Somnolent Strike

Expired

I woke up early to my bird cage cloisonne alarm clock. I'd always wanted a real pet bird but the landlord didn't allow pets, not even a goldfish or a mantis.

I got out of bed and tiptoed to the bathroom and from there to the kitchen. It was eight o'clock by now. Uni would be waking up soon and I liked having breakfast in peace. 

I got my marble cake out — the only thing I ever ate — and discovered it had gone a bit mouldy and the chocolate filling was churlish slime. I ate it anyway and then made myself a cup of Fizzy, using up all the expired milk in the silver plated tea caddy.

"What's that?" I heard Uni ask from the doorway. She was rubbing her eyes and looked so cute, I decided to be nice. 

"Just Fizzies. It wakes me up." I had made her one too but I thought maybe she shouldn't drink it in case it made her sick. So I melted the hard sugar and covered an apple with caramel instead and she seemed happy enough. 

"So I was thinking... what shall we do today, you and me? We could go and pick up Travis from his dad's." I was pretty sure that stupid woman on the phone was just Dick's one night stand and wouldn't know where Travis was.

"I thought I was going back to Mom's?"

"Not for another week. Don't you like staying with me? I'll let you play on the computer and we can download songs. I'll even take you to work. You can watch as many movies as you want."

I remembered I didn't have the cables or the mouse for the computer. Uni looked so hopeful it made me feel sad — and strangely sick. I retched and then ran to the bathroom, throwing up in the hole. It was half an hour before I finished being sick. I walked straight into Uni just as she was about to knock.

She frowned at me.

"You know what... you were sick from the expired milk in the fridge. There's all sorts of containers full of milk and cake. And they all taste disgusting. Why?" 

I ignored her, went into the kitchen and brandished the sugar shaker, powdered milk, and the bowl of apples at her. 

She looked unimpressed. 

"The sugar is hard as rock so you have to melt it, the powdered milk has clumps and smells like a dead body and the apples are rotten." She listed.

I decided to tune her out and switched on the TV instead, even though it was too early. Jacob's Ladder was on. I turned the volume up. 

"-of blood that coagulate in cracks and crevices along the way. The surface grows rougher, the wheels more insistent. Body parts and human bile splash against the walls as the gurney-"

The TV flashes and suddenly the screen is black.

"What did you do?" Uni was holding the cable.

"I'm not watching that in the morning. And listen to me! You can't go making yourself sick like that." 

I leaned over and pulled her hair hard, then pushed her over. She got up and bit my arm so I punched her hard in the face. When she tried to fight back I punched her even harder. I did it a few more times until she stopped. Then I went back to watching TV.

Jacob is surrounded by doctors. "Get me out of here!" He screams and screams.

Doctor: "Where do you want to go?"

 JACOB: Take me home.

  Home?

  (they all laugh)

  This is your home. You're dead."

I looked over at Uni. Her whole face was covered in blood, her lip split, her eyes panda ring black. She wasn't moving. I blinked and she was back to normal. Well nearly. Her lips were puffy and split but she didn't have anything wrong otherwise. 

"Uhm... I- I'm sorry Uni." I switched he TV off to say it but sshe didn't eact. She just stared up at the ceiling, on her back.

When I suggested going to get Travis, she nodded slowly.