Free Fruit of Misfortune by Nely Cab Page B

then.”
    I climbed the stairs as fast as I could, my
vision beginning to blur. When I reached the bedroom, the bed
seemed to be rocking along with the walls. The bathroom door flew
open and bounced back, as I stumbled in. I landed on my knees and
crawled to the toilet where I lost the few bites I had eaten. I sat
back against the wall and watched the room spinning around me. My
stomach began to spasm, and I hurled myself over the toilet again,
retching a strange brown liquid. Over and over the liquid rose and
spewed, until there was nothing left, except for the involuntary
dry heaves my body continued to produce.
    My breathing became shallow, and a surge of
anxiety ran through me. I struggled to move out of the bathroom,
but as I crawled, I started crying and screaming at the top of my
lungs. I leaned my head against the door and held my arms, digging
my nails into them. I curled into a ball, iciness sweeping over me.
My pained screams resonated against the concrete walls.
    “Isis!” I heard David’s voice between cries.
I pulled at my hair, trying to control the anxiety that was
consuming me. But trying to control both the angst and the cold
that traveled through my limbs was impossible. I fought hard to
suppress the screams.
    “It’s happening again,” I heard Eros say.
“Why?”
    “Eros, take Camilla out of here, and lock the
door,” Nyx delegated, instead of answering Eros. “And keep her
occupied.”
    Eros hesitated, but followed Nyx’s orders and
ushered Camilla out of the room. Only, he didn’t leave.
    David knelt beside me. “What is it?”
    I couldn’t answer because I didn’t know. All
I knew was that I felt like I was in some sort of psychological war
with myself, and my body was turning into an icicle. At last, my
cries died down to whimpers.
    “Is she pregnant?” Eryx asked.
    “Of course not,” David replied.
    “Are you sure?” Eryx asked again, and David
gave him a cross look as he carried me to the bed.
    Cold as ice, I drew into myself when I felt
the bed under me. My jaw shook uncontrollably.
    “You need to lie flat on your back,” Nyx told
me.
    “I don’t think there’s time for this,” David
said. “Look at her lips. They’re turning blue. We should put her in
the bath.”
    “We will, but I can read her better while
she’s in this state. I found nothing when I scanned her body
earlier, during dinner.”
    Galen forced my folded left arm away from my
chest. I pulled away from him. He tried to uncurl my arm again, and
again I drew it back. The cold was too much.
    Then, with more pressure than before, Galen
gripped my wrist, his fingers making my skin ache and burn. I
screamed. As if in slow motion, I saw Galen’s body spring back and
ricochet against the wall. He hit the floor with a loud thump.
    “Her arms… It’s escalating too fast.” Nyx ran
to the bathroom.
    I studied the blue patches that had formed
along the length of my hands to my elbows. Eros, Eryx, David, and
Galen looked at me with widened stares. Nyx raced back into the
bedroom.
    “Signora?” I heard Camilla’s voice
accompanied by loud knocking at the door.
    “Eros, didn’t I tell you to keep Camilla
occupied?” Nyx glared at him.
    Eros lingered at the door before he opened it
and walked out. Galen turned the lock on the knob.
    Nyx ran into the bathroom again. “Bring her
in!”
    Galen took a hesitant step forward. Eryx
shook his head at him, and Galen looked at David.
    “David,” Eryx said, but David didn’t
move.
    “David.” Galen snapped his fingers at him.
“Be quick about it.”
    At last David reacted. He carried me into the
bathroom and placed me in the tub still clothed. With effort and
after a brief argument in Latin, Nyx pushed David back and out the
door and locked us in. She removed my clothes, leaving my
undergarments, but only because I protested.
    Nyx poured warm water over my head, slicking
my hair back. “Can you straighten your body for two minutes?”
    I tried to nod, but instead,