Gloria untied her apron and took the cash drawer out of the register. She only kept a limited amount of money in the register after nine. “Ethan?” She yelled into the kitchen. I waited to see what she wanted.

Ethan came out of the kitchen. His shirt was covered in brown gravy.

“What happened to you?” I asked him.

“Oh, little spill. Nothing major. It’s all cleaned up now.” He turned to Gloria. “What’s up?”

“I know I said you and Sam could leave, but do you think you could stay a little later tonight and help Jackson? He needs to clean the grill and wash the floors. I had to fire the dishwasher and the cleaning guy. They smoked more than they worked. Jackson could use the help, and I figure you can use the cash. I know it’s late and all, so if you don’t want to that’s fine.”

“Um, yeah. I can do it.” He turned to me. “Mind hanging around while I make some extra money?”

What choice did I have? He was the one with the car. “No problem. I’ll do some homework or something.”

“Great.” Gloria carried the drawer into the office to count it. She always counted the money in private. I knew it wasn’t a trust issue or anything. She had counted the money in her office since they opened the diner, and she was a creature of habit. My being here didn’t disrupt her system.

I took a seat at a corner booth with my copy of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which had been in Ethan’s car all weekend. Unfortunately, I didn’t remember the story well enough to pass Mr. Ryan’s class without rereading it. I opened up to the page we left off on in class on Friday and read.

“…a qualm came over me, a horrid nausea and the most deadly shuddering… I began to be aware of a change in the temper of my thoughts, a greater boldness, a contempt of danger, a solution of the bonds of obligation. I looked down; my clothes hung formlessly on my shrunken limbs; the hand that lay on my knee was corded and hairy. I was once more Edward Hyde.”

I couldn’t help wondering if Robert Louis Stevenson had been brought back from the dead, too. The way he wrote about the monster and how it overtook Dr. Jekyll hit home with me.

My hand shook as I held the book. My fingernails turned blue with cold. It was happening. I hadn’t started choking yet, but I knew it was coming. Another attack. I reached for the cell phone in my pocket and found Nora’s number. I texted her. Help. Now!

I’d barely put the phone down when it vibrated with a message. Out back.

I got up, using the table to help me in case my legs were wobbly. I looked toward the kitchen, making sure Ethan and Jackson weren’t coming out. Gloria was still in the office counting money, which meant I’d have to walk past her. I placed my hands on the wall in the hallway to guide myself. My knees were weak, and the cold was taking over my body. I heard Gloria talking on the phone, and I sank to my knees. I crawled past her door, well below the window and out of her view.

I reached the back door and struggled to get up off the floor. I used the door handle to pull myself up. My fingers could barely turn the lock, and a cough was threatening to burst from my mouth. I did my best to suppress it. Gloria would hear me if I let it escape my lips. I pushed the door open and fell out onto the parking lot. The door swung back and hit me. I whimpered and coughed at the same time. I tilted my head, checking to see if Gloria had heard me.

I had to get out of the doorway. I had to crawl. I grabbed the edge of the curb, using it to pull my weight forward. If only Nora were here. She could help me. But there wasn’t a car in sight. Would she come in a car? Or would she be bringing the witch to me? I had no idea.

I finally cleared the door and cringed when it clicked back into place. Please, let Gloria still be on the phone. Please, don’t let her have heard that.

A green Ford Focus pulled around the back of the diner, stopping right next to me. The passenger door opened, and Nora leaned over the seat toward me. “Get in.”

“I don’t think I can. I’m too weak.” I coughed again as the air escaped my lungs.

“I can’t touch you. You know that. You have to get in on your own.”

How? I could barely breathe, and my body didn’t have the strength to crawl anymore. How would I pull myself into the seat?

“Look, do you want to live or not?” Nora’s voice was harsh, but I understood she was trying to shock me into reacting. I was giving up, lying on the ground like this. I pulled myself closer to the car, using anything I could grab onto to make this a little easier.

“Please, give me your hand. I won’t kill you. It doesn’t work that way.”

Nora eyed me, not sure if she believed me.

“I won’t kill you,” I said again, coughing as my lungs continued to tighten.

She reached her hand over and pulled me up into the seat. Her hand felt so warm against mine. My breathing relaxed a little at her touch, but she quickly pulled her hand from mine.

“Close your door. I’m not leaning across you. It would be too tempting in your weakened state.”

She was right. Even if she was trying to help me, my body would attack whoever was closest, just to survive. My brain was powerless against it. It didn’t matter what I wanted. It didn’t matter that I didn’t want to kill. My body would do what it had to. I couldn’t help wondering if the cancer victim inside me had anything to do with how much I wanted to live despite what I’d become.

I used the little bit of strength from the breath of air I got while holding Nora’s hand to pull the car door shut. Nora immediately threw the car into gear and tore out of there. I caught a glimpse of Gloria coming out of her office as we pulled away. Just great. She’d figure out I was missing. She’d tell Ethan, and I’d have a whole lot to explain when I got back. If I made it back.

Nora was doing well over the speed limit, but I had no idea how far we had to drive to get to the witch Nora had picked out. It was crazy to think I was driving to someone’s house to kill them. Even crazier that they had no idea I was coming.

“Nora,” I croaked, “I can’t hold on much longer.”

“We’re almost there.” She floored the gas, and we whipped around the corner. The tires screeched as she pulled up a driveway. She was out of the car and mumbling a spell before I could get my door open. I watched her wave her hands and wondered what kind of spell she was doing. She’d said she’d make sure the witches couldn’t hurt me while I…

She opened my door, still mumbling and holding one hand up toward the house. She waved me toward her. I moved one leg out, not sure if I had the strength to get up.

“I can’t.” I choked again, but she waved more frantically as she continued her spell. She couldn’t talk to me because the spell was requiring her attention. She kept repeating a phrase. It sounded like Latin or some other language I didn’t know. I reached for the door and used it to help me out of the car. I’d hoped Nora was going to bring the witch to me. Getting to the house was going to be nearly impossible.

She walked behind me, taking her free hand and placing it on my back. My lungs opened up slightly, and I gasped for air. She was giving me the energy I needed to make it inside the house. We moved up to the front door, while Nora continued with her spell. She reached around me, careful not to get too close, and opened the front door. A staircase stood in front of me, and I prayed we didn’t have to climb it. Nora turned me to the right into a living room.

A girl stood in front of the fireplace, glaring at Nora. She was frozen in place, and the air around her swirled, keeping her imprisoned in a whirlpool of invisible force. “What do you want, Nora?” the girl said through clenched teeth. It was hard to understand her because she couldn’t move her lips. “What is this all about? Who is she?” Then the girl’s eyes widened. “That’s her, isn’t it?”