The Nightmare Game (24 page)

 Eventually I could run no more and was forced to
slow to a walk. I heard their voices growing nearer as they began to catch up
to me. I pushed myself to go on, but I felt my body on the verge of giving into
complete collapse. I walked as fast as I could, but it soon became only a slow
walk, a stumble that probably looked quite similar to my pursuers’ scuffling
movements. Eventually, I fell. Nothing tripped me this time, my legs simply
gave out. As I could hear their murmurs of “help me” coming closer and closer,
I realized there was nothing I could do this time except wait here and let them
get me. I was the hunted; the hunters had won and the pack was getting ready to
rip me to shreds. I looked up for one last glance at whatever world this was.
The fog had lifted greatly and I realized that I was lying at the edge of the
forest, right in front of a sprawling yard leading up to a large plantation
home. Hope leapt into my heart. Maybe someone lived there! Maybe someone
actually alive lived there! But what did it matter, for I was spent and didn’t
have it in me even to rise from the ground. The little dragon on my necklace
began to vibrate and I thought once more of Edmond and all the hopes he had
pinned on me.
I’m sorry,
Edmond,
I thought, giving up.
I let you
down. I let everybody down
. As the sounds of the ghouls behind me came
closer and closer, out of nowhere a last burst of survival energy shot through
me and I managed to make it to my feet. To my left, I saw the hand of one of
them out of the corner of my eye. I screamed as I put everything that I had
left into gaining the speed I needed to elude the slow yet persistent pursuers.
I ran, staggering up the stone pathway that led to the front door, not daring
to look back or left or right, knowing that the creatures were close behind me.
The mansion felt so far away and I felt as if I were running in a dream, my
legs seemed to be caught in glue. I had almost no reserves left, but I had to
make it. My life depended on it. Finally, after what seemed like forever, I
made it to the front steps, climbed them, the four feeling like forty, crossed
the porch and banged on the door.

“Help me! Help me!” I screamed at the top of my
voice, pounding the door relentlessly. “Please, please let me in! Somebody,
open the door! They’re after me! They’re going to kill me! Help! Please help!
Please let me in!”

But there was no answer. The door remained shut.

“Let me in! Let me in! Please! Please! Please!”

I fell to my knees, leaning my face against the
door, sobbing uncontrollably, seized by a terror beyond death. I looked behind
me and there was a horde of the creatures, slowly, surely circling in on me.

“Let me in!” I screamed, an animal scream that
didn’t even sound human. “Let me in! Let me in!”

I heard the boards of the stairs creak as the
first of the ghouls made its way toward me. I felt the icy, freezing cold of
its touch as my left leg went numb. A few moments later, a second ghoul touched
my right leg. I surrendered to trauma shock.

Just then, the door that I’d been leaning against
opened and I fell, face first, into a room and passed out.

I was greeted by a dark, frozen universe when I
awoke. I was unbearably cold and more ill than I had ever been in my entire
life, for this was worse by far than the even the vile after-effects of
Rochere’s fluorescent poison. I had no idea of where I was or how I’d gotten
here. I needed to get up, to examine my surroundings, to find out whether I was
still in imminent danger, but when I tried, I found that I could not move at
all, not even to open my eyes and look around. I struggled a second time, again
with no success. It was then I realized that somehow I’d been paralyzed, a
thought that terrified me beyond belief. I tried to comprehend my situation, my
rational mind once again fighting to remain in control, noting that while my
body greatly lacked feeling, it was not so numb that I could not feel the
trickles of sweat running down the sides of my face. How I could possibly be
sweating, I wondered, when I was freezing?

I then heard garbled sounds around me, followed by
incomprehensible voices speaking only static. I listened hard, but could
comprehend no words at all; I supposed that my ears must be frozen along with
the rest of my body. There were obviously other people in the room with me now,
but who were they? A horrible thought crossed my mind. Could it possibly be
those terrible creatures returning to finish me off entirely? Or had Rochere
come back to gloat at my misery? I panicked. The necklace! Was I still wearing
the necklace? Or had someone snatched it from me while I was unconscious? I was
helpless; I couldn’t even move to check for it. If I still had it on, why
wasn’t it making me feel stronger and helping me heal like Edmond said it
would? I missed him terribly. I knew that if he had been able to enter into
this twisted realm, he would have visited and healed me in my oblivion. More
than ever, I grasped the dismal reality that I was completely on my own in this
malignant realm.

Before I could dwell on the situation any longer,
something wet was put to my lips. It felt incredibly good and my body longed to
take it, but I knew I had to resist. In so doing, I found that I could move the
tiniest bit, because, without effort, I was able to close my lips tightly
enough to keep the liquid out. The wet object was taken away, followed by more
unintelligible voices. My previous thoughts returned to bother me but for only
a moment more because my illness mounted; copious sweat poured from my pores as
I became even colder than I’d been before. Without Edmond here to help me, I
wondered if I would soon die. Fortunately, I did not have to endure my
suffering long, for exhaustion overcame me and I fell back into
unconsciousness, too sick to remain awake, too sick to care about anything.

