Broken World

Chapter 35

       "Hey, Delilah," he says weakly.

       "Hey, Max. I heard you weren't doing too great. I came to see you as quick as I could," I say smiling a little.

       "You must've ran because I sent Dylan only five minutes ago," he says.

       "I didn't just run. I sprinted. I almost knocked a person, with the precious food, out!" I exclaim. He laughs a very quiet laugh.

       "I hope I don't die. I don't want to die," he says even weaker than before.

       "I don't want you to die, either," I say. I feel something tickle my cheek and wipe at it. My hand comes away wet, and he looks at me with a sad look in his eyes.

       "Can I have another kiss? You know, like a dying man's last wish," he asks.

       "Of course," I say. I lean in and kiss him. I feel my energy drop just a little bit. I pull back and look at him. He has a bit more life in his eyes.

       "Whoa. What the hell just happened?" he asks.

       "I don't know, but it drained my energy a bit," I say.

       "I don't feel like I'm dying anymore," he says.

       "Give me your hand," I say.

       "Why?" he asks.

       "Just do it," I say. He gives me his hand, and I feel my energy dropping, but I don't let go. I see his eyes filling with life, and the blood on his bandages drying up.

       "Wait are you using your power to heal on me? Doesn't that take a lot of energy?" he asks.

       "It might, but I don't want you dead," I say starting to feel faint.

       "Stop, you're going to pass out," he says looking at me in horror.

       "I won't stop until my power stops. That's when I'll know you're fully healed," I say. I look at the mirror on the wall and realize I've paled to an extensive degree. I went from a nice, summertime tan to a deathly, vampire like pale. I feel myself losing consciousness, but I refuse to let go. I look to the backpack on the floor, someone must've left it here when visiting Max, and dig until I find a roll of duct tape at the bottom as I hold his hand.

       "Delilah, what are you doing?" he asks, his voice squeaking from horror.

       "Making sure I completely heal you," I say. I wrap the duct tape around our hands fifteen times, our wrists fifteen times, and our arms fifteen times then rip the tape.

       "Delilah, what the hell? This is gonna kill you!" he exclaims looking petrified. His other hand scrabbles at the tape, and I seize that hand and tape it to the side of the bed on the other side where he can't reach me.

       "It might kill me, but at least I will have saved you," I say weakly. I look at my reflection and realize I look like a person who hasn't eaten in months. I look down and see my fat stomach has disappeared to be replaced with a skinny torso, so that I can see my ribs through my shirt. I feel the power slowly starting to shut off as I fight for consciousness. At this point Max is screaming for Addison and other medics. I feel people digging at the tape and trying to rip me away at the same time.

       "Delilah, undo this craziness now!" Addison exclaims.

       "I will when my power shuts down," I mumble barely able to stand. Someone pulls a chair behind me, but I kick away with all the force I can muster. It crashes into the wall with a loud bang. I take a deep breath as I think about being awake. If I had sat down I would've passed out. I feel the power shut down, and I smile. I bring my other hand up, weakly grab the end, and begin to unwind it. I pull quickly so it doesn't hurt as bad, and then as soon as my hand is free I look at Max and mumble three words very quietly, "Don't leave me." I then collapse to the floor in an unconscious heap.