Dead Bite

chapter 7

I wake up groggily with a migraine. The light leaking in through the window burns my eyes. I cover my face with a pillow to block out the burning rays of light. Oh, how I hate the sunlight. I can not move much and am quite shaky. Is it because I didn't eat? I groan as I toss and turn. My brain is pounding against the sides of its imprisonment. I feel a hand fall onto my shoulder.
"Kaylee, are you okay?" Damien asks.
"No!" I whine. I flutter my feet on the bed. "I have a migraine."
"I'll get you some painkillers," he kisses my head and the bed forms around me. The door opens and I hear Damien talking to someone. Then the door closes and then the bed indents beside me.
"I thought you were going to get me pain killers," I murmur into the pillow. If he is planning on getting me painkillers then he would have left.
"I told you I was not leaving your side, didn't I? Zachariah is going to get George to have him unlock his medicine cabinet." He rubs my back softly. I sigh, it does not hurt when he rubs my back. It feel quite nice. My back is still pretty bad. Once in a while, I would wake up to find that my bandages were bleed through. George would check on me every few hours just to see how I was doing without my medicine. Sometimes I think he is just coming to see if I go off my rocker. 
"Mmm," I moan into the pillow.
"Does that feel good?" He asks.
"Yeah. Damien can you rub my back more?" I plead.
"Yes, and I will be careful not to hurt you. Can you uncover your face through? I want to see your face." I move the pillow away from my face. I put my cheek on the pillow and put my hands on my chest so that they do not get squished between the bed and my body. I uncover my neck and cover my butt. Damien puts his hand on my shoulders and starts rubbing my shoulders. He then goes down in between my shoulder blades. It feels so good. He keeps going down slowly, trying to make it so I do not notice. He goes all the way down to my back dimples. I squeal as he rubs his thumb on my back dimples. It feels so good.
"Does this feel good?" He asks as he rubs my back dimples and my hips.
"Yeah," I moan softly. Then the door opens; however, Damien continues to rub my hips and back dimples. The door closes and someone's footsteps walk past me.
"I have the keys to unlock the cabinet. What's the pain, Kaylee?" George asks.
"I have a migraine," I answer trying not to moan.
"I have migraine medicine. How are you feeling this morning beside a migraine?" He asks as I hear the cabinet squeak open. A bottle of pills is being shaken. See, as I told you before, he is only checking on me to see if I was insane yet.
"Fine, besides the shaking," I shrug. "It is nothing too bad. Maybe just the lack of food." The cabinet closes and footsteps approach the bedside.
"How badly are you shaking?" George asks. I hold out my hand and he takes it in his hands. It is quite funny actually. He is actually acting more like my father than he is a doctor. My dad was always curious about how I was feeling and about how bad I could get. One time, he took me to the insane asylum where he was working on a project. He walked me inside and I found it quite cozy there. I felt like I belonged there. There were people my age that was unhinged from reality. Once in a while, my dad would let me read some of the reports of the people locked up. Some of them had dreams like me. They; however, could not control their wonderland's. I had a reign on my wonderland; I had not let the mad hatter get the best of me. I start laughing.
"Are you okay?" George asks.
"I am perfectly fine. Just thinking of some fond memories of mine from when I was a child, like my father taking me to an insane asylum," I laugh. I look down at my hand and notice my hand shaking. " I am shaking pretty bad, aren't I?" I laugh a little more. Am I going mad, or am I already mad? He sighs and lets go of my hand. He walks around to the other side of the bed. I look over and notice he was whispering something into Damien's ear. My laughter stops and I scowl.
"Hey! If you are going to say something then say it so I can hear it!" I bark. George stop and looks at me in shock.
"Um, I was telling Damien, you are already showing signs of anxiety. The anxiety will be the easy part. Once you are done with the anxiety then next will be the depression part. The depression part will take some sheer willpower to get through. That part will be the hardest out of everything. Fighting back the urge to do something stupid is going to be overwhelming."
"I will be fine. I have dealt with it before. I think I can handle it," I boast. Truth is, I do not think I can handle it. No, I know I will not be able to handle it. I just need people to get off my back about my anxiety and depression.
"Well, you can boast all you want, but I am the doctor here so I know you won't be able to handle it." He replies. I glare at him and he hands me the painkillers smiling. Why the little...
