the doubt deep into an unseen part of my chest. My soul has never been pushed away this far before, but I think I like the feeling of the numbness.
In an instant I am at Maggie's side, gripping her other hand. Enid glances at me, concern written all over her delicate features. Her eyes scream at me, asking for help. Everyone's eyes scream at me as they watch my every move.
"What's wrong with her?" I ask.
No one answers. I slam my hand down in the gurney, louder than Maggie's wails. These people wouldn't shut up about two seconds ago, now no one seems to have anything to say.
"What happened?" I yell, my voice dropping lower than it usually is.
"She just... collapsed," Enid answers.
"Maggie, hey, look at me. You are going to be ok. Scale?" I run my hand over her head, speaking to her in a soothing voice. She looks at me through the corner of her narrowed eye, then gingerly she raises nine shaking fingers.
"Where?"
She points to the lower half of her stomach, then grips it tightly as she screams again.
