Break Between Time

Chapter 6

Man, it could've been anyone else. Literally anyone else. But alas, it had to be the child. A child. Any child.

Eden looked worse for wear. The black spots turned out to be bruises, large enough to cover most of the skin. It was as if he had the black plague. That's right, the black plague? Bubonic plague? Maybe. Bea doesn't know all that much about history either.

Something about the way his face lit up when he saw Price made Bea smile. The kid laying across the mattress. Small bag of flour at the end of that, like a makeshift pillow. He looked more boney than he did from her world. Which only made her stomach twist in all sorts of ways.

Eden looked between Bea and Price curiously. It wasn't every day he got two visitors. Price was normal, but no one else seem to have time. Except his parents, of course.

"Eden," Price begins. He crouches down next to the boy pointing at Bea. Price points at Bea and Eden squints his eyes. "This is a friend of mine. She wanted to say hello."

Bea could feel herself lean forward, but her feet never left the ground. It was weird. So weird. Everything was weird. The people, the buildings, the magic. It was like she was in a fairytale, the ones where she meets the handsome prince and falls in love. And they all lived happily ever after.

Except she didn't meet a prince. She met a Price. And he comes from a world that looks like everything besides a happy ending.

Perfect.

"Don't be shy, he doesn't bite." She semi-snapped out of it, stumbling forward on her feet. She joined Price and Eden on the floor, sticking her hand out only to quickly return it back to herself. That's right, they don't do handshakes here.

"I'm Bea," she almost choked out. Price eyed her and her weird change in mood. They stared at each other for a short while, until Price understood what was really happening. She could barely see it, but he nodded.

"Eden," the little boy says. His voice is frail. All he said was his name and his body goes into a coughing fit. Taking larger inhales than usual, he tried to regain his breath. Price holds his hand and lightly pats his back, his thumb drawing circles on his neck to comfort the boy.

He wasn't surprised. This had happened before. It was an overwhelming sensation that flowed through his entire body. It was almost like something was hammering at the inside of his head. It would pound and pound and pound, taking as long as it needed to stop.

Price looked at Bea solemnly. It's getting worse, was the only thing Price could try to tell her. She eyes were glossed over but she only smiled. Eden couldn't see the small things, but she hoped he could at least see her lips. "It's okay, you don't need to talk."

Eden closes his mouth, which only muffles the coughs until they finally stop. He regains his breath and says, "I can talk."

It was times like that when Eden was the most annoyed with himself. Here he is, in front of a pretty girl and hardly being able to lift his hand. Talking scratched his throat, but that's all he could do without looking like a fool. Price wouldn't care, but Eden was a stickler for first impressions. And disease wasn't a good one.

"Of course you can. And you know, that means you're getting better." Bea cocked a brow. That's a lie. "Really?" With the way his eyes lit up ever-so-slightly and his voice became elevated explained it.

"Yeah! Currently, you body is fighting with whatever plagues your system. Which is exactly what it needs to be doing."

"That's right," Bea adds, slightly amazed at how well Price can handle a kid who looks to be on his deathbed. "Which means you need as much rest and food and water as you can."