Ch 10! OK guys, after this chapter, the first arc of The New will be complete. Anonymous-Kat…you know what time it is….Same disclaimer as always.
Earlier that day…
"Son, talk to me, tell me what's wrong," Steve asked Jake.
"Nothing, nothing, I just want to be alone right now…"
"Steve, let's give him some time," Jean held onto her husband's shoulder.
His parents and doctors all left the room.
Maybe it was the meds, maybe it was just because of all of the new information rammed down his throat, but Jake was feeling woozy again. Even...thinking….took effort…
It didn't take long before Jake was asleep again.
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"AAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
Jake woke up with sweat covering him. He looked out the window at the rising sun.
It was all a dream. The medicine has you tricking out big time, bro.
He was sure it was real.
Cassie came to him after the final battle.
"….you coward!" she yelled at him. Then she turned into the big red eye of the Crayak. Tom and Rachel's lifeless bodies floated around the Crayak's eye. Then he saw the bodies of the 17,000 Yeerks he killed.
YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A KILLER. A COLD-BLOODED KILLER. Crayak sneered.
He needed some water. He reached for the side of his bed…
WHAM! He fell out the bed entirely.
Sprawled on the floor, he realized the reality of his situation. He was truly helpless like this. Two nurses came running to help him back into his bed.
"Mr. Berenson! Goodness, what were you trying to do? You almost killed yourself!"
"I just wanted some water." he tried to explain.
"The next time, just ask someone for help. They'll be glad to aid you."
The other nurse looked at him. Berenson was a handsome young man. It was a shame that he had been injured the way he was.
Once Jake was put back into the bed, he was given the call button for the nurses' station.
"From now on Mr., use this whenever you want something. That's what we're here for."
The two nurses left Jake alone with the
If he weren't so weak, he would have used his morphs to do whatever he wanted to do. Now, even if he had the energy, he would still have to demorph afterwards. And he'd be no better off than he was before. Why had everything gone downhill? Yesterday, everything seemed to be better. Rae was here…his daughter! Every time he thought of her, his heart instantly swelled with happiness. She was the cutest little thing he had ever seen. His little girl was the best thing he had done in his life. And that included beating the Yeerks.
Instead of taking a life….I made one….
And Cassie. Where she touched his hand, he still felt sparks…His attraction to her would never dissipate…but Ronnie….
He's one lucky guy…he has my wife and child…
Wait, did I say wife?
Jake's thoughts were interrupted by a young-looking teenager with disheveled blond hair…
"Tobias!" Jake said weakly.
"Hey, Jake," Tobias said, gently taking a seat next to his bed.
"What's up, Bird-boy?" Jake tried to joke, using the nickname Marco had coined for him a long, long, time ago.
"Nothing much," Tobias said, running his hand through his hair. He looked upset to Jake.
"Speak for yourself," Tobias playfully retorted.
Jake adjusted his bed so that he was nearly sitting up.
"Why did you stop by, instead of flying?" Jake asked.
"They finally cleared me to leave this place, thank God." Tobias stopped running his hands through his hair and chuckled a sad chuckle, "I'll be moving in with Marco until I can find my own place. Maybe a job. I might go back to school. Or maybe I can teach in the ornithology department."
"There's something you aren't telling me,"
Tobias slouched down in the chair.
"So the vets are examining me, right? It seems that outer space wasn't kind to my hawk morph. Kidney failure. They said I had weeks to live, if that."
Tobias wrung his hands.
"They…they made me give up my wings…they made me trap myself…they made me become human."