Roll of the Dice

Chapter 5

It was quiet when Izzy returned home. A single light in the living room was on. She opened the door. It responded with a long loud creek. She winced and looked around, praying that no one heard her. She slipped her shoes off and crept past the living room.

"Cutting it a bit close Izzy," a voice said.

Izzy paused and slowly turned to face the living room door; her arm hidden behind her back. "Hey Peggy, I know...sorry..." She smiled weakly. "I'll go straight to bed." She hurried off and entered the bathroom before Peggy could say anything else.

Without hesitation she threw off her sweater and looked at her arm. There was a deep gash in her forearm. Blood spilled down her arm. She turned on the tap and placed the wound under the water. She winced in pain. From the medicine cabinet she pulled out a roll of gauze, medical tape and some disinfectant. Whatever that was couldn't be that clean. When the wound was dried, she slowly poured the alcohol over the wound, biting down on a towel to stop herself from crying out. Then she wrapped the gauze around her arm and taped it down. It wasn't great but it would do. She yawned, too tired to brush her teeth she shuffled to her room and collapsed onto her bed, falling asleep instantly.

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The next morning Izzy woke early--earlier than usual. Beside her she could hear the soft breathing of her roommate, Anya. Silently, she pulled on some clean clothes before creeping into the bathroom. Gently, she unwrapped the wound from the night before. Good news and bad news. By now the blood had crusted over. But the wound had started oozing green. That couldn't be good. From the cabinet she grabbed rubbing alcohol and more gauze. Once again wincing from the pain, she quickly cleaned and rewrapped the wound.

Slowly, she took a seat on the edge of the bath, pulling out her phone. She started a group text: Hey, need to talk. Something's come up. Meet at the Starbucks at the intersection of Broadview and Danforth at 10:00. —Izzy.

She slipped the phone back in her pocket and sighed, her shoulders slouching. What was that thing that attacked her last night? Even though it had the body of a man, the creature was almost animalistic. Izzy had never seen anything like it before. And whatever it was, it was bad news. She groaned and rubbed her face gently. Suddenly, there came a loud knock at the door and the knob jiggled. Izzy jumped.

"Someone's in here!" She called.

"Can you hurry up Izzy? I really need to go to the bathroom," came the familiar voice of Sarah.

"Uh..." Izzy got to her feet and hurriedly placed everything back where it came from. "Sure...I'll uh...be right out."

"Uh...are you okay Iz? You don't sound your usual jaunty self," Sarah commented.

Izzy opened the door and looked tiredly at Sarah. She managed a small smile. "I'm fine, I just got in late last night and I'm really tired." She kept her arm behind her back as she passed Sarah.

"Okay, if you say so." Sarah stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

Izzy remained in the hall, quietly, for several minutes. The events from the night before had really shaken her. Her heart pounded just thinking about it. After a few deep breaths to calm her nerves she finally managed to move. Slowly she entered the kitchen where Peggy was already starting the long process of making breakfast. One of the little ones dangled from one of her arms. Peggy turned.

"Oh, excellent. Izzy, could you take Liam here while I get the eggs and bacon started?" Peggy asked.

Without hesitation she took Liam from Peggy. A pain shot through her arm as the sudden weight pressed against her arm. Painfully, she took a seat at the table with him.