Broken World

Chapter 37

       I again awaken to complete silence except for the deep breathing of many people. I see they are mostly in the same place as when I last woke up except a few have switched places. Kellin's hand is still in mine, and he is fast asleep. He's mumbling some gibberish, but I don't think it's bad whatever it is. I give his hand a gentle squeeze, and I look around. I catch my reflection in a mirror and realize I have my tan back. I look at my stomach and realize it has filled out, but I'm skinnier than before. It appears my power is a lot stronger than I thought. I look toward Max when I hear a mumble of something from him. He swats at something invisible, and I hear him mumble something else. I don't like the looks of it, and I can tell it's a nightmare before I notice anything else. I shake Kellin gently, and he opens his eyes and looks at me.

       "Hey," he says in a sleepy whisper.

       "Wake Max. He's having a nightmare. I've been watching since I woke up a few minutes ago," I say.

       "Okay," he says. He gets up and walks over to Max. "Max, buddy, wake up. You're having a nightmare." Max just swats at him as he shakes him.

       "I don't need you," Max mumbles.

       "Max, wake up," Kellin grumbles shaking him harder. Max's eyes fly open, and he looks around.

       "What's wrong?" Max asks.

       "It looked like you were having a nightmare, so I decided to wake you," Kellin says.

       "Oh, thanks. Is she awake yet?" Max asks. Kellin looks at me, and I nod subtly.

       "Yeah, but don't tell anyone. She wants quiet, and if too many people are awake that might give her a headache. Got it?" Kellin asks.

       "Okay," Max says. He gets up and walks over to my bed.

       "Hey, Max. How are you?" I ask smiling.

       "I'm good now that you're awake. I've been worried sick. Hell, we all have," Max says.

       "I heard you thought it was your fault, is that true?" I ask.

       "I did. I couldn't help it, though," he says.

       "Yes, you could help it. I promised myself when I was younger that I would always help and save my friends if I could. Since I could I did. Simple as that," I say.

       "That's an insane promise. I don't think I could've ever promised something like that," he says.

       "Well, I love all my friends, so I promised myself that. I'm just a loyal person like that," I say smiling.

       "That's really cool in all honesty. When are you going to be able to get up? Better question when are you going to tell people your up?" he asks.

       "When I feel a bit better, but to speed up the process, can you find me some food? I'm starving," I ask looking at them hopefully.

       "Yeah, I'll get you something. What do you want?" Max asks.

       "Crackers, please," I say croakily. "Oh, and water."

       "Okay, I'll be back with that as soon as possible," Max says. He turns and walks quietly from the room, and I turn to Kellin. He smiles at me with an upset look in his eyes. That's when I see that he's wearing a long sleeved shirt.

       "What's up with the sleeves?" I ask.

       "Meh, nothing. I just got a bit cold earlier. It took me a while to track down a long sleeved shirt because I didn't think it was going to be freezing here," Kellin says. That's when I realize he wasn't looking at me when he said that.