Instantly he choked and sputtered. His body rejected any ounce of food. The reaction exaggerated itself into projectile vomiting over the tile floors. Chris shot up from his seat and ran to his side once more. Bits of the granola was everywhere. As well as blood. Lots of it.

“Okay, this is insane. I’m going to take you to the hospital. You’re really sick” he said, patting Aleks shuddering back.

“No shit Sherlock” He pants.

“Or should I call an ambulance?!”

“I'm okay. Just take me to-” Alek vomits once again, but not as violently “take me to Carries Cafe”.

“A cafe? Isn't that where you work?”

“Yes. Just take me there, please. She can help me” he looks up at Chris pleadingly. He could hear his heartbeat like a symphony “Please”.

Chris proceeds to pick up Aleks short limp form like a toddler.

“Try not to puke on me,” he says while hitting the button for the elevator. Alek was already passed out on his shoulder. The smell of acrylic paint and blood mixing and lulling him to sleep. Luckily, there was no one around to see him carrying a passed out boy with blood on his clothes. Chris did not notice Alek was asleep until he laid him down in the backseat of his Jeep Grand Cherokee. He had forgotten the address of the cafe and looked it up on his phone for directions.

He stared at the loading screen, contemplating if he should just take his roommate to the hospital without telling him.

‘He could be delusional. He was in a cold sweat and he is practically dying. How long could he have been like this before telling anyone?’ He thinks to himself. His conflicting mind caused him to press call instead of getting directions. In a panic, he just held the phone to his ear, listening intently to the dial tone.

“Hello, you have reached Carre’s Cafe. Our operating hours are-” He hit the voicemail button.

“Hi! Uh, I have one of your employees’ in the backseat of my car. Alek. Well, he started coughing and ended up hacking up blood. He passed out for a second, then told me he just needed to eat or something. So I gave him a granola bar and he ate it? I don’t know, I turned my back for one second and he was throwing up blood! It’s insane. He told me to go to your shop but I know you’re probably closed right now- I’m just going to the hospital now I guess. He told me not to, but… oh, I’m rambling again. Call back at this number when you get the chance to explain a little. My name is Chris Sung” he hung up the phone and began driving to the nearest hospital. Which was a fifteen-minute drive. Alek coughed vaguely in the back seat, taking a struggling breath afterward.

Traffic was abundant. Which was odd for eleven at night. The hospital was in sight when he got a call.

“Hel-“

“Bring him to the cafe. Don’t take him to the hospital” a woman - presumably Carrie - answers the phone in a raspy voice. Making her sound much older than she was.

“Are you sure?” He asks, getting in the lane to do a u-turn.

“The hospital can’t help him. Thank you so much for calling me first”

“Well, I was actually on my way to the hospital. Why can’t the hospital help him?” There was a pause. Alek coughed lightly in the background.

“I...He will explain later” she realized Alek hadn’t gotten around to telling Chris his secret yet. She wasn’t mad, just disappointed. Chris drives five minutes in the opposite direction. Following Google maps that he was finally able to use.

Alek was hazing in and out of sleep. Each time he woke up, the feeling of helplessness getting stronger and stronger. He was past the point of being able to fight it off. He was past the point of his instincts taking over and hurting whoever was closest. He was just sentient. Closer to death than he should have been after missing one meal.

The meals were separated by the absolute minimum. And as long as he didn’t miss any, he should have been fine. It wasn’t often that this happened to him. He only came up with the minimum diet this year. A cup a day keeps death away. Because of this, Alek was in a constant state of running on empty. Missing a single meal caused a plethora of side effects - including death.

“Hey. Wake up. We’re at the cafe” Chris shakes Aleks shoulder vigorously in the car. He was sprawled on the backseat with his left arm beneath his head. “Alek. Are you alive?” He asks, partially seriously. Alek grumbles.

Just then, Carrie stumbles out of the darkened cafe front - wearing a robe and slippers. She lived on the second floor of the restaurant itself. She liked being close to her work. She jogs carefully over to them with a large travel mug. She pushes Chris aside.

“Oh! So you’re the famous Chris! Alek talks about you a lot. I’m Carrie! Cafe owner and caregiver” she reaches one hand to him to shake. He weakly shakes it.

“Nice to meet you…” he says.

“In we go!” Carrie says, hopping into the back of the Jeep next to Alek.

“What are you gonna do?” He asks. She turns around to face him.