After a dreamless sleep, how long I did not know, I
reawakened. I was still frozen and could not move, I still felt sick, but I no
longer felt terminal. One part of my body had begun to thaw almost
imperceptibly: the top of my chest where the little dragon lay. I knew now that
I still wore the necklace; I could be thankful at least for that. Edmond was
right after all, it did help me when I needed it. I gradually became aware
again of the low, rustling sounds around me and the soft murmurs of the voices
but now they were more than static. This time I could make them out and, with
effort, I could understand.

“Do you think she’ll live?” the voice, so far away
I could barely hear it, sounded female.

“I don’t know,” a male voice said. She’s really
bad off and I don’t know what’s wrong with her. She’s cold as ice and extremely
dehydrated. It’s been three days already and she’s still not coming around. I
don’t know what else to do. She needs the water. If she would just take the
water, I know she would get better, but she keeps resisting.”

I’m here, I can hear you
,
I said in my head. I tried to open my mouth to speak, but couldn’t. I tried to
open my eyes or move my head, but I had no more luck at that than I did before.
I’ve been turned to stone
, I thought,
somehow, I’ve been turned to stone.

The man spoke again. “Here, you must take some of
this,” softly, gently, he implored. “Just a little. It will help you, it will
heal you. It’s water, please take some.”

A wet cloth was put to my lips which were so
parched that some of the liquid soaked immediately into my skin. It felt
wonderful. I was so thirsty, so incredibly thirsty. Nevertheless, I had to keep
resisting. My body might be frozen, but my mind was still aware enough to
remember who I was and why I was here and that I needed to avoid drinking
anything at all. I clung to the hope that all I needed to do was to be able to
stay put for a few more days while not ingesting the liquid these people were
trying to give me. It would be hard to turn it down because I was so dreadfully
parched, but Edmond had promised me that the amulet would give me the strength
and sustenance I needed. If he was right, I did not have to surrender in order
to survive. An unwelcome sliver of uncertainty crossed my mind because I
wondered if that sustenance included my current situation. I seriously doubted
that Edmond had taken into account the creatures that attacked me. If he had
known about them, I was sure he would have warned me of their existence and to
run if I saw them. I was sure that their creation must have been one of the new
surprises that Rochere had kept hidden from him. I pushed this thought aside
because it frightened me. The only way I could keep going was to hope that the
damage these new creatures had inflicted upon me was not beyond the scope of
the talisman’s ability to heal. I had to trust that it would appease my thirst
as soon as it could because their water, any water, was becoming harder and
harder to resist. I could resist it this time, I could remain stalwart this one
time, I convinced myself, recognizing that I would have to tell myself this
very same thing each and every time any liquid was put to my lips. If these
people would simply leave me alone for just a little while longer, I was
confident that the necklace would have a chance to cure enough of my paralysis
to enable me to talk, to communicate to them that I was getting better on my
own. I also had to believe that the amulet would assuage my thirst once that
task was done. Then I heard a door open; someone new had entered the room.

“Has she taken the water yet?” the additional male
voice, oddly familiar, asked.

“No, and I’m worried about her,” the first man
answered. “I’m afraid that she’ll die if she doesn’t drink some soon.”

“Don’t worry about it,” the second man said. “We
can’t keep trying to get her to drink. Leave her for now and both of you come
with me.”

The door closed a few moments later and the room
was quiet. I fell back to sleep again but was awakened when I heard the door
reopen. I could tell it was the same three people when they began to talk, but
their voices soon dropped to such a low whisper that I could no longer make out
their words. Again, I tried to speak to them, but again to no avail. It was at
that point, however, that I realized I was no longer cold or numb, proof
positive that my little dragon was fulfilling its duty well. Yet I still could
not move any of my voluntary muscles; even my swallowing reflex was no longer
voluntary. It worked only on its own and only when absolutely necessary.
However, there was no denying that I was definitely, albeit slowly, recovering.
The amulet just needed a little more time to finish working its magic. If no
one interfered, perhaps I could be ambulatory, if not fully cured, in as little
as another day or two. My thirst, however, was another thing, for it was even
more intense and demanding than it had been at my last awakening and was now
overwhelming. I could fight it only by clinging with all my might to Edmond’s
promise that, despite Rochere’s tricks, the amulet would sustain me.

The voices around me stopped whispering and rose
to a normal volume.

“You’re absolutely sure this is safe, right?” the
woman asked.

