I woke up in a warm bed, instinctively reaching for my alarm clock. Opening my eyes, I stared at the nightstand; the alarm clock sitting there wasn't the one I was used to. I thought it was a dream at first, one of those strange dreams where you think you've woken up in the wrong bed. I rolled back over, running my fingers through my hair. Yawning, I threw the blankets off of me, and tried to sit up only to have my stomach lurch and cramp in extraordinary pain. I groaned so loudly, I was sure the neighbors must have heard me. Trying to breathe through the pain, I could hear footsteps running on wood floors in my direction. That was wrong. Why was anyone here? Who was here? I was so confused. Maybe I was still dreaming, but the pain told me I couldn't be.

I lay still, the pain seemed to be spreading throughout my body and I started shivering. I opened my eyes when I felt someone sit on the bed next to me. I was suddenly so scared, an image of Window-Knocker flashed before my eyes, but instead it was a woman. She had a look of pity in her eyes which I normally would've been pissed about, but right then, I needed it. She had a bowl of water in one hand and a cloth in the other, wiping at my forehead, cheeks, even down my arms. The damp cloth on my skin felt like ice and I knew.

I had a fever.

"Don't you worry, Miss," she reassured me, rinsing and wringing out the cloth before bringing it back to my forehead.

My teeth were chattering too hard for me to be able to speak. The only thought that occurred to me was that if I had a fever, I was going to die soon. Then come back. I wanted to warn her, tell her she needed to shoot me or stab me in the head. Get rid of me.

My eyelids got heavier, the longer she bathed my forehead with the cool water. The lights grew too bright for me, and the sounds were coming and going. I couldn't make sense of anything, other than that the woman was in danger. If only I could warn her….

It was dark when I woke up again. It was quiet, except for the sounds of the house settling. I didn't know exactly where I was, but I knew it wasn't home. The smells weren't right. This place had the smell of dirt and mold, like it hadn't been lived in for some time. I tried to sit up, the pain in my stomach making it a long, torturous process. I did it, though, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. I sat there a few minutes, my thumb and forefinger pressed to the sides of my nose waiting for the nausea to settle down. When I thought it was finally safe to move without vomiting all over the floor, I pushed myself up, only to fall back on the bed when my legs gave out. The bed creaked loudly and I heard footsteps come running.

The woman from my dream and a man I didn't recognize were by my side, helping me sit up. They didn't speak at first, but the looks they exchanged between one another spoke volumes. They obviously didn't trust me and were worried I was trying to get into something.

The man was the first to speak this time. I could tell he was trying to be polite.

"You shouldn't be up, Miss."

I shook my head, "I can't stay here. It's not safe."

The woman looked at me; I could tell she was concerned at the way I was.

"Miss, it's not that kind of fever. You got a bad infection."

She blushed profusely, looking at the man. He must've understood the look because he stood up and walked out of the room, pulling the door closed behind him. She stood up, walking to a chair in the corner where some clothes were folded neatly in a stack. She rifled through them, pulling out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, some panties and a bra, and brought them over to me.

"I don't think these'll be the best fit, but they're better than you bein' naked."

I took the clothes from her, my arms shaking with the effort to raise them. I nodded up at her, setting the clothes beside me on the bed. I was so hot from the fever that I hadn't even realized I was naked. It felt like I had pajamas on. I gingerly pulled the panties on, my stomach protesting the action. I fought through it without getting sick, and pulled on the pair of jeans while I could. The woman stood back while I finished getting dressed, occasionally chewing on her nails like she was debating whether or not to tell me something. Between the fever and the pain, I had not patience for the game and snapped at her.

"If you got somethin' ta say, spit it out."

She almost jumped, but nodded.

"The infection. It's inside you," she pointed at my stomach.

Great, just what I needed, but it was no big surprise. I sat on the bed, my hand over my stomach. It was hard, distended. I pressed gently, groaning at the intrusion. It was bad, very bad. From the corner of my eye, I caught sight of the medicine bottles that were on the floor next to the bed. Without a word, she came closer and knelt down, picking them up and handed them to me. I nodded my thanks, the pain making it difficult to speak. They were assorted antibiotics, the name on the label damn near illegible. Amoxicillin and Keflex, the bottles were still relatively full. Lucky me, this infection might not kill me. I didn't count on it, though.

"This infection could still kill me."

She looked up at me, her eyes wide with fear. I couldn't judge her. She seemed to be my age, but something about her made her feel like a child to me. Maybe it was her nerves and the fact she was confronted with a stranger on Death's doorstep, or it could be the dead were walking around like it was Mardi Gras. She got up, and walked to the door, opening it. I was thankful she did because the room had grown quite stuffy and the air was stale. She walked out without looking back, leaving me there.

I sat there for a few minutes, trying to decide what to do. Before I had come to a decision, the man came back in the room carrying a jacket, a small bag that was obviously loaded with something, and a machete. He shoved them at me, taking the bottles of antibiotics and putting them in the bag.

"You can't stay with us. We fed ya, got ya cleaned up. That's as much as we're willin' ta do. This here'll getcha as far as it can. Ya need ta be gettin' on, ma'am."

I looked up at him, holding the stuff he'd brought me. I let out a breath, nodding slowly. I wasn't completely surprised by this, but a part of me had been hoping they'd let me stay a little bit longer. He helped me up, pointing to a pair of shoes on the floor at the foot of the bed.

"We found this stuff around the place. Should keep ya goin'."

He left the room without looking back. I could hear their hushed voices in the next room as I stepped into the shoes. The thought that occurred to me, crazy as it may seem, was that I'd need to see if I could slip some socks out with me. I walked over to the dresser, pulling open the top drawer. Luckily, socks were balled up in the corner of it, and I grabbed a few pairs, shoving them in the bag I'd been given. Quietly closing the drawer, I turned to the door and left the room. The man and woman were standing by what I could only assume was the front door, waiting for me. They quieted as soon as they saw me and the man pulled the door open for me.

It was such an odd feeling, walking out of that house. The man closed the door as soon as I was over the threshold. I stood on the tiny porch a moment, tucking the bag and machete between my knees as I shrugged into the jacket. I grabbed the machete, slipping my arm and head through the strap of the bag so I could carry it across my body. I looked down at the machete in my hand, holding it up to look at the blade in the dying light of day. The blade was old, but the edge looked like it was freshly sharpened. I caught myself wondering who it belonged to as I stepped off the porch, slipping the blade through the strap of the bag so that my hands were free.

I walked slowly, each step a painful reminder of what had been done to me. I ground my teeth together in order to keep from groaning in pain. I had no idea which direction to go, and I found myself hating the couple that had just kicked me out. Without really know why, I headed in the direction of the setting sun, squaring my shoulders as I went. Whatever happened, I'd face it. I had the antibiotics in the bag. I'd noticed some protein bars in the bag when I put the socks in there, too. I only needed to find water. All in all, I reasoned things weren't too bad off.

With this in mind, I walked towards the woods. The setting sun was my guide, and my mission was to find water.