“Something. Just don’t look in until I come out, or if I start screaming” she adds more seriously. Before Chris could add his input, she closes the door. He steps back and out of the way. Yet he was still curious about what he was not being told.

“Okay Alek, buddy. You need to wake up a little. I have a mug of blood for you” she sits on top of him with the little space and opens the cap. She warmed the blood as soon as she got to the answering machine. She had just gotten in bed when the phone rang. She had a bad feeling, so she went to check on it. She wraps her left arm around his limp shoulders and hoists him up. Then rests him awkwardly on the back of the seat. The smell of the blood roused him a little. Along with the jostling. He was barely able to open his eyes.

He saw a vague outline of a woman in low light conditions.

“There we go! Open your eyes a little more. That’s it” she coaxed him carefully. He did as he was told to, and opened his eyes. Instantly, they were directed to the cup in her hands. Without so much as a ‘thanks’, he snatched it from her hand and downed the entire thing in one breath. “Woah! Good to see you lively again”

“Where am I?” Alek asks hoarsely when he lowers the cup. There were little drops of red from the corners of his mouth from drinking too fast. There were also the faintest, darker smears of brown from when he vomited earlier. Left as a reminder of his near-death experience. Carrie sighs.

“Your roommate really does care about you. You would have been starved to death if it weren't for him” she looks at him with worry-filled eyes “You’re right outside the ‘shop. He drove you here after you had a fit. I'm surprised you didn't hurt him” Alek sits up in his seat and looks around. So this was his car? It was very clean and reflected his side of the apartment. He then looks outside to see Chris standing nervously by the front entrance to the cafe. He was doing a cautious two-step dance in place. His eyes were glued to the bottom of the car as if he were inspecting the bumper.

“Did you tell him?” Alek locks eyes with Carrie again.

“No. But I did tell you to, remember? Why aren't you owning up to it like you usually do?” Alek looks around, taking the question as rhetorical. Carries eyes widen at a sudden realization.

“Do you like him?!” She exclaims. Alek, suddenly feeling a whole lot better, jumped up and squealed in a cracked voice;

“No! I barely know him! What makes you think that so suddenly?!”

“Well, maybe it’s why you always talk about him-”

“Because he scares me!”

“Or maybe because he’s always on your mind! Oh, my baby boy!” she leaps forward and hugs him tightly, squealing “My baby boy has a crush!”

‘I do not! And I'm older than you are!” His wines were futile. Her crush was too powerful.

Suddenly, the car door is flung open.

“Are you two okay? I heard screaming” Chris interjects.

“Oh! Yes, dear. We meant to come out sooner” Carrie ceases her grip on Alek and leaves the car “Alek is okay. He was just hungry. But that could have been fatal. Come straight to me if it happens again, okay?” She says cheerfully. Chris, still dumbfounded, looks back at Alek for answers as Carrie walks back to the cafe. “G’night, boys! Stay safe!” She looks over her shirt and winks at Alek. To which he cringes.

“What’s up with her?” Chris asks, then looks back to Alek “What's up with you? Sorry, I’m a bit confused” he raises his voice slightly. Alek crawls out of the back seat to stand up next to him.

“Uh, she’s always crazy like that. It’s great” he says with immense sarcasm “And, I’m allergic to most foods, she is the only one who has what I can eat” he avoids Chris’s eyes subconsciously from his lie. Chris was very curious now. He knew he has been holding a secret from the very moment they met. Something big. And Alek clearly wasn’t ready to give it up.

“Well, when you’re ready to tell me the truth. I’m here” Chris shrugs. He came off angrier than he intended to. Avoiding his own words, Chris walks around to the drivers' side of the car and slides in. Alek felt himself cringe. He hated lying. Especially when it made others turn against him. He slumped into the car without a word. The whole way back to the apartment, not a word was said. Alek stayed in the back seat massaging his hands carefully, deep in thought. His mind wandered at the thought of the next day. It was September third. The anniversary of his death in 1951. The nightmares were becoming intolerable with every passing night. He didn't know if this was what genetically was supposed to happen. Or if he was just thinking about it so much that it returned to him in night terrors. The previous night, he had suffered from a deviation of one of his dreams, more terrifying than the reality. He dreamt that Daisy was the one who had died before him. Then, everyone around began trying to eat him. Even those casually watching the movie in their cars came out for a piece of the action against Alek. He then woke up to his alarm, sounding off like Daisy’s screams.

He was not looking forward to tonight.