Fever - Selina Brinkmann (short novels to read .TXT) 📗

“You know!”, he murmured and pushed his hands further up her leg, “for an animal you sure are fine looking!”

With a cry Evy opened her eyes and saw Roxanne standing next to her bed and trying to keep her from falling down the bed. A man was standing next to her and Evy cried out.
“Get him off me! Put him away!”, her whole body was shuddering and she pulled the blanket as close as she could around her.
“Please, you promised nobody would hurt me!”, her voice broke and she sobbed, “Make him go away!”

Roxanne felt like her heart was ripped in pieces when she saw the fear in the other female’s eyes.

“Dominic, please. Leave the room. I won’t need you tonight!”, the man gave a nod and swiftly left the room. She did not even see him touch the door when he went out. But when she heard another whimper, Roxanne turned her attention again towards the female. Her eyes were large and bloodshot. Sweat was glistering on her forehead and she was breathing heavy. It might have been a nightmare but Roxanne knew that Evy must have had a fearsome encounter with a male before to show such a strong reaction.

“He is not gonna hurt you! And nobody else will, I promised you security and rest. You will get it!”, she exclaimed forceful and set down next to Evy.
“You won’t have to talk about what happened. Ever. But if you want to, you know that I will help you. But now try to eat a bit of the soup and then rest again. Tomorrow you should be fit enough to take the long journey back to the bathroom!”, she laughed and placed a good smelling bowl of soup in front of Evy.

Evy smiled but Roxanne knew that it would take a while for her to open and even longer to talk about what happened. If Evy had been one of the first ones to survive she might have been in this “cave” for more than half a decade. She did not even want to imagine what could be done to such a young woman when she had no one to rely on. But to stir away from her nightmare she decided to explain a bit more about where they actually were and who she was.

“I know that you know my name but I am Roxanne MacLowan. And my job here in New Terra is it to keep all of us healthy and happy. And trust me it isn’t always easy. The guy who had been in your room earlier was Dominic. He is the one who helped me with the pace maker those guys put into you. There shouldn’t be any problem from now on but if you feel anything just tell me.”

She saw that Evy was getting calmer by the minute and hoped that those memories wouldn’t come back to soon. Her bones might have healed but it had taken her and Evy’s body a lot to mend them in this time. And an internal bleeding was always risky no matter how accomplished one was or how many extra power the healer had. When Roxanne saw that Evy was finished with the soup she took the bowl and slowly got up. Having almost reached the door she heard Evy’s answer.

“Thank you Roxanne. For the offer and explaining some of the stuff that is going on here to me.”, than she turned around and pulled the blanket closer around her once more.

The next morning came and with it an overexcited Roxanne.

“Come on! Wake up. By now you should be fine to not need 14 hours of sleep anymore. You have some catching up to do and please, you also have to leave the bed so I can finally clean up a bit. I do not want to offend you, but you kind of smell!”

Evy just grabbed her pillow and put it over her head in order to protect her eyes from the light sun shining through the windows into her room.

“Yesterday you told me to rest and get healthy again!”, she complained when Roxanne lifted the cover. “And now you force me into the shower and up. I do not want to offend you”, she countered, “but your logic is seriously damaged!”

“Well all the healing power you claimed when you decided to play free fall was put into good use and unless you want to do some bungee jumping today, three days of rest should have brought you back to your before-the-fall-status!”

Evy groaned but slowly got up and trotted to the bath room. Just before she had gone through she turned her head and asked:” You do not mind lending me another outfit? Just no baby colors, ok? I am not really fond of them!”

Roxanne shook her head and went to her wardrobe. With an evil grin she picked a peach colored shirt and another pair of jeans. Then she shouted, “do not worry, I put the stuff onto the bed! I will be down the corridor looking after some of my other patients. Will come back as soon as I can!”

Meanwhile Evy had changed and placed her old stuff in the washing basket and enjoyed the shower. The warm water erased all bad memories of the night before and Evy felt immediately brighter and calmer. Until she went through to her bedroom and saw the peach colored shirt lying on the duvet.

- O great, thanks Roxanne. Just what I needed. Looking like a starved and skinny dwarf in baby colors.

