Love Bites *Sequel to Insanity Bites*

Z

It started with one of the coldest nights I had ever experienced. The fire must have gone out while I was asleep and when I woke up, I was practically frozen and unable to move.

During the day, as I carried bags of stone across my back, my lungs felt like they were on fire and the air grew thicker and thicker. After I collapsed in the square, I was told to go home and given only half a days wages.

I didn't argue. My vision grew blurry and my body was heavy with fatigue. It was a miracle how I'd managed to walk back in the state I was in but I somehow managed. 

I remembered not having the energy to eat anything. All I did was collapse on the hard wood floor and hug my self to sleep. 

It went on like this for a few days. With my head pounding, body aching and chest filled with phlegm, I would wake up with only enough energy to eat some bread and light the fire. Then my body would give in to exhaustion and I would go back to sleep.

One night my coughing was so violent, I thought I would die. My chest heaved and I prayed to some unknown force up there to have mercy on me for once in my life. If I was meant to die I wanted it to be fast, not like this.

I woke up after a few days after hearing the sound of someone shouting outside. Surprisingly, I felt better. My chest was light and I could breathe properly again. I stretched, relieved to find no more pain in my limbs and joints. 

The sound of a woman screaming made me sit up and I got up to walk to the window to check on what was happening.

Was the wedding going on already? Was Arabella married?

I walked to the window and peered outside to see a man and woman running down the street with a bundle wrapped in cloth in their arms. The air was cold and the sky was dark. A feeling of trepidation washed over me as I realized the streets were too empty for daytime. 

I heard a soft murmur behind me and quickly turned around to see my mother slumped by the wall in a corner. 

What was she doing here?

She coughed and a gurgled sound escaped her mouth, making it sound like she was choking. Forgetting her previous abandonment, I rushed to her in worry to check on her.

As I neared the stench of blood and faeces stung my nose and made my eyes water.

My eyes widened in horror when I saw the blood streaming down from her nostrils and the corners of her mouth. 

"Help me," She whimpered weakly with her eyes closed. She lifted a hand towards me which I grabbed desperately only to feel her skin break within our contact. She hissed in pain and I quickly released her. 

Her fingers were black and peeling by the sides. 

I bent down and clutched her shoulders desperately. What was happening to her?

"Save me," She begged and then she heaved loudly before coughing up blood all over the floor. Her clothes were soaked and her body was shaking. I was afraid to touch her, scared that she would break to pieces in my arms like her fingers did.

I stood up and rushed to the door. I would call for help. Maybe a doctor would be able to save her.

"I'm going to go find someone who can help, okay?" I reassured to which she only gurgled in response. I wondered if she could even hear me.

I rushed out onto the cold deserted streets and into town where I knew I would be able to find a doctor but the streets were just as deserted as our quarters. The market place was empty and then I noticed a few bodies scattered by the sidewalks.