Children of the Tilts (ON HOLD)

III

I wake up, back at The Uncles' infirmary. I am so sick of this place, ever crack in the wooden texture makes me nauseous, echoing bad memories, then again, I'm living in a bad memory.

"Hey, sleepy head." Dalton said, he was sitting cross legged on his bed with a book in his lap, spine broken and cracked helplessly.

I wrinkle my nose at him, "Why am I still here?" I demand, balling up my fists. "I have things to do."

"Like what?" Dalton shoots back at me with a chuckle. He bites into an apple, and sets it down, seemingly forgetting about it.

"My family is lost," I breathed, anger flashing inside my gut. "They'll die if I don't find them."

"Is that why you were climbing a broken tree?" Dalton stood, eyebrows furrowing. "Is that why you almost died? Again?"

I snarled, "That's enough!" A thin bolt of lightning shot from my tingling fingers and struck Dalton in the chest.

He gasped, falling to his bed and twitching.

"Dalton!" I called, running over. Dread filled my stomach like heavy liquid. What if I absorbed the zombie lightning from the tilt.

Dalton opened his amber eyes, they were zombie-like, but still human. He exhaled, "How the hell did you--"

"I don't know!" I hissed, under my breath. "You can't tell anyone!" Remnants of the happenings from the night before were slowly coming back to me. "I can tell this cult of yours doesn't trust me, if they know I can--"

"We aren't a cult, Caden." Dalton bit back, "I won't tell anyone, except--"

"No!" I whispered, sharply. I gave him a light shove. "I don't trust anyone, you might, but I don't."

"What about Graham?"

"What about Graham?" I was getting pretty fed up with him and his act.

"He brought you back from the dead, he deserves to know about this backlash." Dalton pleaded, g holding my hands together.

I yanked them away from him, "You say that like I should be happy that you two did that."

"You should," Dalton hissed back. "He brought me back, too, Caden. I'm grateful for it."

"Honestly," I snapped, "I couldn't give more of a fuck what you think, Dalton!"

He glared at me before shaking his head, "Could you be less respectful, please? It's not like I saved your god damn life or anything!"

"Drop it!" I yelled, shoving him lightly. Another shock of lightning hits him and he keels over, sucking in breath.

I step back, "I'm sorry!"

Dalton looked back up at me, anger sparking in his gaze. Even though my eyes were identical to his, the cold amber still made fear thread through my brain. I stepped back, realizing for the first time that Bowtie wasn't strapped to my leather vest.

"Where's Bowtie?" I mumbled, scanning the room.

"Bow tie?" Dalton asked, the anger on halt. "You wear a bow tie?"

"No," I shook my head, "Not like bow tie, like two words, like Bowtie. One word, a name. The name of my ax."

"But," Dalton crinkled his nose in confusion, "Isn't bow tie two words?"

"Duh, but Bowtie is named after a bow tie, but there isn't a space in her name."

"It's a girl?"

"Is that necessary information?!"

He glared at me, shaking his head. "You're odd."

I rolled my eyes, "I'm not odd. I'm specific."