I awaken to running footsteps, and I have no idea how long I slept. I recognize the footsteps and leap up from where I'm lying. I run into the hall and almost collide with him.
"What happened?" I say exactly as he says, "Come quick."
"What happened?" I repeat.
"The infirmary needs you now. Like they said if possible you need to run," Dylan pants.
"Well, I'm not running. I'm sprinting," I say, and I don't even give him a chance to reply. I take off running at full speed toward the infirmary. I take the stairs two at a time, and as soon as I arrive everyone looks at my panting, doubled over figure in the doorway. The medic that informed me Kellin might die or change comes over to me.
"Well, I'm glad to see you got up here so quickly. You know how you gave him some of your blood?" she asks me.
"Yeah, I do," I say looking at her curiously.
"Well, it worked. He should be back up and moving next week. He just needs a bit to recover. If you want you can go see him," she says smiling brightly.
"I will. Thank you..." I trail off there not sure what to call her.
"My name's Addison," she says. I look at her in full, and make a mental note of what she looks like, so I can find her if I need her. Her long, red hair falls to the middle of her back, her grey eyes shimmer brightly, and she is about five foot four. She seems to be fourteen like most people here.
"Thank you Miss Addison," I say nodding my head gratefully.
"Don't start with the 'Miss' business, or else I'll start calling you Miss Delilah," she says with a smile.
"Okay, fair enough. Can you take me to Kellin now, please?" I ask.
"Yep, follow me," Addison says while turning. I follow her to a semi-secluded corner, and when I see Kellin I almost break down in tears. Where he was bit is a nasty black color, he's really pale, he has acid rashes on the sides of his mouth, and he's really skinny. I feel so bad for him, and that's when I notice his eyes are shut. At least he's sleeping it off and can't feel much pain.
"Is it okay if I just sit here by his bed?" I ask Addison in a whisper.
"Yeah, that's okay. Just don't wake him. Sleep helps heal a person," she says. She turns and walks out. I sit in a chair and suck in quiet gasps of air. I need to be strong for him.
"Dear God, it's been a while since I last talked to you, and this prayer is long overdue. God, I beg you save Kellin and everyone else who got hurt. Help me be a good leader, Lord. Help me make the right decisions and keep everyone safe. Amen," I mumble really quietly out loud. I hear a rustling sound and look up. I see Kellin's awake and realize his blue eyes are paler than they were before the bite.
"Hey, babe," he mumbles.
"Shh, go back to sleep," I say quietly.
"But I wanna talk with you," he says quietly. His mouth barely even moves.
"No, baby. You need sleep," I say.
"I wanna..." he trails off as he falls back to sleep. I brush his hair off his face, and he smiles in his sleep. I will sit here until I am needed elsewhere, they kick me out, or he is able to leave. I feel someone tap my shoulder and turn to see Addison standing there.
"That's the first time he's spoken while he's been in here. He seems to really love you. When he wakes up again get him to eat this cracker. He refuses to eat anything because he's afraid it'll make him sick, but if you ask him he'll do it I bet," she says in a quiet whisper.
"I will, but you need to give me crackers," I say with a small smile.
"I'll get them," she says and walks away. She comes back, hands me a pack of crackers, and walks away to tend to other patients.
"Sorry, I fell asleep," he mumbles. His blue eyes open slowly.
"It's okay. Can you eat a cracker for me?" I ask.
"Won't I get sick, though?" he asks.
"No, and even if you do it's just your body getting the negative things out of you," I say.
"I'm not sure I want to eat," he mumbles.
"Please, baby, for me?" I ask hoping that'll get him.
"Mmm, okay, fine. Give me the cracker," he says holding his hand out weakly.
"You want me to feed it to you?" I ask.
"Yeah, please," he says sitting up a little bit. I hold the cracker to his mouth, and nibble by nibble he eats the whole cracker. His stomach growls loudly, and my eyes widen in fear and surprise. He lets out a little laugh. "I guess I'm hungrier than I think," he says as his stomach growls louder.
"You want more crackers?" I ask. He nods, and I see a bit more life in his eyes. I repeat the process of feeding him the crackers until the whole pack is gone.
"More, please," he says looking at me hopefully.
"No more. You ate the whole pack. Plus I don't think it was smart to eat that much right after you haven't eaten for a while," I say with a grim smile. He nods understandingly and lays back.
"I'm going back to sleep. I better get more crackers latter though," I laugh at his comment, and he smiles weakly as he shuts his eyes. I plant a kiss gently to his lips before he falls asleep, and after I pull back I lay back in my chair. Addison comes up and taps me.
"At the whole package. Here's the wrapper," I say handing it to her. She takes it from me and looks at me like I'm a miracle worker.
"How'd you manage to get him to eat?" she asks.