“Of course,” the familiar man’s voice said,
somewhat condescendingly. “She gave me the ingredients to add and precise
instructions for mixing it herself. How could you even doubt our Queen?”

“I’m sorry,” the woman said, compliantly.

“I don’t think she was doubting our Queen,” the
other man said. “I think she was doubting you.”

“Regardless,” the first man answered. “Let’s just
get this over with. I’ve got better things to do with my time.”

Get what over with? What were they going to do to
me? My mind no longer questioned but now demanded, who were these people? More
importantly, who was their “queen”? Only one name came to mind. Rochere! Had I
been rescued by her minions? Had I been under their control this entire time? I
heard the floor creak as the three of them walked over to me. I tried to move,
to let them know I was healing up just fine without them, that they needed just
to leave me alone. I tried to open my eyes, to move my fingers, anything to
give them a sign that I was on the mend, but nothing happened; I was just not
that restored yet. I felt the bed shift as one of them sat upon it. Then I felt
a needle go into the artery at my inner left elbow. I actually felt a liquid
enter my blood and I knew what they were doing to me. I felt hot tears stream
down my face as they forced Rochere’s poison into me against my will; I was
powerless to stop it. The liquid coursed through my veins, quenching my thirst
even from the inside as it filled my body with the hydration for which it had
been crying. The paralysis turned into a stiff feeling, which then disappeared
altogether. My muscles began to work and I could move again. I opened my eyes.
I was lying in bed in an unfamiliar room. Why was I in bed? Whose room was
this? Whose bed was this? Three people were with me; a man with white blond
hair was sitting on the bed holding an IV bag, while another man, a dark
brunette, and a blonde woman stood around it.

“Look,” the woman said, excited. “She’s awake, she
can move. She’s going to make it now!”

“Thank Arrosha!” the dark haired man said.

“Well, that’s that then,” the blond said, handing
the other the IV bag. “You two don’t need me any more.”

“Sure,” the dark man said. “We can take it from
here. Thanks for contacting Arrosha for me; I really didn’t feel comfortable
leaving her bedside for long.”

“Not a problem. I know you’ve been consumed with
taking care of her, but don’t forget, tonight we take essence.”

“Can we bring her with us?” asked the dark haired
man. “She’ll need to get some nourishment soon.”

“If it’s approved and if she’s up to it. I’ll set
an extra place, just in case.”

The blond man got up, and walked out of the room,
the dark one taking his place on the bed.

“Thank goodness you’re awake,” said the man now
sitting on the bed. “Can you speak? Can you tell us what happened to you? “

“What happened to me?” I repeated, not
understanding the question.

“You were terribly sick. You wouldn’t take the
water, you kept resisting it. Why?”

“I don’t know.”

“We were so afraid that you would die that we had
to give it to you intravenously.”

I looked down at my arm and the needle sticking
into it leading to the IV tube. The IV bag was already almost drained. My body
had sucked up the liquid incredibly fast.

“Wow,” the dark haired man said. “You sure did
need it. I didn’t know that it could empty that fast. I didn’t think it was
possible. How on earth could you be that dehydrated with such a low body
temperature and still be alive?”

“I don’t know.”

He took the needle out of my arm, putting the
empty bag to one side.

“More?” I asked.

“Are you still thirsty?”

“Yes, very.”

The blonde woman filled an empty glass from a
pitcher on the dresser, stuck a straw in it and handed it to the man.

“Here, this is fresh,” she said.

I sat up in bed without effort, took the glass and
drank most of it down.

“Had enough?” the man’s voice was gentle and kind
as he took the glass from me after I nodded. The woman refilled it and set it
on my night stand.

“Here,” she said. “In case you get thirsty later.”

“We’re going to leave you now so that you can get
some sleep,” he said soothingly. “You’ve had enough of the water now. You’ll be
completely healed after a good, long nap. I’ll come back to get you tonight;
you need to take nourishment with us.”

“Okay,” I said.

The woman left the room as the man rose from the
bed. On his way out, he patted my head softly and said, “I’m so glad we didn’t
lose you. By the way, what is your name?”

“I have no idea,” I answered blankly.

“It must be the trauma,” he said. “Try not to
worry about it. I’m sure it will come to you later as you recover.” He walked
out of the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

I plumped my pillow and lay down, covering myself
with the soft down comforter on top of me. I wasn’t really tired, I just felt a
dreamy, cozy sleepiness. I tried to remember my name again or what I was doing
here, but I couldn’t. My memories were as blank as those of a new borne babe, a
slate with absolutely nothing written upon it. I supposed that I should have
been worried about this, but I wasn’t, not at all. I wasn’t in the least bit
concerned about who I was or what I was doing here. I wasn’t concerned about
anything whatsoever. I simply felt incredibly happy for some reason, so I
closed my eyes and drifted off into a peaceful slumber with not a care in the
world.