Page 74 of Blue

Prepared? They were in a goddamn parking lot next to their bikes. They couldn’tbe moreready.

Mooky ran his hand through his hair and gripped the tips. Tugging at the ends, the unease in his gut warred with the hopelessness of the situation.

“Blue might not have a lot of time for us to wait,” he said as the worst-case scenario wrapped its fingers around his throat.

CHAPTER 25

Blue

Stay awake.

Stay with it.

Don’t fall asleep.

Don’t submit.

Blue couldn’t drift off the way her body wanted. She had to keep her eyes open. Which got harder with each blink. Her lids were so heavy, and her vision blurred the longer she stayed awake.

Breathe.

Remember to breathe.

In with the good air.

Blue coughed. Good air was in short supply.

The putrid odor of her own vomit coated the inside of her nostrils. She’d never be able to not smell it. Her stomach retched, trying to empty itself again. At this point, she’d thrown up everything she ate for the last two weeks and then some.

But she had to.

She had to take in breaths, and she had to stay awake.

Groaning, she tried again, for the hundredth time, to roll away. Pain jolted around her wrists and ankles. The plastic ties keeping her bound bit deeper into her skin.

It was useless. She’d gotten puke on her clothes and in her hair. It was on the blanket beneath her. There was no escaping it.

If she closed her eyes, if she let the sleep claim her, at least she wouldn’t have to feel it crusting on her skin or inhale it anymore.

No!

She couldn’t.

Sleeping was the worst possible option.

Or the best thing.

She let her lids close. The darkness comforted her.

Vomit was strictly prohibited from dreamland.

No!

Eyes open!

Keep them open.

Find something interesting, not puke, to look at.

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