"I asked politely and fed it to him gently," I say looking at her. I have a fire burning in my heart, and my eyes are filled with a brilliant hope. She just shakes her head and walks away. I follow her with my eyes until I can't see her anymore, and then I turn back to Kellin. Since he's still asleep I survey my surroundings. The walls are a deep green, the flooring looks like oak planks, blankets of every size and color hang from the ceiling to create and separate rooms, and there are tables pretty much everywhere. I have no idea what's with the tables. All I can think is that they are for medical supplies or something like that. I yawn and stretch before leaning back in my chair. After a few minutes I decide to go see Magic. I stand up and walk out of Kellin's space to find Addison. When I see her I walk over to her and ask where Magic's room is. She simply points to a massive green blanket, and I hope that's the right room because she didn't even look up. I walk over and decide it would be better to ask to enter instead of just barging in like I did with Kellin's room.
"Magic, can I come in?" I ask softly after tapping the blanket gently.
"Mmhmm," is the reply I get. I draw the blanket to the side gently so I don't rip it down, slip inside the room, and close the small gap I made by moving the blanket back. He has no shirt on, but gauze wraps around his torso and up his right shoulder. From his right shoulder to his left hip is a dark, red line where blood escaped the knife wound.
"How are you feeling?" I ask.
"I'm fine. It stings a bit, and the gauze is itchy, but not much I can do about it. How about you?" he asks.
"Hanging in there," I say with a small smile.
"How's Kellin?" he asks.
"He's coming back to life basically. He got bit, but my blood saved him," I say.
"How does that work?" he asks.
"I got scratched, and I didn't have any side effects. So, they took my blood, put it in him, and now he's fine. Make sense now?" I ask.
"Yeah. I'm glad to know we have a remedy for anyone who gets bit or scratched," he says with a small smile.
"Yeah, I guess I could help them out," I say.
"I'm tired, so I think I'm gonna sleep," he says with a yawn.
"Okay, bye," I say. I get up and leave and decide I may as well see Max before I go hunt down food. I ask Addison where he is and she points to a medium blue blanket. I walk over to it and tap lightly on it.
"Max, can I come in?" I ask.
"Yeah," I just barely hear the weak response. I slip in and close the gap behind me. He has at least ten layers of gauze wrapped around his torso, and a huge red splotch is on his left side.
"How are you?" I ask.
"I'm alive, so I'm okay. I honestly don't see how that thing didn't gut me," he says with a weak smile.
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"The azom had a huge nail and stabbed me in the side repeatedly. Those things are not only evil, but they are smart as well. I see why we should keep our distance now though. Especially now that those things know how to use weapons," he says.
"Yeah, if they have weapons we are screwed big time. After everyone's almost healed I'm going to go out and scout the area out. If there's any kids I'll bring them back, and I'll probably bring back any clothing and blankets I can," I say smiling at him.
"That's a smart idea. You just need to be safe when you go," he says.
"You need anything at the moment? You ask for it and I'll try to get it," I ask looking at his face which is in a grimace.
"Yeah, pain meds please," he says.
"I will go get them if Addison will give me them," I say. I turn and walk from the room and go straight to Addison. "Max needs pain meds, and I came to get them," I say holding my hand out.
"I'll give them to him. I'll be there in just a second," she says turning back to her notes.
"He needs them now. You should've seen his face when I walked out," I say.
"Well I need to do this paperwork. Otherwise any of the other medics won't know what to do," she says still writing. I grab her arm, spin her around, and get right in her face.
"You take him the pain meds right fricking now or I will kick your butt and throw you out. Is that clear, Addison?" I growl directly in her face. Her face is completely pale from fear.
"Yes, Delilah," she says. She starts to turn, but I stop her.
"I want to hear 'Yes, ma'am' or 'Yes, Miss Delilah' this time," I say not moving out of her face.
"Yes, ma'am. I'll get the pills and go there right now," she says. She starts turning, and this time I let her go. I watch her every move, and then I follow her as she goes into his room. She sees his face, gives him the meds, looks at me, and when I nod she leaves very quickly. Max looks at me with confusion.
"What'd you do to poor Addison?" he asks me.
"She pissed me off, so I got in her face and showed her who's the boss. She listened to me right quick after that. Nobody messes with me especially if I'm telling them to do something for a hurt friend of mine," I say looking at him with a wild craziness in my eyes. He looks a bit scared, and I can't help but look confused.
"What's with that look in your eyes? It's creepy," he asks.
"It happens when someone pisses me off. Don't worry about it," I say. For some reason I suddenly want to kiss him, but I don't think it'd be right, especially with Kellin just in the other room.
"I won't," he says, and I see something in his eyes that's almost drawing me in.
"What's with the look in your eyes?" I ask.
"Remember what I said? I'll always love you, and I want another kiss from you even though Kellin's just in the other room," he says, and I realize his voice has gotten deeper.
"Well, I guess I could just sneak one if you swear never to tell," I say.
"You honestly think I'd tell him? He'd literally kill me," he says.
