The Mortal Coil

F I V E +

© Amber Kalkes 2015

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"A Forest" By The Cure

F I V E +

It’s small, so small that few would even see it in a scan, something that maybe even a trained professional wouldn’t even see but it’s there. A dime sized tumor sitting there, infecting everything around it and perfectly capable of taking Simon down in the prime of his life. Simon’s tongue invades my mouth and I let out a quiet moan but not our of enjoyment, in pain.

He can’t die, not like this.

He pulls back, his blue eyes narrowed as he looks at me, “Andy, what—“

Burying my hands into his golden hair I cut him off as I kiss him again. He makes a noise of surprise in the back of his throat but I ignore it as I sweep my tongue into his mouth. Simon groans and relaxes into the embrace. Relaxed and distracted is exactly how I need him if I’m going to help him.

He wraps his arms around my waist, holding me tighter to him as I focus all my energy on the tumor. The base of my skull begins to tingle and the longer I’m lip-locked with Simon the more intense it gets until it almost hurts. Still I don’t pull away because whether whatever this is work out or not, I’m not going to let him rot away in front of me without doing something about it.

I tighten my grip on his hair as he tries to pull away. He feels it, I know he does but he has to stay still so I can get it out. I feel the black sludge of his illness slide down my throat and try really hard to ignore the rancid taste it leaves on my tongue. Once I’m sure it’s all out I push Simon back from me. He’s gasping as he stumbles back a little and steadies himself on the nearby washer.

“Andy?” He calls, gripping his head, “What the hell was that?”

I promptly vomit some of the black sludge onto the dirty wooden floorboards below. Simon yells and jumps back but I don’t really have much time to worry about his reaction. I’m too busy losing consciousness. My eyes roll into the back of my head as my legs give out under me. Simon catches my body before I hit the ground but he keeps me at a distance as more black sludge leaks out of the side of my mouth.

“Help!” He yells but I don’t hear it.

I’m already gone.

+

I open my eyes to the image of a black sky. No stars, no moon, nothing but flat black sky. Blinking a few times I feel a gust of cold wind blow a few strands of my hair into my face. Pushing them back I wrap my arms around myself as the wind picks up a bit more and makes me shiver.

Everything seems a bit blurry and I reach up to adjust my glasses only to find them gone. Looking around I try to find them but there’s nothing around me but cold wet earth. Frowning I lift my pale hand and rub my fingers together feeling soil move between my fingertips. Okay, that’s a new one.

“These little meetings of ours are starting to become tedious at this point.”

I turn around at the sound of the voice to see the burning end of a cigar glowing in the darkness. I scramble to my feet and make a face as the soil squishes between my feet, wet and dirty. I can’t see his smirk but I can sense it and I scowl at him hoping he can see how unamused by his enjoyment I am.

“Well its not like I come here for fun you know.” I snap.

He chuckles, it’s deep and makes me shiver a little, “Well you never cease to make my day brighter every time you’re around, Andrea.”