She didn’t protest when Malaki pressed the rim of the cup to her lips, his gaze pleading and begging for her to let him help.
She mustered enough strength to part her lips and teeth, feeling the thick liquid pour into her mouth as Malaki tilted the cup.
The taste was horrible... like cherries mixed with tar... Sarah would of gagged, but the pain of her bones burning—degrating into ash were much too potent.
“Swallow,” Malaki said. “Please, Gem.”
Once again, she gathered all the energy left in her body, and she swallowed down the bitter liquid.
All the sudden, Malaki lifted her, holding under her knees and back with his arms.
Sarah’s vision tilted, blurring all words as she tried to regain all her thoughts again.
She couldn’t think straight. Every lamp looked like flashing lights. Every curtian, bed, and rug a blob. All she could relitivly focus her attention on was Malaki’s warmth that eminated from his body into hers. How he held her so gently when she knew she was deadweight.
Sarah half expected him to put her back to bed, but he just walked out of the room, her head dangling off his arm as he held her to him like he was afraid to let go.
Why would he be afraid? It’s not like he knew her or something... right?
“I am going to get you some orange juice.” Malaki’s voice came from a distance, distorted. “I have some left over salmon, as well. We need to get some vitamen D in your system, Gem. You are collapsing.”
Sarah couldn’t respond for the life of her. She just wanted to close her eyes... rest... sleep again...
As if he read her mind, he said, “Do not close your eyes, alright? I need you to stay awake for a little longer. Please, Gem?”
Why did he keep on calling her “gem”? When did this nickname stick to her, and why did he choose it?
Sarah’s vision kept on fading from the world to black, then to the world again. The next thing she knew, she was in Malaki’s lap as he sat on a floor of some kind.
Maybe it was hardwood? She couldn’t make out the texture, but the color looked like wood.
Malaki opened a fridge door that settled next to them, pulling out a bottle of orange liquid and a packet of something pink.
Sarah heard him tear open the bag in a hurry, twisting open the cap as fast as he could.
And she felt his arm under her back, gently pushing her up to a sitting position. He held his arm under her shoulderblades, preventing Sarah from falling back.
She watched him hold up a piece of something pink, though she couldn’t tell what it was.
“This is smoked salmon,” he explained, clearly trying to mask his anxiety but was failing horribly. “I need you to chew and swallow, okay?”
Malaki didn’t wait for a reponse, he just slid the bit of Salmon in Sarah’s mouth. Somehow, she started chewing, and the taste of all the spices... the taste of FOOD... made something ignite inside her and she wanted so much more... but she still couldn’t move on her own.
“Mo...” was all she could say. “Plea... mo....”
“You want more?” Malaki wondered soothingly. “Is that what you’re saying?”
She nodded slightly.
“You do not have to worry,” he promised. “I have three packets of this. I can feed you all of it. How does that sound?”
Another small nod.
“Alright, but,” he added, “you have to drink some orange juice as well. Is that a deal?”
She nodded again.
He pressed the rim of the bottle to her mouth, letting her swallow slowly as he titled the juice slightly.
Sarah couldn’t tell how long this went on for... drinking orange juice and eating salmon for the first time in centuries. But she started fading when her stomach was getting full, and it was as if Malaki sensed this.
The rest came in bits and pieces as she tried to stay awake, but her brain started dissolving and her eyes wanted to shut constantly.
She saw Malaki carry her up a grand staircase, then she shut her eyes.
Then he walked down a hallway. Her world faded out for a second.
And she saw him enter a room of some sort, though it wasn’t hers. It had a giant bed with silk sheets that he lay her on.
Briefly, she felt him pull the covers over her, and she faded in and out one last time, catching a glimpse of him walking over to a light switch, dimming them.
And the last thing she saw was him settling down onto a leather armchair, pulling a book into his lap and start reading.
Sarah couldn’t resist the fatigue anymore. She closed her eyes, head falling to the side, fading into darkness.
ns 15.158.61.52da2
