Free Dia of the Dead by Brit Brinson

not that I was going to spend any time looking through the magazine in my hand for Mason, but I didn’t know what else to do.
    I set the magazine aside, reached into my ba g, and joined Taylor in her quest for a cell signal. I wanted to call my mom to let her know I’d be home soon. I hoped this time would be different than the other zillion times I tried to make a call from down here but was disappointed as always when I saw I had no bars. I held the button to turn it off—trying to save what was left of its battery—and dropped it back into my bag. Amber groaned. I turned toward her to see what was going on. She was bent forward, clutching her stomach and groaning with a pained expression.
    “Amber, are you okay?” I stood up to check on her.
    “I don’t feel too hot,” she moaned, falling onto the floor and curled up into a ball, still clutching her stomach.  
    “Amber?” Brendan was on his feet.
    Amber gagged and made a retching sound. Out came a stream of foul smelling black liquid all over Mason’s rug. Everyone else jumped to their feet, scattering away from her. I instinctively took a step back, not wanting to get any of that stuff on my shoes. Mason mumbled complaints about his rug from behind me as Amber lay on her side, groaning in pain.
    “Maybe we should get her some hel p, ” Kaci said.
    I shot Kaci a quizzical look. “Maybe?  W e hav e to get her some hel—“  
    Amber rolled onto her back, her eyes rolling back in their sockets; she started to convulse.
    Reagan, Kaci, and Taylor moved closer—gathering around Amber’s flailing body—screaming their heads off. Brendan joined their half circle, his eyes wide and his fingers running through his dark hair as he repeated “Oh, man” over and over to himself.  I wanted to help but I was frozen, completely overwhelmed by panic.
    Mason was the only person not freaking out.  He sprang into action, kneeling beside Amber as she jerked. He made sure not to put his knee in the black puddle on the rug and leaned over her.
    “AMBER!” He s houted in her face and leaned back waiting for her to respond.
    She continued to shake.
    He leaned in closer to her. “HEY! AMBER!” 
    Still nothing.
    “Amber!” He gave her a quick smack to the face. He poised his hand to give it another go when Brendan yanked him backward by his shirt, away from her and dropped him on his butt.
    “Dude!  What the hell are you doing?” Brendan asked angrily.
    “Trying to hel p, ” Mason huffed, picking himself up from the floor and straightening his shirt.
    Amber’s head hit the floor with a muffled crack. More black liquid oozed from her mouth, spilling down the sides of her cheeks and trickling toward her ears.
    “She’s going to suffocate!” Taylor exclaimed, shaking a trembling finger at the girl on the ground.
    “We have to move he r, ” I said. Adrenaline finally began pumping through my veins and thawed my limbs.
    “Mason, help me move her so she doesn’t hurt herself. Get her legs and I’ll get her shoulders.” I directed him. “Ready?”
    He nodded and positioned himself over her.
    "One—two—three—lift.”  
    Together we hoisted Amber up.  She had stopped shaking but was unresponsive. Her eyes were slightly opened with only the whites showing.  Her thin body was limp in our hands as we carried her away from the dangers of the furniture and laid her on the floor in the space at the center of the room a few feet away from the door. 
    “We have to roll her on her side.  In case she pukes agai n, ” I said, reaching toward her. I rolled her onto her side and extended her arm on the floor to cradle her head. 
    “Amber?” I said softly. Her breathing was shallow and her skin was clammy to the touch. It was mottled by the blue ras h, which had spread up her arm, across her upper body and was beginning to overtake her face like moss on a tree trunk. I recoiled, removing my hand from her skin and wiping it on the front of my