The Broken Healer

Chapter 13: Neighbors are Crazy

Newt, Evelyn, Keisha and Dante sat on the ground outside Terry's little shack. Evelyn had never been more thankful for a stranger to show up in the middle of the night. There was food. Glorious food.

Terry and his wife lived in a shack down the road, it was identical to the one they had slept in, but theirs was a bit more lived in. Some worn out chairs, a few pictures of people nailed to the cheap wood walls. Terry's wife, Maria was quiet and very fidgety. And seemed a bit more gone than he was, she was very obsessed with the word purple. The poor woman would randomly yell it out or whisper it over and over.

Evelyn sat and watched a blank expression on her face. Their little neighborhood cookout was a small campfire, with pieces of meat speared at the end of sticks and roasted over the open flames. It looked like beef and chicken. Whatever it was Evelyn didn't complain. It settled the ache in her belly and helped ease the anger, which meant the crank was quiet. For now.

"We thought they gave up on this place a few days ago." Terry said.

"What do ya mean?" Keisha asked. She was breaking small pieces of meat off for Dante to eat.

Terry shrugged, "This whole place was originally meant to be a civic service, back in the day when the higher ups had time to worry about anything but saving their own hides. But...once we got full, they stopped dropping people off. Word is they're just burning them is massive pits on the east side of the city. Maria says it's over there because the wind tends to come from the west. They don't want to smell burning bodies all day in their precious city."

"Oh no, we wouldn't want that now would we?" Evelyn snarled, and let a small twisted chuckle. She could feel the crank giggling in her head, her eyes held a bit of madness. She felt Newt's hand on her back. She clamped her eyes closed and shook her head hard, trying to dislodge the voice.

"Sorry." She whispered.

"Don't be sorry dear." Terry said.

"They're purple." Maria said, her mouth full of meat. She was looking at Evelyn dead in the eyes, leaning forward, like this was urgent news she needed to hear. "They are all pure. Purple when they go in and purple when they come out."

"Do they tend to come out?" Evelyn asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Damn you two!" Keisha's eyes widened, "what's wrong with you tw-"

She stopped before she finished. Evelyn looked at her sharply, her eyes flashing a frosty white. Newt pressed a hand to her back a bit more forcefully.

"Lee. You're okay, Love."

"Sorry." Keisha said quietly.

Evelyn growled, but lay her meat roasting stick down and crawled into Newt's lap, not carrying that Terry was looking at her sadly or Keisha had a look of guilt and pity. Maria, on the other hand was blissfully unaware and just sighed wistfully, "purple." She was staring into the fire, her eyes glassy.

"But then you came along." Terry went on like that weird side conversation never happened. "We saw the truck, saw you get out, saw them act like jerks, and then drive away, saw little Miss there," he indicated with his head to Evelyn, "saw her collapse. That's when we ran into town to tell people, but they all seemed to already know. Knew who you two were too." He pointed at Newt and Evelyn. "Strange times. And getting stranger."

"Don't know why they'd give a klunk about me." Newt said, "I ain't immune like the rest of them, they just had me along for the buggen' ride, nothing but a bloody control subject." He spat. "Once I caught the Flare, my days at bein' important were long gone. Who bloody knows. He probably wants to know how I end so someone poor sucker can write a report that no one will ever read." His voice was so broken and bitter.