"I thought you'd say that," I say slipping over to him. I lean down and kiss him like the night he found out I had a crush on him, but this one lasts much longer. When I finally pull back he lets out a long, happy sigh. He's short of breath, but I don't even need to ask why. I run my fingers through his blonde hair and stare into his handsome blue eyes. I lean in and kiss him again, and this time a moan escapes his lips. As soon as I hear it I pull back and look at him with a look that says 'No, not allowed'. He gets the idea pretty quick and looks away.
"I should probably go. I'm getting hungry," I say while looking at the floor.
"Okay, Delilah. Bye, I love you," he says the last three words in a hoarse whisper so no one can hear. I slip out of the room, and when I pass Addison she cowers away in fear. I slip down to the now cafeteria and grab two grilled cheeses and a bowl chicken noodle soup. Calvin walks in and grabs some food. When he sees me he walks over and sits next to me.
"So, how's it going up there?" Calvin asks.
"It's fine. I got Kellin to eat, and I got Max some pain meds. I had to threaten Addison though. I feel like a jerk for it now because she seems afraid of me, and I don't want people afraid of me," I say letting out a sigh and taking a bite of grilled cheese.
"You have to scare some people sometimes or you won't get anywhere in life. How's the grilled cheese and chicken noodle soup?" he asks after giving me a new insight of scaring people.
"It's pretty good. Nothing like what my mom or dad used to make for me though. I really miss my parents. I'd give anything to see them again," I say with a grim smile. I fight away the tears and the blockage in my throat and continue eating.
"I think we all would. I know I sure as hell wish I could see mine again. I'd tell them how much I love them and hang out with them. I never did that enough, and now I realize how stupid I was not to do that," he says, and a tear slips down his cheek.
"Hey, it's okay. Everyone did that I bet," I say patting his back like a mother would. It's just instinct.
"My mom patted my back like this every time I cried," he chokes out.
"It's just my instinct to do this. I don't know how I got it at such a young age though," I say rubbing his back.
"I just want my parents back!" he exclaims dropping his head into his hands. I instinctually hug him and bring him closer. He cries into my shoulder as I pat his back and rub little circles on his shoulder blades. He sobs for at least ten minutes, but then he pulls his head up and wipes his eyes and nose.
"You okay now?" I ask with concern in my eyes. He nods and turns to his food. If I hadn't acted so much like a mother he probably wouldn't have cried. I take a huge bite out of my grilled cheese forcing myself to focus on chewing and not on thoughts of my parents.
"Sorry, I mean about your shirt. I kinda soaked it with tears. There might be a bit of spit or snot or both mixed in. I kinda lost it," he says rubbing the back of his neck. He then takes a bite of his hamburger and takes a drink. I chug my glass of water. As I take water in I inhale and when I take another swig I exhale repeating the process until all my water was gone. Calvin sits there staring at me like he's impressed.
"Why are you staring at me like that?" I ask staring right back.
"You just chugged a full glass of water under a minute without an issue, and you go and ask me that! I mean that's insanity," he exclaims.
"Shush, people are staring!" I whisper scream at him.
"But that's a skill! People should stare," he almost screams it, but upon seeing the look on my face he whisper screams.
"I don't care what it is. I don't like being stared at," I say. I pick my chicken noodle soup bowl up after deciding it would be faster to eat like this than with a spoon. I put it to my lips and begin to drink it. When noodles or chicken enter my mouth I tilt the bowl down, chew, and tilt the bowl back up. I repeat the process several times, and when I finish I grab my other grilled cheese. I practically inhale it because something is drawing me to the infirmary. I have a slightly bad feeling, but it's probably nothing. After eating my grilled cheese I look at Calvin who is staring off into space.
"I'm going to go back to the infirmary. I'll see you later, Calvin," I say giving him a friendly hug.
"Okay, I'll see you tonight. I'm still working on plans, so I might be late coming to the room," he says hugging me back.
"Okay. Get those done as soon as possible," I say. I pull out of the huge gently, turn, and walk out of the cafeteria. As I walk to the stairs I hear some weird grumbling or muffled screaming sound coming from a closet. I walk over to the closet, and upon opening the door I find Dylan. He's tied up, and a piece of duct tape has been placed over his mouth.
"Whoa, what happened?" I ask while pulling the tape off.
"I was coming to get you because something was happening in the infirmary, and Brandon stopped me, tied me up, and shoved me in here," Dylan says rubbing the spot where the tape was.
"What was happening?" I ask as I begin untying him.
"I have no idea, but it scared me. That's the only reason why I was coming to get you. All I know is that it had something to do with Brandon," he says.
"Oh, no. Ugh, can I come back and get you out of this? I think I know what was happening," I ask.
"Yeah. I'll work on it some myself," he says.With that I stand up and bolt up the stairs. I muffled sounds coming from the infirmary, and when I walk in I see exactly what I thought I'd see.