274 (Complex Series, #4)

Chapter Fifteen

The image sends another round of bile up my throat.

A drop of blood lands on my skirt. I bring my fingers up to my mouth. They come away wet. I hold them to the glow of the floor, they’re smeared with blood. The sight of blood wipes away the numbness that settled over me.

I’m aware of the thousands of different pains traveling and spiking across my body. I close my eyes, desperately trying to dim the piercing pain in my skull. I lie down on the hard floor, uncaring that I might be in my own stomach bile. I don’t have the energy to move.

My mind slips away from my body, escaping into the world of sleep.

˚˚°˚˚

I awake to worriedly murmuring voices. My blurry eyes flutter open, but quickly shut as pain pierces through my skull. A soft moan escapes my lips.

“Oh good, she’s waking up.” The whispered words float through my half-consciousness.

“Are you sure?” Another voice reaches my ears.

There are at least two people here. Who are they?

Fear flashes through me. Is it the two people who killed Tooth? Are they here to inflict some more pain on me before finishing me off?

The thought is enough to force my eyelids open. I squint in the darkness, trying to make out more detail in the silhouettes bent over me.

Messy braids dangle from the heads of each person. It can’t be the boy and girl who murdered Tooth. I relax slightly, but I’m still wary. Are they going to help me or try to steal my food as well?

One girl tentatively asks, “Are…are you okay?”

Every square inch of my skin throbs, but I force myself to slowly nod my head.

The same girl says, “What happened to you? We found you lying in a puddle of your own blood.”

I shiver at the thought. Was I really lying in a ‘puddle of my own blood’ or is she just exaggerating? How long was I asleep?

I slowly move my aching limbs, pins and needles racing over my skin. I groan, forcing myself to sit up. There’s nothing I want to do more than simply sleep again, but I can’t let myself do that. I need to get further away from the people who murdered Tooth.

Besides, it’s easier for the Things to trace you if you’re completely still. I have no idea how long I’ve been lying here, they may be coming right now. Fighting them off would be impossible in my state.

I also need to find food for myself. All the food Tooth and I stored up is gone. Just like Tooth.

Nausea swirls in my stomach, forcing the thoughts away. First, I need to find out whether these girls are here to help me or get something from me.