Chapter 26
Twenty-Six
Itossed my damp, dirty clothes aside, the wet pile hitting the bathroom floor with a heavy slap. My head throbbed and ached, a sharp and sudden pain piercing behind my eyes, stabbing further into my skull, causing my vision to blur as I wobbled around the bathroom. I shook my head, hoping the feeling would pass, but it didn’t. My stomach tightened and bubbled, upset with the contents of what I had consumed. Shit.
I rushed to the toilet, slumping over the bowl, vomiting everything from within my body. Sweat beads began to form across my forehead, the muscles of my stomach lining tightening with each forceful hurl. My throat closed, fighting against the uncontrollable urge as I choked on my own stomach acid, forcing the burning contents from my mouth. My eyes watered from the rotting smell, my body trembling from being so fiercely and suddenly sick.
A heavy bang hit the bathroom door, repeating a second, then a third time. “Hurry up!” Lazarus yelled through the wood. “We’re leaving in a few minutes, with or without you!”
“I’m coming!” I spat back, drool dripping from the corner of my mouth and dangling over the toilet bowl. Fucking Lazarus.
My arms shook as I pushed from the porcelain and rose to my feet, flushing the contents of my stomach. I watched the water and vomit swirl, mixing into a cloudy mess as it funneled down the drain, almost trancing my thoughts.
A faint presence tickled my brain deep within my mind, layers of the strange whispers looping together in my subconscious.
Cain. The eerie voice addressed me from within. Oh, what a fitting name.
A high pitch ringing pierced my ears as my hands desperately grabbed at my skull trying to stop the pain. I stumbled across the room, tripping as I grabbed the smooth edge of the bathroom sink, pulling myself up as the ringing quickly disappeared. I exhaled, relieved at the sudden calmness. My arm reached forward, turning the handle of the faucet, my hands shaking as the cold water ran across my dirty skin. Mud was caked beneath my chipped nails, splinters and cuts seeded in my palms from the shovel and coffin lid. I sat there, letting the water soak into my flesh as it soothed my injuries.
Cain. The whispered voice returned, prickling behind my skull. I cupped my hands together and splashed the freezing cold water across my face.
My brain pulsated, black flashes strobing through my thoughts. My eyes trembled as they raised, glancing at my reflection, my vision slightly distorted. I felt the same peculiar presence slithering beneath the skin of my face, rippling under my flesh. I leaned closer to the mirror, my breath fogging the reflective glass as my gaze bore into itself. My head twitched in various directions, tilting, reacting to an invisible and unknown resident while distant whispers grew well within my ears. My pupils sharpened, noting a faint glow of a green light flickering behind my irises. It swirled around my left and then moved to my right eye, circling the inner part of my pupils. I slowly raised my hand to my face, tugging at the skin under my eyes, examining them closely, watching as the green light wiggled like a worm. I slowly inched my fingertip closer, touching the outer rim on my eye itself, the impact burning. My fingertip began to glow, resembling a firefly in the night.
You crave power.The voice trinkled in my ears, enticing me. That, dear Cain, I shall give you.
“Cain!” Lazarus yelled from the hallway.
My head snapped, tilting as the strange green light subdued, melting from my eyes and fingertips. “Coming.” I grinned.
I inhaled deeply as my spine straightened, my hands brushing the long hair away from my face and adjusting the collar of my jacket. I opened the door and almost collided into Lazarus. He wasn’t much taller than me, but he was built more than I was. Always had been, as long as I had known him. I didn’t like his smug, cocky attitude, or really him, for that matter.
“We’re leaving,” he mumbled, his voice and face both annoyed as he tossed his bag over his back.
What insolence. I snickered at the internal foreign insult, my neck twisting as I fought a stabbing pain that lingered on the stranger’s words.
Indeed, I agreed.
The group had gathered onto the porch, impatient and ready to leave. I stood in the front doorway of the cabin, observing them closely with a new outlook. Ruby and Jinx were hand in hand, per usual, Ruby bickering to her silent girlfriend as she glared at me, her maroon eyes shining bright with distaste.
Hexer. The pain returned, my head flinching in reaction.
“Are you okay?” I turned to find Alaska standing next to me, her pale blue eyes tentative and filled with worry. She placed her hand on my cheek, gasping at the touch. “Cain, you”re burning up.” I could feel the sweat dripping down my forehead, a constant, dull ache buzzing behind it.
I carefully removed her hand, lifting it closely to my mouth. “Nothing I can’t handle.” I kissed the top of her hand, my lips lingering for a moment as I inhaled her scent.
Her. My jaw clenched as the pain increased, shooting through every nerve webbed throughout my skull. Alaska gently pulled her hand back, frightened by my reaction. I forced a smile, attempting to coax her.
“Let’s go.” Lazarus chucked my bag into my arms, a hint of anger tainting his words as I noticed the large knife sheathed at his hip. Alastair stood close to his side, eyeing me intently as Alaska slowly joined them, the three so familiar with one another. “We want to be back at the cabin before it gets dark.” He turned, leading the way as the rest followed him like sheep.
The blind leading the blind. My head burned, the excruciating discomfort beneath the surface of my skull increasing with each ghostly, whispered sentence.
Suck it up, Cain,I growled into myself, inhaling deeply through my nose as I looped the strap of my bag over my torso and paced my way to the group, keeping a small and subtle distance between us. Alaska peered back at me, her troubled eyes watching me as Lazarus continued to lead them into the woods. My head tilted as I flashed her a smile. Just keep walking, Bambi.