Chaos Walking Imagines

The Dark Disappears (part two) | Davy Prentiss Jr.

here's part two! also i'm in love with davy goodbye

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"Yer from Haven?" he asked. He was on his back, staring at the ceiling to ignore the fact that you were poking around the wound on his chest, giving him medicine as needed. Tears slipped out of his eyes.

"Used to be," you replied shortly. "Sorry this hurts so bad."

"S'okay," he breathed. "Yer just tryin' to help me." He was pale as a sheet. "Used to be, huh?"

You smiled softly at him. "Mhm." You grabbed a new syringe full of medicine and frowned, flicking the side of it.

Over the last three days, the boy had healed significantly, but you still worried he would get his fever back. Even the slightest bit of infection could send him back to the brink of death. You told yourself that the reason you cared so much was because you'd already invested so much of your supplies in him, but one look at his eyes and you felt that maybe there was another reason.

You wished you knew his name, considering you usually knew most things about men you were near, because of their Noise. And while this boy wasn't good at hiding his Noise, he was always focused intently on betrayal, which would lead to sadness, which would lead to him thinking of when he was a kid, which would lead to I'm a MAN and then it would come full circle.

"Don't let me use all of yer supplies," he said. He furrowed his eyebrows at your reaction. "You are running away, aren't ya? Yer gonna need 'em. Where you heading?"

"I am running away, but I don't know where," you said. "Just... as soon as you're better, I'll be gone."

"Just like that?" he asked, closing his eyes as you inserted the needle into his skin.

"Yeah," you whispered. "There ain't nothing for me to stay for these days." You didn't look at him as you spoke. "Before Haven was gone, I lived with my ma and her sister and my pa and my siblings. But when that army came... I don't know. We got separated from the men and I watched as my ma and aunt and sisters disappeared one by one. Now it's just me, forced to serve people I couldn't care less about." You huffed. "'Course, then I picked you up and now..."

You couldn't help but notice the guilt in his Noise. You unwrapped some new bandages.

"I know you are from Prentisstown," you said. "Doesn't make you a bad guy, though, does it?"

But he didn't respond.

You put a new bandage on the wound and stood up. "There you go," you said.

"Thanks," he said. He looked up at you. "Really. I thank you for saving my life." He stretched his arms a little. "I need to get better and go find my friend."

"Todd?" you asked.

He nodded. "He might need me." His face fell. "Or he might not."

"Well," you said, "if not, there's an option of running off with me. It would be easier to get somewhere else with someone to help."

He raised his eyebrows. "You want me to run away with you," he deadpanned.

"No," you said. "Run off with me. For survival." He smirked and you huffed, hands smacking against your thighs. "You know what? Never mind. I am gonna get some water-"

But you stopped when you heard it. Noise in the distance, Noise from a man from New Prentisstown, no doubt. You swallowed your fear and looked at the boy, who had a similar look on his face.

"You need to go," he said. You gave him a confused look. "My Noise will get you killed!"

"I'm not leaving you here," you hissed, the nurse part of you talking. You grabbed your knife out of your backpack. "Hush your Noise and we'll be alright."