A few minutes later, a young guy approaches from one of the stalls. “Here are some drinks for you ladies,” he points at Terry, who is still waiting in line for some food. “Coming from the young man over there.”
The cups have our names written on them, so I grab the one with mine. Oh, something with a strawberry taste. I beam happily, taking a sip. Tastes a bit weird, I think, but not too bad.
The next hour passes in a blur. We continue to dance a bit and taste some of the delicious food, but I’m starting to feel a bit dizzy. I stumble slightly as the girls pull me along, almost falling face-first on the ground. Shit, I feel dizzy.
“Are you alright?” Jazz asks worriedly.
“Just feeling a bit dizzy,” I say, not even trusting my own voice at the moment. Everything is spinning. I’m such a pathetic wolf, I can’t believe it. First, I can’t even defend myself against those idiots, then an hour later, I’m sick.
“I’m not feeling too well either,” Tori admits, and Marilou nods.
“Too many drinks?” Lionel asks, concerned.
Terry approaches his twin sister, taking her arm and examining her closely. “Tori, you didn’t drink in secret, did you?”
“No,” she shakes her head.
Lionel turns to look at Jazz. “Are you still feeling fine?”
“Yes, just a bit tired,” she shrugs while making me sit down somewhere. “But we’ve been here for hours, so feeling tired is to be expected.”
“Maybe it’s the stress of the whole evening,” Terry muses. “No one ate much either, and we danced a lot. Could it be dehydration? I believe Tori when she says she didn’t drink anything. Let’s go slow, Dad’ll have my head if something happens to her.”
Lionel nods. “Maybe we could organize them something to eat and—”
At the mention of food, I feel my stomach churn. “I need the toilet,” I blurt out.
Jazz gets the hint when she sees me turning green. “I’ll come with you.”
Tori looks at her brother. “I think Marilou and I could do with some freshening up as well. We’ll be back in a minute.”
“A bunch of girls hitting the restroom together,” Lionel groans. “When has that ever taken only a minute?”
I’m feeling too sick to giggle at his words. To my relief, Jazz takes charge, skillfully managing to half drag and half lead us to the public restrooms. I don’t know whether I should go for one of the sinks or head straight to a toilet cubicle, at least the room looks tidy. Tori drops her head down into one of the sinks and starts drinking from the tap. “I’m feeling so sick,” I mutter breathlessly.
“Me too,” Marilou breathes out. Her breath sounds a bit shallow.
We drink some more cold water out of the tap. Jazz coaches us through it, instructing us to take slow, deep breaths before drinking some more. Meanwhile, she takes a towel, dips into the water, and wraps it around Tori’s neck. Tori is starting to look a bit better, unlike Marilou and me.
“Are you alright, Val?” Jazz looks worried. “Do you need help?”
“No,” I press out. “Gimme a minute.” I slam the cubicle door closed behind me before bending over the bowl and emptying my stomach. Shit, I feel like I’m going to die. I hear another toilet door being slammed. Probably Marilou.
When I feel like there’s nothing left in me, I get up shakily. Damn it, I can hardly stand. Maybe I’m coming down with something… this isn’t normal.
I hear Tori and Jazz talking together quietly. Suddenly, their voices are cut off by a weird bumping noise, followed immediately after by another one. I open the door and stagger slowly outside. “Jazz? Is…”
I freeze, dread filling me at the sight of Jazz lying on the ground, Tori lying next to her. There is blood on Jazz’s shirt and on Tori’s forehead. I open my mouth to scream, but nothing comes out. I want to run over and check on the girls, yet I can do nothing but stand here, rooted to the spot. My heart hammers against my chest so loudly it feels like it’s going to escape any second. Finally, I take a shaky step forward, still feeling dizzy. “Jazz?” I whisper.
Before I can kneel down next to her, strong arms grab me from behind, wrapping around my upper body and locking me in place. Adrenaline rushes through me, clearing my head enough to do the only sane thing I can think of, “Marilou, stay in there!” I yell. It’s too late though, because she’s already opened the door. Another guy appears out of nowhere and yanks her out of the cubicle before quickly clasping his hand around her mouth.
A cloth is shoved over my mouth and nose suddenly, and even though I struggle to get free, I eventually feel my knees getting weak as my surroundings change to black.
Aurelia II
*CELINE*
HarmonyandIarestill with Flora and Elden. Vincent has joined us and is providing some comic relief, lightening the atmosphere by making silly comments here and there. Calvin left earlier to roam the pack grounds and keep an eye out for any trouble. We’re busy listening to Elden and Flora’s story about how they met when Elden’s eyes go glassy all of a sudden. At the same time, someone from his pack approaches us running, a young guy—I think it’s one of Aurelia’s friends.