Unquenchable Thirst (2)
'It gets worse when I'm around large amounts of people...'
The moment this thought flashed through Aurik's mind a lot of things he had experienced throughout the day started to make more sense. The way his thirst would increase whenever he was in the seating area, where there was always around 20 to 30 people, was only one part of it.
Over the past few hours he had found himself staring at customers in a rather intense way, or at least that was how Thea had described his gaze when she caught him doing it on multiple occasions.
For some reason whenever he was staring at people like that, lost in his own mind, the thirst would intensify but in a good way, like how your stomach rumbles more intensely when food is placed in front of you after not eating the whole day.
A sense of anticipation would wash over his body but he had no idea what exactly he was anticipating to begin with. Once again, it felt like his body was aware of something that his mind had yet to learn or accept.
Another thing that started happening towards the end of the day was that any time he tried to speak with a customer his attention was constantly being drawn towards their bodies, more specifically, their necks.
This led to multiple problems as Aurik was constantly having to ask customers to repeat themselves and often he would still end up getting their orders wrong. Mr Bronson, Aurik's boss, had made sure to give him a 'stern talking to' multiple times but the problems continued to occur until the day finally came to an end.
Aurik locked up the restaurant after everyone had left and luckily didn't have to worry about Mr Bronson shouting at him again since the plump man always left several hours before the restaurant officially closed.
-Sigh- 'What's wrong with me? No matter what I do I can't get rid of this thirst. It feels like my throat is going to crumple into dust.'
He continued to think about what was happening to him as he walked through the city, eventually arriving back at his apartment. Once inside he attempted to have some water, hoping that maybe this time it would do something to cure his ailment.
Unfortunately it did nothing at all, just like the rest, and he was forced to accept that. Feeling a sense of defeat, Aurik crumpled onto his bed and tried to go to sleep while silently wishing for the thirst to be gone when he woke up the next day.
*
Unlike the previous day, where he woke up with surprising amounts of energy, when Aurik's alarm clock went off and he got out of bed he felt as though he had suddenly contracted a disease.
Hurting muscles, heavy eyes, physical fatigue and dizzy vision. These were some of the symptoms that ailed Aurik as he slowly got dressed and then made his way to work with dragging steps. Since he had woken up on time, Aurik was the first to arrive and opened the restaurant without issue, only seeing some of his co-workers after around 15 minutes of waiting.
"You look terrible." Thea pointed out the moment she say Aurik.
"Gee, thanks. I thought I looked quite handsome but I guess not." Aurik replied with a tired voice. It was obvious that he was being sarcastic but he couldn't bring himself to use the right tone of voice.
His condition had worsened when the others started showing up for work because as soon as the first co-worker walked the through the door that terrible thirst that had been bothering him since the day before returned, only this time it was worse.
Even though there were only 5 people in total at the restaurant right now, he felt the same level of thirst that he felt when standing in the seating area surrounded by 30 people.
Thea opened her mouth to speak but quickly closed it and walked away with her head hanging low. Aurik didn't know why she didn't joke with him like usual but he had more important things to worry about so he pushed Thea out of his thoughts.
The thirst that Aurik felt continued to worsen as customers started showing up and by the time it was noon the restaurant was completely full with around 50 customers in total and the thirst had become unbearable.
Aurik was taking the orders of 5 people at one of the corner booths but he could barely even hear what the customers were saying. His attention was completely focused on the neck of the man in front of him and without even realising it he had started to inch closer and closer towards the man until he was right on top of him.
"Then for the drinks I was- Excuse me, are you even listening young man?" The man that had been ordering for his table suddenly noticed Aurik's strange behaviour and a deep frown formed on his face.
Aurik was still unable to hear the mans words but when he saw the man try to stand up his body moved almost on its own as his right hand shot forward pushed the man back into his seat with force.
Without realising it, he had opened his mouth and was leaning down towards the man with a hungry look in his eyes when suddenly a small delicate hand grabbed onto his wrist and pulled his arm away from the man.
"I'm sorry sir, he's feeling a bit sick today so I think we'll send him home. I'll come take your order in a moment and I'll give you a complementary dessert as an apology from the restaurant." Thea said before pulling Aurik away without waiting for a reply from the customer.
She dragged Aurik through the kitchen and out the backdoor of the restaurant before finally stopping. She looked at him with both concern and confusion before she spoke while holding onto both of his arms.
"Aurik what's wrong with you today? I understand if you aren't feeling well but you're acting really strange."
Aurik looked ahead and saw those bright emeralds looking at him with concern, which brought him back to his sense momentarily.
"I'm just feeling a bit strange, I think I need to go to the hospital." He replied honestly before his attention drifted towards the beauty's neck.
Thea was about to say something but a conversation between some passer-by's drew her attention.
"Isn't that Aurik?" A woman said with surprise.
"Oh shit, you're right, it is!" A man replied with some excitement before another man added beside him.
"Lets go say hello..."
Thea turned around and saw a group of three, one woman and two men, walking towards her and Aurik from the nearby street. All three of these people were dressed in expensive looking clothing but the man that was walking at the front with a large smile on his face was clearly the most wealthy of the group.
"Hello miss, do you mind if we speak to out friend there?" The man in front said with a kind voice and friendly expression.
"Um, hello. I'm sorry but who are you? How do you know him?" Thea asked hesitantly while trying to appear friendly.
"Aurik went to school with us, we've been friends for years. He doesn't look too good though, is something wrong?" The same man spoke again, maintaining his friendly attitude.
Thea dropped her guard when the man mentioned Aurik's name, which confirmed that they did know each other. She looked at Aurik for a moment before speaking.
"He's sick and has been acting strange. I was about to take him to the hospital."
"The hospital?" The friendly man suddenly became concerned and his eyes opened wide with shock. "Is it really that bad? We can't expect him to walk there if that's the case. I don't mean to brag but my family is rich, I have a car around the corner that I can use to take him to the hospital."
'A car? Even the cheapest cars cost a fortune... How did Aurik become friends with this guy?' Thea was thoroughly surprised but realized that what this man was saying was true.
"Alright then, I suppose it would be better than making him walk. Not to mention my boss would kill me if I disappeared along with him for the next few hours."
The friendly man smiled. "That's great then, thanks for looking after him. I'll take him from here." He stepped forward and placed Aurik's around around his neck so he could support him while walking.
"Mm. Thank you for taking him to the hospital then." Thea quickly went back inside after confirming that everything was alright.
The man that was supporting Aurik stood completely still for several seconds after Thea left before he let go of Aurik and dropped him without hesitation. Aurik dropped to his knees with a faraway look in his eyes, it was clear that he wasn't aware of whatever was happening around him.
The man that was supporting Aurik a moment ago crouched in front of him and looked into his empty eyes for a moment before lifting his hand and swinging it hard through the air.
Slap!
"Come on, Aurik, don't just sit there spaced out like that. Let's have some fun!"