I don’t know what any of this means, but my heart beats faster, though I should not succumb to false hope.
Frankie attaches the small clamps to wires inside Timothy’s open head, then moves the dial on the device, making numbers change on a small screen. He does that for a long time, making me question if he has any idea what he’s doing. Finally, he nods and says, “This should be the right amount.”
“For what?” I ask, and he replies by flicking a switch on the side of the device.
Sparks shoot from Timothy’s head, making me jolt and take a step back. Frankie immediately removes the clamps, even though nothing has changed. My hopes begin to fade once more, then my eyes shoot wide at a twitch in one of Timothy’s palms.Did I imagine it?
Timothy jerks his head up. “Is everybody okay? Where’s Finn?”
I’m about to faint, but River holds me in time. We crouch down to face Timothy, and I can barely see him through my tears. “Are you okay?”
“A quick analysis reveals that half my head is gone, but Iamokay.”
“Nanny Spider, your soul is in your butt!”
“My butt? Oh, well, I suppose it is.” He reaches for me with two of his palms, which are already less pale and cold.
“I thought you were dead,” I say, letting him wipe my tears.
“I’m sorry, but since I’ve been worried sick about you for weeks, I’d say we’re even. Please tell me what happened with Hector and Goo after I was shot, and where’s Caden?”
I fill him in about what happened, including the death of Goo during their final battle with Hector. “And I don’t know how Caden is doing; I’m going to find him and check.”
“You do that right away. Frankie, thank you for reactivating me. Would you mind if we run some tests to evaluate my condition?”
“I have no conflicting engagements.”
“I’ll go with Finn,” River says, “but I’ll be back soon. No more dying, Nanny Spider. I can’t be so sad again.”
I hug Frankie before I leave, ignoring his sigh of annoyance.
Once outside, River and I walk toward the clinic in the northern part of town. It’s the largest structure in Florence, and right now, the entire area surrounding it is occupied by tents. I recognize some doctors from Unity as they take care of the wounded. Those who didn’t survive their injuries are being moved to make room for a new wave of incoming wounded.
I start to search for Caden, but River says, “I can feel Josh inside the clinic. Caden must be there too.”
We walk between tents until we step into the bright clinic. The place is filled with commotion, and before I can find someone to ask for instructions, River pulls me aside. We enter one of the hallways, and through the moans and cries of pain from all directions, I hear a horrible scream that freezes my blood.Caden.
I dash to the last room in the hallway, where three doctors and Josh struggle to restrain Caden to the bed. His yellowish eyes are wide and bloodshot. They bandaged the gun wounds in his shoulder and thigh, but they are still bleeding. His body should be healing itself, but something is stopping it from happening.
“He needs another dose of the sedative,” one of the doctors says, but he seems hesitant to let go of thrashing Caden.
“I’ll hold him,” River says and walks to the bed.
Josh sighs in relief at the sight of us. With River helping to hold Caden down, the doctor is able to inject him with a sedative. I take a step forward, watching the agony on Caden’s face. “Is he like this because of the gunshot wounds?”
“He was doing better until a few hours ago,” Josh says and wipes sweat from his brow. “Then something happened, and he started going crazy. His wounds were almost fully healed before that, but now they keep reopening. They don’t want to give him blood transfusions because, well…”
He means that Caden’s blood is different now—the red and yellow mixture is splashed all over the bed. A normal transfusion might cause even more damage.
Hector’s death must have short-circuited their connection, sending Caden into a frenzy. But he can’t continue to bleed like this. He’s already as pale as a ghost, his veins visible through his skin.
“Get off me!” He thrashes again, but they pin him down. “Joshy… Joshy, take Finn and leave. I’m begging you to leave.”
“Nobody is leaving, so calm the fuck down and let us help you!”
Caden shakes his head, his bloodshot eyes failing to focus. “It’s burning me. My veins are on fire. I can’t anymore, I can’t… just kill me and make it stop. Please.”
“We’re going to figure it out!”
