THE CODE THAT LINKS US ©

Chapter Forty Two

MADISON

When I wake up, I am someone new. I look at myself in the mirror above me and the stained clothes are gone. The hospital dress I am wearing is clean like the sheets over and under me. My hair is clean and shiny for some reason and my skin is less yellow. I am still thin, but at least I feel somehow better and the pain is not longer there.

At the end of the bed, from the mirror I can see a chair and on it is Levy reading a white and thin little book. I stretch my hand to the side of the bed and press a button for the bed to incline. When I sit up, Levy looks at me. "You are awake," he says before looking back at the book on his hands: SIGNEFREX V.42.92 USER'S GUIDE. I read the title on the cover and roll my eyes. He is the only person in the world that would ever read the boring manual of a machine for fun.

"Warning, it is possible that the only person willing to read this boring guide is suffering from a severe boredom episode which incites him to take this instructive and read it with lots of attention," I say interrupting myself with a laugh when he looks at me. "Make sure you destroy the manual before it causes irreversible damage on the affected subject," I laugh and he just looks at me raising his brows.

"Someone woke up in a good and irritating mood," he mocks trying to hide his desire to laugh before looking back at the manual.

"At least I am not the one reading that thing," I mock him this time and he shakes his head.

"This thing is incredible," he says without looking at me. "It is like it resets the body. With lights, Madison!" he says in awe.

"Awesome!" I laugh getting him to close the manual and laugh leaving it over his legs.

"I am not going to let you laugh of me," he says standing up. "Are you feeling better?"

"Too much to be truth. Am I still sleeping?" I ask when he sits on the bed.

"This is one hundred percent real. Do you know what did it?" he says making me raise my eyebrows and he points up at the machine making me laugh once more. "I am not kidding about how incredible it is... just look at you," he continues. "Do you think now that they are not going to use this place anymore, I can keep it?"

"I can sell it to you for one hundred million dollars if you are interested," says Wen right when he enters the room. I try not to laugh at Levy's face. Even Wen smiles for his reaction. "I have much more incredible machines than this one. You could buy one and open your own business with that machine for fifty millions more. You could compete with the owners of Build a Bear with your own Build a Baby. What do you think?"

"I better keep my money, your business idea sounds quite spooky," replies Levy.

"You look good today," Wen tells me, taking out an empty syringe from his gown's pocket.

"I feel good," I reply looking at him preparing the needle.

"I'm sure you do. Let's hope it lasts long enough," he says warning me and inserting the needle in my vein. His extraction hurts but that assures me I am still alive and awake.

"What do you mean with hoping it lasts long enough?" asks Levy.

"You didn't finish your homework, boy," he replies and we both look at him. "The machine controlled what was failing in your organs but it can't repair them completely. It's not magic," he says taking the needle out.

"Then..."

"It's temporal," I reply to Levy.

"Exactly," confirms Wen. "It's a matter of hours for them to fail again. That yellow tone is the proof."

"Oh," is all what Levy's lips let out and I nod getting to the idea of the pain and weakness back.

"Enjoy it while it lasts, sweetheart," says Wen winking an eye at me and the simple fact that he does that before getting out makes me angry and scared at the same time. I don't want the pain back again. I want to be able to do this. Talk. Laugh. Live. I don't want to die now... and there's no other option but accepting the deal if I don't want to die. I would certainly go away but would it be worse than dying? What else can I lost anyway? It's not like this was meant to be mine anyway...

"Levy," I say interrupting his talk about Yale and he stops immediately. The pain is beginning to show in my arms and legs. I look seriously at his expectant eyes and he reads my mind sitting down next to me before taking my hand in his.

"You don't need to tell me anything," he says making a big lump to get form in my throat which makes the tears begin to flow. "I am not a kid."

"I don't want it to take you off guard," I say with my voice broken and he gulps looking away before sighing.

"Madison, we are going to be fine," he says looking back at me and I try to believe him leaving it aside.

"Thank you for being the only real part in my life," I say with my voice breaking, "for always being there for me."

"Don't tell me goodbye Madison, I... I don't think I can handle it," his voice breaks too and his eyes glimmer from the tears. I gulp. I'm not saying goodbye because I'm dying, I do it because I'm leaving. I think hoping he would read it somehow in my look but he doesn't.

"What do you think would have happened if I died with that test? Or if it didn't affect me?" I ask what I have been thinking since this all started. What would have happen if I resisted that test? What would have happened with my mother? Would her marriage still survived too? What would have happened with Levy? Would he had ever met Jessica or Dylan? What would have happened with Dylan? Would he had met another girl who loves his smile like I do? What about Alison? Would she have existed? Would she have been born into a loving family that took care of her? What would have happened if I wasn't that child in the laboratory? If I were a normal kid playing like everyone else did? Would everyone else have been born? Would they have done anything different if they haven't met me?

"A thousands of things could have happened either way, Madison."

"But it wouldn't have affected you all if I died when I was supposed to do it," I say. "I wouldn't even noticed it. I wouldn't have given a damn because I didn't know you. I didn't know anything. None of this was supposed to happen. Everything was supposed to be different."

"Nothing needed to happen. You weren't predestined to anything different Madison, things just happened the way they did without any special motive. There's no explanation to everything."

"What do you think will happen when I am not longer here?" My question gets a tear out of his eyes and makes him look away immediately.

"Alison is going to grow up. You can be sure of it," he tells me. "She is going to be just like you and she is going to be happy doing whatever she wants thanks to you."

I let me go at his well-known arms, those arms that have always been there for me. Since the very beginning it has always been Levy who has been with me and here he is now... at the end. "I am going to miss you like hell Maddie," he says breaking into a thousand pieces what was left of our emotional strength.

"I am going to miss you too," I say between our tears.

"Liar," he says making me smile against his chest. "You are not even going to notice I am not there."

EDITED BY: JadeFoliage

THAT'S ALL FOR TODAYS YOU GUYS! I HOPE YOU LIKED THIS EMOTIONAL CHAPTER! WHAT DO YOU THINK IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT?

MAKE SURE TO LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW AND VOTE IF YOU LIKED IT!

Read you later.

-MF. Hernandez

Next Chapter: March 22nd, 2019.