•~27~•

Midnight met Karla on her knees, her head bent over the toilet. She felt a clenching in her throat, before she threw up. She didn't know how much it had happened already; she had stopped counting at five. The vomit was now near translucent. She had long regurgitated the food she had eaten at night, and was now releasing exclusively liquid from her body.

As she tried to stand, a sharp pain shot through her abdomen, and she felt it —the unmistakable signs of nausea. She threw her face back into the toilet seat, just in time for the puke to enter. Slowly and painfully, clutching her belly, she got up and walked out of her ensuite. She left the door open, in case she would need to run back in, which would likely be the case.

Karla could barely understand what was happening to her. She knew she was gravely ill, but she had been alright three hours ago. Over that time, she had developed a searing headache, stinging abdominal pain, vomiting, dizziness, and she could just feel herself developing a fever. She shivered from the effect. It was too late into the night to be able to get someone, and she didn't know where drugs were kept in the mansion, so she decide she would brave her worsening illness till morning.

On her bed, Karla lasted for about 30 minutes, before she had the urge to puke again. This time, her throat seemed like it was burning. She'd gotten a sore throat from all that vomiting. Once done, she waited for the pain in her neck to calm down, still bending over the toilet seat. Her mouth tasted rotten, but she was too distracted by her suffering to care. Still, on reflex, she tried to suck out the bad taste.

With horror, Karla realized she couldn't move her tongue, or her mouth either. Her entire jaw area was completely immobile! This was no longer a common ailment. She had to get help now! Only God knew what would happen if she waited any longer. Karla all but jumped up, summoning energy she didn't know existed, and was hit by an overwhelming wave of dizziness. She held on for her dear life on the towel rack, as the world spun around her.

    I need help. Karla thought, frustrated.

Should I cry out? Are the walls soundproof? Will anyone be able to hear me? These were questions that ran through her mind. At last, she decided to give it a shot. She was then reminded that she couldn't move her mouth. The only sound that managed to escape was a breathless whimper. Karla tried to groan, but was also disappointed. Finally, she gave in to her urge to cry, a single tear sliding down her face, due to her frustration.

Nevertheless, if getting help to come to her wouldn't work, then she would go to help. Leaning against the walls for balance, Karla made her way out of her room into the hallway, which was dark and lonely. Her fever had by now gone from bad to terrible. Even though she was sweating profusely, she was cold. She now regretted not throwing on a sweater earlier.

Karla tried to call out again, but only the same sorrowful whimper came through. Her slightly open mouth was now drooling, due to her inability to close it. With a sinking emotion, she noticed that she was losing feeling in her limbs. It was becoming very difficult to walk, or move her hands.

Her head was aching. Her heart was pounding. Her abdomen was stinging. And her vision was blurring. She could no longer see clearly!

Karla felt like she was in a infinite void, with no light or darkness, no life or death, and no entry or exit —she was giving up. She could remain there forever, and no one would find her. No one would miss her either, except maybe her father. Yes, her father was the only one that truly cared about her. And she cared about him just as much. A newfound determination pulled Karla out of her despair. She had a reason to fight —her father. She had sacrificed so much for him, she couldn't give up now, not when they were both so close to freedom.

She pushed on. By now, her hands were completely immobile, limp at her sides. She had lost all feeling in her knees as well. Leaning her side on the wall, she was able to shuffle forward, extremely slowly, barely an inch at a time. Drool trailed out of her mouth, down her jaw, to the floor below her.

    "Miss Karla?"

It took a moment for Karla to register the sound, and the person talking had to repeat her name severally, but when she did, she couldn't be happier.  Someone had found her. The voice was female, but she couldn't identity who it belonged to. Her vision allowed her to see a colorful blur, and nothing else. She attempted to walk towards the person.

    "Miss Karla?"

At that moment, nausea hit Karla with a devil's might, accompanied by a staggering pain in both her abdomen and forehead. Karla threw up, but due to the immobility of her lips, she was unable to widen them to release the entire vomit on the floor. Some of it was left in her mouth. Her eyeballs rolled backwards, and she felt dizziness like one she'd never felt before.

    "Miss Karla!?"

Karla fainted.

When she awoke, she was tired and very weak. She could feel that she was laying on her back, and seemed to the moving quite rapidly. Two people were looking down at her, but she couldn't recognize them —her eyesight was still bad. Thankfully, there was something over her nose that was helping her breath, because she felt breathless. She figured it must be an oxygen mask. She was likely in a hospital. She was saved! She drifted back into unconsciousness.

The next time she woke up, the first thing she noticed was that the cloudiness in her eyes was greatly reduced. Her limbs and mouth were still stiff though, and she still felt sickly. It took some seconds for her brain to register the face watching her. It was Raul. His jaws were clenched and his eyes were narrowed in a menacing glare.

Karla mentally tsked. She felt like she had just narrowly escaped death. The least he could do was be sympathetic.

TEASER: WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO KARLA EXPLAINED