Eight-legged Issues (8)
- Small webs have begun to appear all over Destiny City at an alarming pace. The thin strands of webbing are surprisingly resilient and can be difficult to break, but that’s to be expected when you’ve got the charm of Destiny City’s unnatural wildlife. At least you’re not dealing with the car sized spiders of a few years ago. While the webs appear with great frequency all over the city, it can be difficult to see the spiders themselves. They are about an inch long at their largest, but even if they were smaller, it wouldn’t matter. They are almost completely invisible. When on their webs, they look like morning dew. When on you? Same thing. Thankfully, these spiders seem to want to keep to themselves, but it’s hard to do that when you can’t see them. If agitated, the spiders will bite. Being bitten can cause nausea, dizziness, fatigue and hallucinations. These symptoms can begin immediately after being bitten or can manifest up to a few hours after the toxins are introduced to the bloodstream. These symptoms may only last for a few hours—or up to a few days. No medicine seems to help this ailment, so you’re stuck weathering this one out on your own.
The sound of retching had, for the past day or so, filled the small apartment, much to Mel’s chagrin. Not to mention misery. Whatever plans she had for her weekend went right out the window Friday evening after getting home. She barely paused to kick her shoes off at the door before she rushed in and keeled over the toilet, the first of many scenes just like it in the days to follow.
With a quiet, whimpering groan she straightened herself out, looking a right mess as she dabbed at her lips with a moist towelette while dropping the lid on the toilet and flushing. Her stomach at this point was basically empty, though it’s not like there was anything gross to look at anymore, but it was a habit she’d picked up after watching an episode of Bones.
“‘Otherwise a fine mist of aerosolized urine and fecal particulates is sprayed into the air every time you flush. You might as well brush your teeth in excrement.’” She said the quote weakly, but it made her smile as she turned and leaned back against the tub. She closed her eyes as she fought off a new wave of nausea when her phone rang beside her, so without looking she picked it up.
“Hello?”
“Mel?”
She blinked. “...Jacob?”
“You sound like hell. You okay?”
Her stomach knotted, and she groaned again quietly. “I’ll live. Why’re you calling me?”
“Alright, well. If you need anything just let me know.”
“Jae.” She heard a sharp intake of breath and her stomach knotted again, but she held her tongue and waited.
“Right, I called. Um. I’m in town for a few more days, was wondering if you might wanna meet up?”
Mel froze and steadied her breathing as best she could. Between the dizziness and the nausea it was hard enough to just keep her head on straight, but now this. She managed, though barely.
“Or, y’know, not. If you’d rather not, I g–”
“Sure.” It wasn’t much to think about, but she’d spent plenty of time wondering what she would do if he did call and ask to meet up. Every single time, without fail, she pictured herself agreeing. Her friends had told her it might be different in the actual moment, but here she was and it really wasn’t. The call itself was surprising, though, all things considered.
He paused this time, and she could picture the way he smiled that small, hesitant little smile of his. The memory of it brought another smile to her face, and she imagined that he was somewhere between elated, surprised, and confused, so she took another breath.
“If you’re free now, I wouldn’t mind some company. I picked up some kinda bug and haven't been able to keep anything down since Friday. You know how I get…”
“Basically non-functioning?” She gave an amused huff; it was accurate enough. “Yeah. Um, lemme see what’s on my plate tonight and I’ll ca–”
“If you’re busy, don’t worry about it. There’s always ne–”
“Mel, I’m coming to see you.” The finality in his voice was as warm as it was familiar, and her smile grew at the sound of it. “I just need to know who and what I’m bailing on so I can call and let them know something more important came up.”
“You don’t need to cancel your plans for me.”
“If this is the only chance I’ll get to see you while I’m here, yes I do.”
Memories flooded the fore of her mind as she thought back to their time together, all the times he’d done or said the exact opposite of what he was saying now. She felt a wrench in her chest and, without bothering to hold her tongue, she said, “That’s new.”
Without skipping a beat he replied, “A lot of things are. Text me your address?”
“Mm.”
“See you soon.”
Click.
Mel closed her eyes again and let her phone fall from her hand to land with a muted thud on the bath mat she was currently sitting on. As brief a conversation as it was, the weight of it was slowly starting to press down on her, and within minutes she was kneeling over the toilet again.
708 (gdocs)
