After The Trials

Chapter 16

Not wasting another day, me and Isaac began searching for a potential cure. Denver had plenty parks, but I'm not sure it's a plant. I don't even know what I'm looking for or how am I supposed to test it on Isaac if I don't have what I need. This whole thing is beyond me and my capabilities. Also, what am I going to do if the first cure I find doesn't work and it kills him? I'm not very attached to Isaac, but I don't want to lose him. We've already been through so much together, we saved each others lives. Another big problem would be if we came back with nothing and Minzy died in vane.

The streets aren't full, but there are enough people to lose track in case someone who recognizes us decides to get revenge. We killed some of their people, but it was self defense. We are the ones who are supposed to be pissed. 

Since we don't know what to begin with, we decided to try the parks first, maybe we could find at least a clue there. The Sand Creek Park is the closest to us, so we go there. All the plants look normal. I don't know what the cure flower should look like, but definitely not like that.

I see Isaac detaching from reality again and remember about my plan. I forgot to elaborate it, so I guess I'll have to improvise. "You know we have to concentrate, right? What's more important than the cure?"

He looks at me and smiles. "I didn't think I was that obvious. Just thinking about my past life and all the things I left behind." I felt a note of hesitation in Isaac's voice when he said the last part, but didn't push it. My curiosity makes me carve for his secret. I'm not usually so obsessed over things like this, I don't know what makes this one different. "Why, you don't like it when I zone out?"

"No, not at all. In fact, I despise it, so stop pissing me off and focus." technically, I'm not lying. He does piss me off, but not because he doesn't pay attention to the cure. The more he thinks about it, the more I do. 

"Why would I? For the past months I fought for my life and now that I finally have a moment of relaxation, you want to take it away from me? Tess, he humanity survived all these years without a cure, it can do it for a few more days."

"Thomas waited 16 years for this moment, he did his waiting." I say and roll my eyes. I don't know how he does it, but every time something comes out of his mouth, I hate him even more. We're not in a vacation. I didn't get a limp so he could walk in a park. Minzy didn't die so he could relax.

"So you're doing this because Thomas said so. Don't you ever want to do choose to do something? Just think, what did you do all your life? I remember, followed Thomas' obsession." he looked at the sky and continued. "Thomas, Thomas, Thomas. Why is everything about him?" I tried to act mature and ignore him. "They even named you after the girl he loved."

That was it. He pushed his luck. I grabbed Isaac's jacket and pushed him into the closest tree. "You have no right to know that. And just so you know, Teresa didn't just love Thomas, she sacrificed herself so those people could arrive in the Safe Haven." I loose my grip and leave him there. "Go home, I can find the cure on my own."

Isaac didn't defend himself. I wouldn't have considered it valid anyways. He only knows parts of the story, he can't have an opinion about my life. Forget what I said earlier, I'm not attached to him anymore. If he read my mind, and I know he did, he knew what Thomas and I mean to each other. It's more than a normal friendship, but he'll never understand. This idea was mine from the beginning, I dragged Thomas in this. Even if it wasn't, why would it matter if I followed him? I'd rather be in the Cranks' world with the person that acted more like my father than my actual parents instead of living without him.

I didn't find anything and it started getting dark and cold, so I gave up and headed back to our apartment. I needed to destress a bit, so I stopped and watched the stars. I know most of the constellations, but that's not what I'm looking for tonight. They're so calming and hypnotizing I could watch them all night long. The only problem is that I would fall asleep and that's not something to wish when you're a 14 years old girl alone in a secluded park.

While I was walking along the bridge, I heard some water splashing sounds, so I looked over the edge and saw Isaac throwing stones into the river. Why not? Nothing this boy does makes sense. I didn't forgive him yet, but I have to admit some of the tricks were impressing. I don't think he saw me, he didn't look in my direction.

I was almost at the end of the bridge when I heard a bigger splash. At first, I thought Isaac threw a bigger stone, but it was too loud, so I looked over to him. I couldn't see the silhouette of his body. Instead, a dark shadow was laying on the ground, in the water. The second I realized it was Isaac I ran to him as fast as I could. My limp got worse with every step taken, but I didn't stop. I wouldn't leave him there, no matter how much he pissed me off earlier.

The first thing I did when I arrived at him was taking his pulse. It was too fast, but that's better than not at all. I pulled him from the water, not knowing what to do. I have literally zero training with seizures and you saw how bad I handle under pressure situations. Thomas, come at the Sand Creek as fast as you can! Something happened to Isaac, I don't know what. I don't get an answer, but I know he heard me. 

A few seconds later, Isaac's body starts shaking. The veins on his neck start distinguish so well that even in the dark they are visible. They weren't that bad a few days ago. White bubbles fulfill his mouth and my instinct was to roll him on a side so he doesn't drown. The first thing I did right since he had his seizure. I hope it looks worse than it feels, I don't want Isaac to be in pain. I have the urge to look away from him because that froth makes me want to throw up, but I'm afraid that something bad will happen if I don't watch over him.

I see someone running towards us and I know it's Thomas. "What the hell happened to him?" he asks, completely out of his breath. "Actually, we don't have time for that now. You'll tell me when we get to our apartment. Help me pick him up."

I take Isaac's left arm and put it over my shoulder as Thomas does the same with the right one. He stopped gagging, but he was still unconscious. Even though leg was still hurting from the run, I didn't slow down. I'm worried for Isaac, mostly because I don't know what happened.

Once we got in our apartment, we toss Isaac on the bed, both of us tired from carrying him one mile and a half. "He's heavier than he looks." Thomas sighs and falls on a chair. "So, what happened?"

"I was walking on the bridge and he was throwing stones in the river. The next thing I saw was Isaac's body in the water. I don't know what he did or who did this to him." I check his temperature with the back of my hand and his breathing. "He seems fine, the only problem are these veins." I say and point to Isaac's neck.

"Do you think the thing that made his seizure also caused the speeding of the Flare?" he stops and looks at Isaac. "How did it look like? Screams, shivering, aggression..."

"Shivering and those bubbles that get out of animals' mouths when they get rabies, I don't know what they're called. It was like a white puke, can we skip this part? It sickens me."

"I don't like it either, but it's essential. He would've told us if he's epileptic, wouldn't he?"

I shrug and shake my head. "We didn't tell him a lot of things either. Maybe he thought it wasn't too bad or it's not important, I don't know. We should wait until he wakes up and we'll get our answers." I don't know if I should be worried or not. Maybe it was just a seizure, but what caused it? What was the trigger? There were no flashing lights, he's the most relaxed person I know and he's definitely not drunk or high. 

Tonight is Thomas' turn to sleep, so I have time to reflect and rethink this. I don't think the arsenic had something to do with this, otherwise it would've happened earlier. I'm sure he's not an addict, but since I don't have anything to start with, I check his arms. None of them have any marks and the only scars I found are some cuts on his left wrist, which I don't want to talk about. He had plenty reasons to do it and it's understandable. I should move on, they don't give me any clue about what happened.

I turn his head on each side, lighting his neck, even though that's even less possible. His eyes could give me more clues than any part of his body, but I can't risk triggering another seizure with my flashlight. The only dark circles he has are from the Flare. They couldn't be from lack of sleep anyways, he sleeps every night.

Everything looks so normal. "What's your problem? What are you hiding?" I whisper before giving up. There's nothing I could find, so why should I hurt my brain trying to understand?