Amberian (Gods of California I)

Chapter 12: Medicine

Ally wept at the sight of the sunrise.

It was the second one she'd seen in a row.

She hadn't had even a few moments sleep in two days.

All night long, an eight-foot man in a top hat and trench coat had hovered just above her bed. He had white slits for eyes and a mouth, and a nose made of paper. She wasn't afraid of him, because she knew she'd see him again the next time she closed her eyes.

Her calmness made her certain she was losing her mind. She should've felt something as she cried without tears, but her heart was a full of a bizarre contentment that was tainted by thoughts of her present delirium.

She hadn't seen or heard her mother stir. Maybe a heart attack had claimed her in her sleep. 

There was no yearning for her own death because she'd already died, like everyone else. Except for the man in black. They'd soon be together again.

She stumbled to her computer chair and her bloodshot eyes burned when she stared at her Myspace feed.

On December 12th, 1949, Janet Ayers of Arkansas was brutally raped and murdered then dumped in a cornfield. Forward this to your best friend by sundown or they'll share her fate!!!

Ally's heart skipped a beat as she spun away from the screen in her chair.

At least you fell asleep, Janet... Fuck.

After a moment of hesitation, she swiveled back to the screen.

Fuck. Better save Ethan.

She forwarded the message to his inbox, then the world around her blurred. With a feeling of weightlessness, she drifted across the room and fell into bed. 

No fucking way am I going to school today...

She found her sharpie on the nightstand and uncapped it, then turned her focus towards the wall above the headboard.

SLEEP NOW PLEASE

It was a prayer. To any god who would listen.

The act of writing made her feel dizzy, so she dropped the marker, fell face first into her pillows, and closed her eyes.

Then it sounded like her mother tried to break down her door with a truncheon as she bid her down for breakfast.

"Ally! Come eat! It's almost time to go!"

She woke up, but she hadn't been sleeping. Every single moment was easy to recall. Six became seven, and seven became eight in a catatonic state of mindfulness.

Her mother's voice was an ice pick in both ears, and her head throbbed so terribly that the word 'aneurysm' came to mind.

She tried to get out of bed but tripped and drove her right knee into the hardwood floor. Pain shot through her entire right side, and she let out a yelp.

The door flew open, and Jen rushed in. She quickly propped Ally up on her knee like a wounded soldier, and Ally wondered blearily if the overhead hallway light was the end of her tunnel.

When she fully realized it was her mother there, she pressed her face into her comfort and cried there until she nearly fell asleep the way she had long ago, many times over.

__

Half-passed out in the car, she heard her mother call the school.

"She needs a sick day. Yep, uh-huh, thanks for understanding."

Ally's mind awakened with regret. The secretary would tell the clerk, and the clerk would tell her teacher, and everyone would overhear, and they'd talk.