"I know I can handle it," I murmur as I sit up to take the painkillers. I swallow down the pills then take a deep breath. If this guy is going to be such a jerk, and say that I can't control myself then I am going to get angry. I do not think he wants to see me angry when I have not had my medicine.
"Well, I best be on my way. We have a run to make for more things for you." He waves goodbye and goes on his merry way. Right when he shut the door I look up at Damien.
"He doesn't know what he is talking about. I can totally control myself. I won't act the way he thinks I will act. I have gone through this before! I don't need any "doctor" telling me what I can and can't do!" I rant.
"He is a doctor, he knows what he is talking about; besides, I think your ignorance is getting the best of you. You are starting to get a little... You were up late last night mumbling in your sleep," Damien replies.
"What were you going to say?" I ask, glaring at him.
"That you are starting to act a little weird such as the random laughter." I gape at him. As if he knew what insanity was.
"I have not let the mad hatter get the best of me, not yet!" I blurt. "I'm fine!" I retort. "I feel perfectly fine besides this damned migraine."
"You are starting to become easily agitated."
"I just need some fresh air," I go to stand up but Damien holds me back.
"Damien, let me go get some fresh air," I growl behind gritted teeth.
"You need to calm down a little bit Kaylee. Take a deep breath and..."
"I am perfectly fine!" I yell. "If I want to I can go outside!"
"Kaylee, why don't you tell me about all the trips you made to the insane asylums?" He asks trying to calm me.
"My dad took me into the asylum a lot. He was working there when they had found one of the patients dead." This is actually calming me. "They had put him in a body bag and set him in the back room. One night when the person they called the dead walker went to take the dead man out, he found the bag thrashing around. He quickly unzipped the bag to have a bloody, decaying man. The man lunged himself at the dead walker. They eventually got him in a straight jacket and into a cell. My dad was the investigator who investigated the case of the man that came back to life. My dad found nothing out except that the man's heart was not beating. The man would not eat anything except for uncooked meat. My dad brought me into the asylum many times before, but this time he took me to see the living dead man. The man threw himself at the door to try to get to me. For some reason, most insane people were attracted to me. My dad had let me go in some of the imprisonments and sit down with the inmates. Occasionally my dad would let me read some of the reports that the mental patients had told him."
"What did some of the reports say?" Damien asks.
"Most of the ones I read were about a wonderland. Some of them were beautiful wonderlands that enticed them to kill people and go crazy, others were a dark wonderland that ate away at their brains. My dad learned a lot about me when I would stay in the asylum. And I learned a lot about the dead man and how this whole dead man wonderland began."
"How did it begin and how do you know?"
"My dad was the one on the case. He wasn't supposed to tell anyone what he was working on, but after the world went to shit he told me. Some guy in the asylum had been restrained in a straight jacket after biting one of the other inmates as I told you before. He was decaying already and bit one of the people tending to him. The man became extremely ill. His fingertips became black. Then he died and started twitching. They managed to strap him down before he woke up."
"So that's how this started," Damien says.
"No, that's not how it started. One of the inmates infected the dead man with something unknown. That's what got this whole thing started. My dad thought that maybe there would be at least one person immune to the disease," I finish.
"That's amazing. So a human created a disease strong enough to bring the world to an end." I start coughing and my head hurts.
"I'm hungry Damien. I hate staying in this bed," I whine.
"You don't have to be so whiny," Damien says calmly. "I can take you for a walk and get you some food." I lift my arms for Damien to pick me up. He goes to pick me up and I take his shirt. He smiles at me.
"What? I need a shirt," I laugh. I slip it on and he lifts me up; yet, no pain shoots through my body. I have not yet felt any anxiety or depression. I smile up at Damien
"My back doesn't hurt!" I exclaim.
"That's good. George will still have to look at it every day until it's fully healed," Damien smiles.
"Ugh, George."
"What's wrong with George?" Damien asks. I give Damien a blank stare.
"What do you think? He thinks I won't be able to control myself. I haven't felt any anxiety or depression yet, and it has been quite a few days," I pointed out. "I would rather have the other guy."
"How long did it take last time for you to go crazy?"
"I didn't go crazy!" I yell. "It took five days."
"Well today is about day eight, I think."
"See, I've been controlling myself very well," I smile proudly.
"Yes, but I think it will eventually get to you." I glare at Damien and he just smiles.