With a grimace on her face she put the shirt on. The trousers were more to her liking and she decided that if she ever got own clothes there would not be a single peach colored shirt. With a huff she sat down and dried her hair. The hair was still that unusual dark brown. She remembered when it had been so light it almost resembled silver. After a few minutes of sitting on the bed Evy got up. Her body was restless now. The walls of the room seemed to close her in and an urge she could and did not really want to fight draw her nearer to the door. And then she was already out of the door before she realized that she had even turned the door handle.

The floor behind the door was plain and functional. It lead to two more doors opposite of each other before it went around the corner. Her room was the last one in this section. The glare light hurt her eyes and she squeezed them together until they have gotten used to the it.

-Well, Evy thought, I could wait for Roxanne and probably save myself a lot of trouble and her as well. But it is not really interesting to sit in that room for more than a few minutes if one wasn’t tired.

With a grin she slowly made her way down the corridor and trying to avoid as much noise as possible which wasn’t all too hard considering the fact that she was barefoot.

The end of the floor came faster than expected and she cautiously looked around the corner before entering the next. This one was a bit nicer. The walls were painted in a whitish colour and the floor even had a carpet. Evy smiled when her feet touched it and stood still for a second to savor the soft feeling on her skin. The floor in her cage had been cold cement and her feet like now barefoot. She had always been cold. Her clothes were too thin for a non-heated environment and she had longed for something soft and warm.

With a quiet laugh Evy walked down the floor and savored the feeling of her toes in the thick fur. It tickled her and nothing in her life had ever felt better. Without considering that she left her wing Evy headed down the corridors following the carpet and the need that had bothered her since she gained consciousness for the first time. The floor was getting wider with each step she took and soon Evy stood at the entrance of an exit. Cold wind blew into it and cooled her warm skin. With a grin she took a step forward and found herself standing on a balcony more than 20 feet from the ground. She gasped and stumbled backwards.

- Why, oh why would anybody think installing a balcony without a rail was a good idea?

Nervously she leaned a bit forward and looked down. Beneath the entrance was a rough clearance with big stones and thin spruces. Except her own cage she had not seen something that look as unfriendly as this place for a long time.

“The guy who built this must be a really open and welcoming type!”, she giggled and leaned back against the wall. However Evy could have sworn that there had been a loose stone poking into her back when she first leaned back. She turned around and instantly tried to scramble backwards. Instead of the stone there was a guy leaning against the wall, smirking at her.

Roan new the instant when their newest member left her room. He could feel the urge raise in him again, wanting to find her, discover all her secrets and claim her. Shaking his head and trying to clear his head he headed off towards the healing wing. From the alcove he followed her movements and found himself starting to smile when she grinned as she touched the carpet. She was far too thin as far as he could see from the shadow. Roxanne’s clothes were hanging on her shape and her fingers were thin branches. He could break her body with one hand if he wanted.

Not knowing what she was up to Roan silently followed her through the long corridors and unto the balcony. He could see her trembling when she realized that no handrail was there to keep her safe. The wind send a shiver down her body as it cooled her body and all heat vanished. When she hurried back to the wall the second time, he decided that the time of game playing was over. The beast in him was tearing at his control and with her being only inches from he it was harder than ever to not let the animal in him rule him.

“Yeah, I guess that the guy who choose this place had not thought about comfort and luxury when he chose that place.”, her eyes dilated when she focused her gaze upon him. “He was more concerned about safety and protection. Two terms you broke when you came into my territory!”, Roan added and she flinched away when he came nearer. Every twist of her body showed him her fear and terror. The beast within him did not like it at all. Each step back brought it closer to the surface.

“If you keep on going you will only fall!”, he tensed and prepared his body in case her fear overruled her mind. She looked back and saw that her feet were only mere inches away from the end of the balcony.

He stretched out his hand to offer help but she shrieked and covered her face with her hands as though she feared to be beaten by him. The sudden movement was enough for her naked feet to slip and with a small cry she felt backwards. Roan cursed and jumped after her. Catching her and holding pressing her body tight against his he set the beast free. His torso shifted. His legs were growing longer and fur spread over his body. Like a cat he safely landed on his legs and set her down. Her eyes were clouded with misery and her whole body was shaking.

Evy blinked when she felt him releasing her body. Immediately she tried to put a distance between him and her. She could still feel his iron grip around her waist and the heat of his body pouring into her. She lifted her eyes up again just in time to see his body transform back from the cat like figure he had taken