She couldn’t find the remote to the TV, or her tablet, so she had to get out of her comfort zone and enjoy the silence. A leaf skittered into the cottage. Buttons gave it a sniff before settling back down. By one o’clock, she started to feel achy and hot. Andrew was right. She washed down the Tylenol, along with her Percocet and two nerve blockers.

Once her fever went back down, she’d take a much-needed shower. Maybe she could even surprise Andrew by wearing that lacy red bra he loved. She might not be able to do much, but she could work out some way to thank him. The first of many thank-yous to come, she hoped.

If she wanted them to have some fun, she needed to get better.

An image of her smiling brother popped into her head. He was sitting on the porch, looking in at her, the door open and letting in the fresh, piney air.

“Hey sis. If you can’t meditate here, I mean really meditate, you might as well give it up altogether.”

He was right. Or more accurately, she was right. Kate couldn’t imagine more peaceful surroundings.

It can’t hurt to meditate on this fever taking a hike.

She fluffed her pillows at her back, sat up, put her hands on her lap, closed her eyes, and took three deep, cleansing breaths. Focusing on her breathing, she felt the tension in various parts of her body and released it. Her mind was a jumble of thoughts, her excitement at being here filling her with lists of things she wanted to see and do. It took a long time to quiet her mind, always dragging herself back to her breath.

Unaware of the passage of time, her mind eventually quieted down.

It was only then that she thought of the word fever. It was lit up in bright lights against the black backdrop of her still mind: FEVER.

Breathing in. Breathing out.

FEVER.

With each inhalation, she repeated the word.

With each exhalation, she pictured another piece being broken off the lighted FEVER in her imagination. Bit by bit, breath by breath, the word crumbled.

It was down to its last remnants when Kate felt an intense pain in the small of her back. A spark whooshed into an inferno, the flames engulfing first her back, then her entire body.

What remained of FEVER shattered into tiny projectiles.

Kate gasped.

A ball of flame roared in her core. The pain was excruciating.

No!

Her eyes flew open, fingers knotted, her back arched to the point of breaking.

Opening her mouth to scream, she slipped down the pillows, her body covered in acrid sweat.

In an instant, the fireball rocketed from her body, leaving her cold and empty and shivering. It took her several minutes to catch her breath, using the sheet to wipe her face.