My stomach felt strange.

  Not the kind of strange from hunger.

  Not the empty, aching kind.

  Something else.

  Deep.

  Chaotic.

  Like things inside were fighting each other.

  The food the big one gave me—

  it was so different.

  But why did it hurt more than hunger?

  I lay on the floor,

  hugging myself.

  Everything I had eaten came back out.

  It was soft and warm when I ate it,

  but when I threw it up—

  it stank.

  It was bitter.

  Worse than the worst water in the alley.

  I was scared.

  My body burned.

  But I was freezing too.

  Shaking.

  I couldn’t stop.

  That never happened in the alley.

  In the alley,

  there was only hunger.

  Only cold.

  Only pain.

  But not this.

  Now,

  I was soft.

  Weak.

  Couldn’t even catch a rat.

  My fingers couldn’t reach the ground.

  My feet couldn’t hold me.

  It felt like I was about to float away.

  No… no…

  I have to find rats.

  I need food.

  Only food keeps you from dying.

  But my hands had no strength.

  My legs wouldn’t move.

  I could only keep my eyes open.

  I saw the ceiling.

  Saw shadows moving nearby.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  I saw the big one sitting next to me,

  not letting me move around.

  The big one was in the alley.

  The alley…?

  No, this wasn’t the alley.

  But why—

  Why could I see darkness again?

  Why were there rats?

  They were just over there.

  If I could grab them, bite them—

  I could eat—

  But why couldn’t I reach them?

  Why were the rats up above?

  Were the squeaks coming from the walls…?

  Wasn’t the alley cold?

  But now—

  it felt warm.

  Something was on my forehead.

  Water?

  But the sky wasn’t raining.

  There was no water on the floor.

  Why was my forehead wet?

  My body too—

  as if something was spread all over me.

  Cool.

  Sticky.

  And then—

  the itch went away.

  The big one sat by the bed,

  held something to my mouth.

  Soft.

  Wet.

  Like water—

  but thicker.

  I didn’t want to drink.

  I wanted rats.

  But the big one didn’t take it away.

  I couldn’t run.

  So I drank.

  Warm.

  Like the food I had before.

  But the rats in the alley were squeaking again.

  Running.

  I had to catch them.

  I had to bite them—

  But the big one reached out.

  He grabbed me.

  No—

  not grabbed.

  It was… something else.

  His hand—

  big, warm—

  touched my head.

  Slowly.

  Gently.

  I wanted to bite.

  But I had no strength.

  Still—this time felt different.

  No pain.

  No blood.

  Just… softness.

  Soft.

  Like the things on the bed.

  Like the cloth they used to cover me.

  His other hand rested on mine.

  What was this?

  Was he about to catch me?

  But—

  I grabbed his hand back.

  Warm.

  And somehow…

  I wasn’t afraid anymore.

  —

  I don’t know how long passed.

  I woke up.

  My head wasn’t hot anymore.

  My stomach stopped fighting.

  The strange smells were still there,

  but now—

  my hands could move.

  My feet could touch the floor.

  I felt like I could catch big rats again.

  The big one was still beside me.

  He hadn’t left.

  He stayed there the whole time.

  The bright one was there too.

  They didn’t just glance at me and leave like other shadows.

  They stayed.

  The big one’s hand was still there.

  My hand still held his.

  Soft.

  Warm.

  He didn’t let go.

  Can I keep holding his hand?

  But it’s warm.

  I don’t want to let go.