Later that night, after Newt had written in his journal and long after the sun went down, Newt lay curled up in the same corner he'd slept the night before, but this time without Evelyn. All was dark and all was quiet. Mostly quiet. Crickets chirped outside and Keisha was back to her soothing ocean-sound snore. Dante's snore was also soft; Newt could almost believe a little puppy slept on the other side of the room. Weariness and sorrow pulled at him like a sinking tide.
He had no idea what Evelyn was up to, where she was and if she was okay. Tears leaked past his clamped eyelids. He had been a slinthead. He couldn't believe he had left her. Again. He had her back, he had promised to be beside her the whole time, he promised to hold her hand into the next life, he promised to end it before she went past the Gone, and yet, he got cold feet and left. He had too much...crazy? Too much chaos? Too much Crank? And he left, like the coward he was. More tears leaked out and slid down his temples into his long shaggy hair.
"I'm sorry Evey. I'm so sorry!" He whispered into the darkness.
Would she even want to see him after leaving her behind? Maybe this plan of enlisting this Jonsey and his Boss into helping. He had no idea if this was going to work. He spat this idea out, half formed and with no real idea of HOW to actually execute this wild plan. First step was find Jonsey and Evelyn. Second step was to throw himself down in front of Evelyn and beg forgiveness. Then go from there. His stomach twisted in fear and anxiety of what he had to do.
What had he gotten himself into? He didn't regret what he'd done, what he'd promised Keisha. In fact, he cringed at the thought of not having done it. His mind kept going down rabbit holes of alternate endings to the day's events. Chickening out. Keisha saying no. Not getting to Keisha in time, before she attempted bribing her way past the guards. Of course, the day could've gone a hundred disastrous ways- Crank Palace, apocalypse, all that. But they were alive, and he had a goal. He felt good.
But that didn't mean he wasn't bloody nervous. Nervous as hell. But a good nervous. He hoped. He needed Evelyn back. He felt like half of him was missing. His better half. He rolled onto his side, holding her notebook tight to his chest, it was the closest thing to holding her he could. He wished with all his hurting heart he had her in his arms; his heart, his Love, his family. He looked over at Keisha who had Dante wrapped in her arms. Family. How he wished him and Evelyn could have a family-
A sharp pain stabbed Newt right behind the eyes. He heaved himself off his back, rocked forward, curled into a ball, grabbed the sides of his head with both hands. The pain didn't stop, kept slicing back and forth inside his skull, as if someone were trying to saw his brain in half. He muffled the cries that wanted to leap from his chest; on some misty level of awareness he didn't want to wake Keisha, didn't want to alarm her. He squeezed his head, rubbed at his temples, prayed to all known gods that it would go away.
The pain lasted a minute at most. But then it faded, quickly descending into a dull ache, and then going away completely. He sat up, pushed his back into the corner, tried to catch his breath without being too loud. Holy hell, that had hurt. He understood why Evelyn would randomly grab her head and cry in pain. The relief from its absence was about as blissful a feeling as he'd ever had. He blew out a heavy huff and closed his eyes, leaned his head against the wall. It had something to do with his memories, the Swipe. The virus had attacked it, maybe.
The episode had been triggered by those thoughts of Keisha and her kids. A mom, a son, a daughter. A mom, a brother, a sister...his sister Sonya. Newt didn't understand the why's or how's or what's. This is what he knew—he'd been stabbed with pain, and then the pain had vanished. And now...
Mom. Dad. Sister.
Newt remembered a little more. Play with his Sonya in the yard. Chasing her at the park, tickling her until she giggled wildly.
YOU ARE READING
The Broken Healer
Fanfiction** The third installment of Healer trilogy. This book follows the Book plot with some movie scenes and some original thoughts. ** Evelyn is rapidly turning into a crank. Her friends have been captured by WICKED. She knows there is no cure for her, s...
