Ven: Part 1

Ch. 13: What Now?

Marney slumps forward into my arms.

Something is wrong.

I can feel it inside of her.

She doesn't feel right.

I pick up her small frame easily and bring her into my room. I gently lay her on the bed, she stirs softly.

"Hey, can you tell me what happened?" I ask softly.

My heart pounds in my chest.

It hurts, like a knife has been driven through it.

"I had a nightmare..." She says weakly. "There was this purple man and I touched him... Ven, my head..." She trails off.

A purple man?

My body freezes.

"With blue eyes and red teeth?" I ask.

She nods weakly, tears silently leaking down her face.

His words echo in my mind.

A fellow empath.

I place my hands on either side of her face.

"This is going to feel weird," I say, "and I've only ever done it once before."

"What are you doing?" She asks groggily.

I close my eyes and press my forehead to hers. My stomach twists into knots, my skin tingling as I connect with her. I can feel a tear in her heart.

I tenderly reach out and close the tear, a corresponding tear forming in my heart. The pain in my heart subsides to a dull ache.

I open my eyes and pull away, rubbing my chest.

"How's that?" I squint in the relative brightness of the room.

She sits up and blinks, much more alive than she was.

"A lot better," she holds her head in both hands, "what was that?"

"I told you," I shrug. "I'm an empath."

"That doesn't tell me anything," she stares up at me. "Ven, I'm pretty sure I nearly died, can I please get a straight answer."

"That's a bit dramatic, you weren't about to die." I wave my hand dismissively. "It would have hurt for a few years and closed up on its own."

Her stare shifts into a glare.

I meet it evenly.

"Please, Ven, what's going on?" There's an almost imperceptible tremor in her voice.

I sigh, rubbing my eyes.

The clock on the wall says it's past midnight.

I want to try and get some more sleep.

Dreams or no.

I'm tired.

Kick her out, get some sleep.

Well then.

Decision made.

I take my hand from my face and look at her, her purple eyes and hair somehow look just right for her.

"I can do things with emotions," I make a vague shape with my hands, "it's a little sporadic, but I can feel more than just what I feel. And I can help when something like this happens, when your heart is hurt, I can take the damage away."

She sits silently staring at her hands.

"Doesn't it hurt you to take it?" She asks.

I shrug.