The book felt lighter the more you held it, and you were grateful for that. It made you feel stronger, giving you hope that you weren't just something useless like Abraham had said you were.
You look up from the book to see Kid had finished swallowing the food in his mouth and, with a smile, you lean up and pop another piece of bread into his mouth. He looks away, a light blush on his face.
"Are you sure you're okay? Your face still looks warm..." You muttered, concerned.
"Yes, I'm just not used to someone feeding me is all." He looks at you finally and smiles. Now it's your turn to feel your face flush a little and you let out a giggle. "It's okay, I'm not used to feeding someone so it's a first for the both of us."
You look back down at the book with more symbols, but nothing was calling out to you. You frown and flip to another page, then another. It had been like this for the past night or so, and it was beyond frustrating.
"Why isn't it working?" You mutter.
"Don't kick yourself over it, give it a little bit of time."
You snort. "Enough time for you to die? I think not..." you skipped a few pages and another symbol popped out at you like it had before. You smile, stand up, and place one hand on the book, propping it against Kid's body for support. You lift your other hand and gently place it on his cheek.
The buzzing filled you and a burst of energy flowed through you and into Kid. You felt like you wouldn't be pushed over by the wind anymore, but still not strong enough to take down anyone like Abraham on your own.
The power surged through you and when you felt like you had a quarter or so of the power within you, you cut off the flow to Kid and sit back down. You look at your palm just as the four spiral symbol faded into your skin and you clench your fist.
Kid groaned and his arms twitched. "You okay?" You stand up and look up at him. His eyes were gazing off somewhere far, but his skin looked healthier and his wounds better. You place both hands on his cheeks, feeling how naturally cold his skin is. "Kid?"
He blinks and seemed to come awake. He looked down at you and smiled, but you don't drop your hands. You smile back. "How are you feeling?"
"A lot better, what symbol was that for?"
You drop your hands now and you could have sworn you saw Kid flinch, missing your contact, but brushed it off as your imagination. You hold the book and describe the symbol. "From how it feels, I'm going to guess 'strength.' So far we have more energy, we have strength now, but I still don't know what the first one could have been. But it's okay, all that matters is we get our powers back, right?"
Kid smiled wider. "Right."
You beamed and fed him the last piece of bread. "Sorry again Abraham isn't feeding you...I'm lucky he's giving me more. I still can't tell if he actually feels sorry, or if it's something else. But I guess time will tell, right?"
Kid nodded and swallowed. "Are you sure you shouldn't be eating more? You need to eat, too."
You shake your head and hold up your hand. "It's okay, I can go without food for a long time. Once, Abraham didn't feed me for two weeks to see how my body would handle it with just enough water to survive, so don't worry about me. I've got this." You smile kindly up at him and his smile fades, but his eyes stay on you.
"When we get out of here, I'll treat you to a nice, big meal, okay?"
Your eyes widened at the idea, not really knowing what a nice meal would entail. All the bread you can eat? Maybe some cheese? Or fish? You had fish once, and you've missed meat sense.
"I'd like that, thank you, Kid."
You crack open the book again and flip through it. You picked up a few words now and then from Kid teaching you their meaning, and you had a strong sense of pride for overcoming that obstacle one word at a time.
Perhaps you had been too wrapped up in the book, perhaps Kid had let his guard down, but you hadn't even heard the rattle of the keys in the door when Abraham stepped in.
You stand up in shock and the book drops. His eyes land on you, and you will yourself to disappear but couldn't. You ran for the window, but he beat you to it. Abraham whips his arm back and strikes you before you could even comprehend what was going on.
You flew off your feet and smacked into a table with beakers. Glass broke and you could feel the sting of cuts on your hands and arms. You spin around, missing his attack by just a few inches.
You run, knocking over anything you could to slow him down, panic bubbling up inside of you. From across the room, Kid could only watch helplessly, terror written on his face.
From looking at Kid, you lost your balance and tripped yourself. The fall was hard and you could feel the bruising pulse through your body. Abraham grabbed you by the collar and lifted you off the ground.
It was then you felt the familiar humming and buzz you had felt before. It was hard for you to concentrate, feeling the trickle of either blood or sweat as it oozed down your left temple. You grabbed onto Abraham's beefy wrists, gazing into familiar eyes: your mother's eyes, the eyes you had loved that belonged in your mother's sockets.
"Abraham, please," you whispered, begging. "Please, I just want to see the world, is that too much to ask?" His face didn't change. The humming got worse within you and you knew you were about to lose control and pass out. You licked your lips and whispered your last resort: "Daddy, please?"
His eyes widened at the old name you used to have for him and, just then, the books, vials, beakers, and notes all flew from the shelves and spun around the room. You were blacking out quickly, but you could feel the books and notes as they open to reveal the symbols you couldn't quite connect with earlier.
Some symbols glowed brightly in shades of blues, whites, and golds. Abraham looked around, fear in his eyes. You had never seen him so...scared. Was it because of you? Or the fact that his hard work is going down the drain right before his eyes?
You close your eyes tightly and will the symbols to jump out of the page and find a home in Kid. 'Don't think of me' you thought to the symbols, 'just save Kid.' You could hear Abraham and Kid both gasp and you knew it was working.
You felt your body be smashed against the table and you lost all control. You could hear the books and notes and beakers drop one by one and smashing into a complete mess. You opened your eyes and did one last thing: you waved your hand at kid before going limp.
Abraham picked you up and you slumped against his chubby body, smelling the rancid stench of death and grime on him; the smell you grew up with that both repulsed and gave you a sense of nostalgia. You look up at him one final time before closing your eyes and going limp.