"So, where do you want to go first? Outside or to get food?"
"Um, I want a little bit of food that I can eat outside while you carry me," I giggle.
"Well, then off to the kitchen first," Damien chuckles. He carries me to the kitchen where George, Elizabeth, and Cinna are talking. They stop talking when we walk into the room. I start shaking slightly. Am I having a panic attack?
"Hey, do you have any food that Kaylee can take outside? She wants to go outside and get some fresh air," Damien smile.
"Can I have some lemons and limes?"
"Sure," Elizabeth disappears into the cabinets. I turn towards George and glare at him.
"How is your back feeling, Kaylee?" George asks. I shiver at the sound of his voice.
"It doesn't hurt at all," I answer. My hands start shaking more. I tuck my hand between me and Damien so no one else sees. "So what were you guys talking about?" I ask. George hesitates.
"We were talking about supplies." I look into his eyes and know he was lying.
"Don't lie," I growl. George turns towards me.
"Don't talk to me like that young lady," he points his finger at me. I push myself away from Damien and stand up.
"Don't fucking lie to us!" I growl loudly. He walks up to me and grabs my cheeks and squeezes them together.
"Don't you dare talk to me that way!" He yells behind gritted teeth. I push him away. I feel myself slipping away into the darkness where my demons are. I drop to the ground and shake my head. I am not letting them control me. I slip further and further into the dark abyss. I stand up and grin at George.
"Kaylee, stop," Damien asks grabbing my hand. I move with such agility that no one sees me or hears me. The pain in my back is not to be felt.
"I would not lie to me if I were you," I chuckle.
"Kaylee, you do not talk to me like that! I am an adult!" He yells.
"Don't talk to me like that," I grin, a little more agitated. My demons are slowly taking control. George grabs my face and brings it close to his. His garbage breath reeks.
"I will not tolerate your attitude!" He retorts behind gritted teeth. I grin, I am making him angry.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I making you angry?" I chuckle. He pushes me away, but I hold my ground. George turns towards Damien.
"I told you she would go crazy," he points. In a flash, I am by his side. I put his hand behind his back.
"I am not going crazy," I hiss. I let him go right as Elizabeth walks into the room. She looks at George and then at me.
"What's going on?" She asks.
"Nothing," I answer smiling. I walk over to her and took the lemons and limes. "Thank you," I smile and pull Damien out of the kitchen. Right when we are out the doors I fall against Damien. He holds me upright.
"Kaylee, what's wrong?" He asks. 
"Just a little fatigue. All I need to do is eat a little something," I smile. Damien swoops me off my feet and carries me.
"Damien, I'm fine," I laugh.
"Well, I'm carrying you. I don't know what happened in there, but it doesn't matter right now. You need some actual food." I fall silent as he carries me outside and gets me a chicken sandwich. There is a light breeze that carries some small flowers. The air smells of roses, grass, and dirt. I take a deep breath in to inhale the scent. I sigh as we walk past people. Jacob is the first person to stop us.
"Hey Kaylee, how are you feeling?" He asks.
"I'm fine. Just a bit hungry," I smile.
"Good, good." He smiles back. "I'm glad you feel better. How are you mentally?" I glare at him for a second and then soften up. He is just trying to be nice.
"I'm perfect in the membrane," I laugh. "Thanks for asking, but I really need to eat. I'll talk to you later."
"Yeah, I'll talk to you later to check in on you," he smiles and waves. Damien carries me into the garden area. Damien sets me down on one of the chairs, and I instantly start looking around for the black rose. Damien leaves me to look at how his vegetables are growing. I spot the dark flower in the mix of brightly colored roses. I push myself up out of my seat and start heading towards the rose. The grass feels soft under my feet. I stumble a bit but make it to the rose. I run my fingers across its soft, black petals. I run my hand down the stem of the rose and prick myself with its thorns. It does not really hurt. I take grasp of the stem of the rose.
"Kaylee, look at these veg..." I turn around with my hands bleeding. He drops the vegetables and runs to me. "Why would you... What did you do?" He asks.
"I was holding the stem of the black rose. It didn't hurt," I smile. I walk away from him and to the white roses. I run my bloody hand over the roses, causing them to have blotches of red. I hear Damien yelling, but he becomes distanced and faint. I notice some of the flowers part and I walked towards them. I turn around to tell at Damien to come see this. Once I turn around I see that I am no longer at the camp.
