I woke up the next morning, cold. The whole room was cold. My thoughts immediately strayed to anemia. Anemia occurs when your body's system can't make enough red blood cells to carry the right amount of oxygen throughout your body. The most common symptom of anemia is being cold. Symptoms can also include fatigue, pale skin, and irregular heartbeats. I knew I didn't have anemia, so why was I so cold?
There was a little bit of warmth to my left, and I brought myself to open my eyes. Tyler was curled up in as much of a ball as a human could form, sound asleep. Little tufts of brown hair were framed, matted and messy, around his face. I smiled a little and tucked his blanket around him more. A cold room wouldn't do his pneumonia any favors.
I briefly wondered if there was something wrong with the thermostat in this room.
"Kylie?" Elise's voice startled me, causing me to jump. "Oh, sorry," she said. I looked at her. I had made her a palette of blankets and pillows on the floor to sleep on. The area around her gave off a faint glow in the dark room. A hue of blue and white. I truly felt as if I was staring at a ghost. "I didn't mean to frighten you."
"It's fine," I said. "I just forgot you were in here, is all." I sat up, rubbing my face a bit, trying to rid myself of tiredness. "What time is it?"
"I'm not quite sure." Elise looked around. Her dialect was strange. She spoke with a certain manner and grace. Like a nervous swan. "What woke you?"
"It's too cold in here."
"Oh, my apologies. That's just me. I don't have a body to keep me warm anymore, and the cold sort of radiates." Like a ghost, I thought. That sentence was strange to hear, to say the least.
"Would you mind explaining... Exactly what you are?" I questioned with caution.
"Of course. I'm... Well, I suppose the best way to put it would be to say that I'm a lost soul. My boss- Well, He-" Elise stumbled over her words, struggling to find a way to explain. There was a pause of awkward silence. She appeared calm, but sounded distressed. "He's a murderer, Kylie. I can't sugarcoat it anymore than that. He finds innocent people and kills them. It doesn't matter whether they were dragged off the street or pulled from their families, if they're a man or woman, none of it matters. The only thing He's picky about is age. Not too young, not too old. His victims are usually around sixteen to late twenties."
My stomach lurched. I wondered if that's why He was after me. I took in the sight of Elise and wondered how she lived, what her everyday life was like. Her mere presence could freeze a lake; I couldn't fathom being the season of winter.
"Once His victim is dead, He starts this... process. This process of... of-"
I cut her off. "Of changing people into His minions?"
"Well, yes, but- Well, I don't know how it works. I only remember the process being painful."
I stared at her. "But you were dead," I said after a while. "How could you feel pain if you were dead?"
"That's what I don't understand," Elise replied. Her tone was grim. I eyed the anomaly in front of me. She stared back for a moment before nerves forced her head to the side. My gaze didn't leave the dulled-out look on her face until a minute or two had passed. By that time, things had gotten awkward. I cleared my throat.
"I'm going to get water," I announced, promptly standing and making my way out. A shiver went through me the moment my bare feet touched the icy, marble floor. Walking into the dark kitchen, I couldn't help but take in how quiet it was in the base this early in the morning. No voices, no people shuffling around. The buzz of electronics even seemed dulled out and muffled. I flipped a light on and looked at a clock on the wall. 5:18 a.m. Letting out an exasperated breath, I fell into a chair. Water didn't sound appetizing anymore.
