Feline Therapy Ch. 01

She turned and stumbled and then fell to her knees to vomit on the floor. She heaved but, miraculously, nothing came out and she was left feeling even worse. Instead, she sat back and gasped, trying to catch her breath. Black sparks exploded in her vision and she felt like someone was squeezing her temples in a vise.

It took an incredible amount of effort to pull herself into a standing position but she pushed until she was leaning against the counter. She fell forward but caught herself and, in this manner, slowly made her way to her bedroom until she could crawl under the covers. Shivering, she pulled the sweat soaked blanket tight against her body. Her eyes flicked open every time she came close to falling asleep.

"-you hear me"" Caitlin asked. "How many bottles- oh. Oh, babe."

Ariel turned to see her girlfriend leaning down over her with a worried frown.

"H- how l- l- long," Ariel wheezed, her teeth chattering. She writhed beneath as the blankets to try and put out the fire burning deep within her bones. "Been home?"

"I've been talking to you for the last few minutes, babe," Caitlin said. "Oh gosh, you're burning up. Wait here, I'll get a wet cloth."

"I'm f- f- f-" Ariel tried to say before a spasm tore the word away from her.

Caitlin returned and lay a cold, wet hand towel against Ariel's forehead. She gasped and her vocal chords separated and vibrated into a rasping, halting purr.

"Let me get you undressed," Caitlin said, pulling back the blanket. "Ugh, and I'll get a new blanket. Hold still."

"Noooo," Ariel said quietly. She pushed weakly at her girlfriend's hand but found herself easily rebuffed. She tossed and turned her head while trying to swallow past the lump at the back of her throat. Her girlfriend's hands were cool against her hot skin as the girl carefully undid buttons and pulled on clothes.

"There, you're-"

Ariel screamed. The nerves in her lower back exploded and her muscles contracted, pulling her immediately into a sitting position. With a loud 'pop', she lost sensation in her entire lower body. The room spun and Caitlin's voice echoed down a darkening tunnel as the young scientist passed out.

--

"- temperature's just over one hundred," Caitlin said. She toyed anxiously with curls of her thick, red hair. "No, nothing else. No vomit. I don't know how to check that, no. Well, she was screaming earlier. It freaked me out. Just sat up, screamed and fainted. Okay, but-"

"No," Ariel whispered, slowly reaching a hand out to touch her girlfriend's arm.

A single bar of light peeked from the edge of the bedroom's curtain. It lay against her face and she blinked as she turned to face her lover. Her mouth hung open while she hyperventilated. It felt like hands were pushing and squeezing the inside of her chest but her panting seemed to help against the fever and the pressure.

Black flecks appeared beneath the skin around her eyes.

"T- trust- trust me," Ariel begged, grabbing Caitlin's arm in a trembling grip. "N-n- no h- hospital. Trust. Trust me. Please."

More coal-like specks appeared in the sweat-slick skin surrounding her eyes. They multiplied until her eyes were ringed by black. A faint line appeared along her cheeks from the corner of her eyes, nearly invisible in the darkened room. The line grew down her face like an old scar until it reached the edges of her lips.

"Trust," Ariel said as the room began to darken once again. She opened her mouth and hissed quietly through the pain wracking her body. As her fingers dug into the bed sheets, the flesh beneath her fingernails bulged. Her nails bent at the center and tented as a fine slit appeared at the tips of her fingers.

"Trust. Me. Truuuussss-" she groaned. The young woman flexed her hands as her girlfriend fixed the towel on her forehead. Eight clear claws pushed through the clefts in her fingertips to tear ragged little holes in the sheet while she dragged her hands along the bed.

Ariel twisted once and sighed when sleep finally took her. As her body relaxed, her claws pulled back into her fingertips.