Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 113051 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113051 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 377(@300wpm)
My heart skips a beat, and I hate it for that. “Really? I haven’t noticed. He’s always got that intense look, you know?”
“Yes. You’re the reason for that look. He sure as hell doesn’t look like that when I’m talking to him.”
I look down at my nails. “He said I’m fascinating,” I confess, feeling a little embarrassed. “Though I’m not sure I should repeat what he says during our sessions.”
“Baby, you tell Lauren everything,” she says, giving my sore shoulder a squeeze.
“Ow!” I cry out, enough that Rav and Munawar stop skipping stones.
“What? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you,” she says. “Are you okay?”
I nod, the truth on the tip of my tongue. The need to confide is overwhelming.
“They gave me a tetanus and rabies shot yesterday,” I whisper. “On that arm. It’s still really sore.”
Rav and Munawar have stopped in front of us, flat stones in their palms.
“For hitting your head?” Rav asks, a brow raised quizzically.
“No.” I take in a deep breath. “I’m going to tell you something, and you’re going to think I’m crazy, just as Kincaid and Everly did, but you’re my friends, I think.”
“I’ll still give you this shirt off my back,” Munawar says, lifting up the hem with his free hand.
“We’re your friends,” Lauren says imploringly as she tucks a strand of hair behind her ears, her green eyes serious. “You can tell us.”
I glance at Rav and Munawar, and they nod. I know Kincaid didn’t want me to say anything, but what’s the harm if he doesn’t believe me anyway?
“Please don’t, you know, stop talking to me if you think I’m full of shit,” I say to them. “I don’t think I could handle that, not in a place like this.”
“We promise,” Munawar says.
So I take the leap, and I tell them what happened yesterday, starting with Clayton and ending with the undead wolf slinking away into the forest.
“Why did Professor Kincaid lie to us, then?” Rav asks. “He just said you hit your head. I knew you didn’t though. You sounded as if you were being attacked.”
“I don’t know. I guess he didn’t want you to panic if there was a rabid wolf around, especially since we were a small group isolated from the rest.”
“It really does sound like it was rabid to me,” Lauren says. “It’s possible that it was so rabid that the disease was basically keeping it alive.”
“Also,” Rav says slowly. “Well, aren’t you thinking what we’re all thinking?”
“I have no idea,” I tell him. “What are you thinking?”
“Just me? Okay, well, Amanita excandesco. The mushrooms. Is it possible that the famous fungus has been ingested by the wildlife here? We all know by now that Ophiocordyceps unilateralis affects certain ants. What if it’s in the wolves? What if this strain of fungi can create zombie wolves instead of zombie ants.”
“That’s not what I was thinking,” says Lauren, curling her lip in disgust.
“Yeah, me neither,” I say. Fungi can’t survive in high temperatures found in warm-blooded mammals, like wolves or ourselves. There are theories that humans actually evolved to have our specific high body temperature on purpose. Plus, that’s not how that particular fungus spreads.
“I think you’ve seen too many episodes of The Last of Us,” Munawar tells him.
“The video game?” I ask. “They made a TV show of it?”
“You haven’t seen it?” Munawar asks in disbelief. “Every single mycology student is hooked on the show. Pedro Pascal? Hello?”
“Munawar,” Lauren snaps while Rav kicks him in the leg. “Stay on task, okay?”
His face falls, chagrined. “Sorry.”
“It’s just an idea,” Rav says quickly. “We have to have theories, don’t we?”
I sigh, putting my head in my hands. Even though it’s morning, I could easily crawl back into bed. “I don’t know. Maybe I was stressed out and hallucinating. Wouldn’t be the first time.”
Everyone goes silent. I glance at them, their eyes filled with pity.
“Do you hallucinate often?” Lauren asks quietly.
“No,” I say, unsure if I’m lying or not. “Only yesterday, when I thought I heard someone calling my name.”
“You’re not sleeping well, I can tell,” she says, giving my knee a pat. “At least you’re eating more. Maybe you need a day off to relax. Tell them you need a mental health break. They’ll understand.”
“It’s barely been a week,” I scoff. “I have fifteen more weeks to go.”
“Then it’s a great time to get yourself right. We have a long summer ahead of us here.”
For the first time since I arrived, I feel the weight of our tenure here.
It’s starting to feel suffocating.
CHAPTER 12
Wake up, Sydney.
My eyes snap open to a dark room.
Who just said that? Was that in my dream?
My heart is already racing, the blood thumping in my ears, and I take in a shaky breath as I hold the covers to my chest, trying to bring my brain back online.