"Damien," I ask quietly. I shrug and make my way through the parted flowers. I come to a maze. To the left, it said insanity and the right death.
"Which one should I chose?" I ask out loud to myself. I look down the left. It is all bright colors; however, to the right is darkness. What would happen if I go up the wall? I start scaling the wall. I lose my grip and nearly fall all the way back down if my other hand didn't have a good grip. I get my hand to the top of the wall and use all my strength to pull myself up. At the top is a boy. He wears a nice black shirt with black jeans and a red bowtie. He is around my age, maybe a few years older with white hair.
"You are a smart one, aren't you?" The boy says.
"Who are you," I ask," and where am I?"
"I am Daniel and you are in your mind," he smiles.
"My mind, then what's happening outside my mind?"
"Insanity and depression. You just so happen to be being swarmed by people," he grins.
"What? Why am I being swarmed?" I exclaim. He grins and snaps his fingers. Instantly I am back outside of my mind. I look around and see the many people around me.
"Get off of me!" I yell. "What's going on? Get off!" I push my way through them. I make it to an area where there are not a lot of people. I hear Daniel's voice calling for me. What was Daniel? He is not human, that I am sure of. Maybe one of my demons. I follow his voice past the people. I find Daniel standing next to the black rose. He runs his fingers along its petals. I feel a tingling sensation run down my back.
"You are like this rose. It reminds me of you." He runs his fingers across the petals and then down the stem. I shiver and fall to the ground. "Roses are a delicate flower. Black roses are even more delicate and rare," he grins at me. His eyes are a bright blue,  an electric blue.
"What are you?" I ask. I stand up and stand my ground. He cups the rose in one hand, sending goose bumps up my back, covering my body.
"I, as one would call, am one of your demons."
"One? I have more than one?"
"Of course. You have anxiety, depression, and insanity. There are a few more that I'm not gonna bring up but there are a lot," he smiles leaning in and smelling the rose.
"Which one are you?" I ask. 
"Depends," he shrugs.
"What do you mean it depends?" I huff. He rubs the roses petal and I fall back to the ground. What is he doing to me with that rose? I look up to see him pluck the rose. I look down at the ground and gasp. I see him standing in front of me now. He kneels down in front of me and runs his hand through my hair. I stare at the ground.
"I would be careful how you talk to me," he growls softly. He lifts my chin so I am looking him in the eyes. "Now, how about we get you back to life," he smiles.
"What does that mean I'm..."
"Don't let anything happen to the black rose. It won't do you any good," he grins then puts the rose in the pocket of Damien's shirt then snaps his fingers. I take a deep breath and open my eyes. I am back in the room. I move my arms and notice my right hand was handcuffed to the bed. I tug at the handcuff.
"I'm not letting you out," a voice calls. I look over at where the couch was. It is too dark to see the couch although there is a light beside me.
"What's going on?" I ask into the darkness.
"You went on a rampage. It took a whole group of us guys to get you here. It was even harder to handcuff you." I look down at my hands. They are mitted.
"Is the black rose okay?" I quickly ask. The person leans into the light. It is Damien.
"Is that what all that was about?" He growls. He stands up and storms toward the door.
"No! Damien no!" I scream. He stares at the door and I stand up off the bed. The handcuffs holding me back. He storms out of the room then it comes back to me. I reach my hand into the pocket of the shirt to find the black rose. Daniel, what is this rose? I think. I know you are there, you are my demon inside my head. I hear a voice sigh.
"It's special for you. Some people call it the death rose. The death rose rarely blooms but when it does its special to that person."
Is there any way I don't have to keep it on me? Damien will eventually find it!
"Okay, calm down. I can sear it on your heart and it will appear as a tattoo on the left side of your chest and possibly go up your left arm."
Do it, Daniel!
"Okay, okay. Put the rose in your heart and I'll do the rest," he starts chuckling. I put the rose on my heart and feel it burning. I grit my teeth in pain.
How bad does this have to hurt? I think in pain.
"Oh buckle your seatbelt. It's going to get a lot worse," he laughs. The pain is becoming unbearable. My back archs and I scream. I hear someone run to the door.
Daniel! How much longer? I scream in my head.
"Just a tad bit longer." I close my eyes and listen to the voice of Damien and a few others dissipate.