Flip the Coin [BL]-Chapter 419. Fever

Henry’s POV

Showing off my powers just for them to fail me not long after.

Too inexperienced, too planless.

Although so overpowered, still not powerful enough.

Still too young for all this shit.

Still too weak for the responsibility Kenny had placed on his shoulders—and with that, on mine as well.

But was there really a reason to give in to the crazy deal of the government?

Yes, I was the reason.

I was the greatest contribution to him becoming a murderer in the public’s eyes, long before he had really turned into one.

This is all my fault.

Watching him chase after an innocence that had been lost for so long, taken from him by my own hands, and that in an apocalypse, I feel as if all I was doing was just plain wrong.

Encouraging him to do this was a mistake—it had to be with a horde of zombies coming after us.

Worse, I know the right way, which was so simple that it was laughable.

Doing nothing and letting the zombies roam, the worms continue to grow, as they should have long ago infested the earth everywhere in this city and beyond.

Doing nothing and watching the world go to hell from our cozy dark green room.

Doing nothing and letting the apocalypse unfold in front of our eyes.

Why try to stop the unavoidable?

Was it too easy for him, for me, or for us both, or why do we continuously find ourselves in these kinds of situations?

The image of a dark world, where I could easily watch over my sole light, entered my mind when I woke up and found that my body was unable to move.

Paralyzed into stillness, a strange place, my sought-out darkness at the ends of the place that seemed ripped out from the landscape we had just been in.

Kenny, drinking my blood as if possessed, and the kid fighting off zombies in the distance by swiftly evading them, using their futile attacks at him for them to go against each other instead—I couldn’t ask for more.

I was so unbelievably relieved to not only have Kenny near me but also to see the kid alive.

And that he was able to protect himself with a speed that was impossible for someone who had just leveled up once, and that with a tree counterpart that hadn’t seemed all that powerful—this lessened one of my grave worries.

Because if that kid died in a way that was even remotely related to Kenny and his actions, his mind, the table, the coin—you name it—then he wouldn’t be able to cope with it.

I had to make sure that kid stayed alive, no matter what.

The most I could do with my weakened powers was to keep the kid safe and Kenny’s mind at bay.

The zombies soon stopped moving, and I tried to get more feeling in my body, burying my head into Kenny’s neck, loving the fact that he would come to me first thing after bringing us into this strange place.

See how much he loves me? So much that he would come and gobble me up instantly!

See how I have grown to have the most influence over him?

That even when his mind failed him, he still wouldn’t be able to let go of me.

Oh God, why am I feeling ecstatic in a situation like this?

This wasn’t the time, as there were too many other worries about my light darkening.

The kid ripped him away from me, surprising me, and I yelled at him, watching them fight before I came up with some whimsical excuses for him to take note of me.

I nearly broke out into laughter when I saw how perfectly well it worked, how he unconsciously turned to me when I feigned a fall, an injury, or more whining.

That my web had even reached into his deepest, darkest places, thoroughly trapping him in my love, proved not only to be the most beautiful feeling and experience, but it was also very helpful in situations like these, where he needed to be distracted.

Trying to press down my smile, but in the end not being able to, I watched him running to me, landing in my arms.

I couldn’t care less about what he would be doing to me, as long as it was only me.

I couldn’t care less as long as I would survive to stay by his side and maintain my looks so that he would continue to love me.

So, eat if you want, beat me, stab me, or burn me, because all of that you are already doing with your most handsome smirks, your enchanting gazes, and the way you continually show how much you love me.

It feels like being devoured once and for all, constantly punched in the stomach, stabbed in the heart, and burned alive. I KNOW IT; I ALREADY KNOW ALL OF IT.

Yet, if he really made a move, the question was if I was even able to stop him.

But I somehow, deep down, knew.

Even if he were to slice my throat, he would wake up, just like that time with the shadows.

He would wake up, and then he would somehow find a way to save me again.

I smiled, looking at the dark sky that came closer. I turned my head to expose my throat, betting my life on my theory while looking at the approaching dark walls in the distance.

I took a deep breath, feeling so damn alive.

There had to be a way, a way to bring him back without knocking him out, a way out of this world, a way to leave the zombies behind.

The child appeared beside us, and I wanted to say something, either assuring him or chastising him for unknowingly trying to send my master into the hands of the Maestro with something like a karate chop, when I felt Kenny make his move.

At the same time, the kid opened his mouth; the words his lips formed were breathed against my neck as he froze in mid-movement, mid-attack.

The child’s voice left Kenny’s mouth, rendering me furious, no matter how much he was trying to help.

Kenny is no monster and will never be.

That the kid used the ability he used on the Bone Monster was just wrong.

It was wrong that someone controlled the uncontrollable.

Someone interfered with a god.

Someone evaded such a precious human being.

Just wrong.

Then the scene changed, and we were outside again, my warning to the kid slipping out before I even noticed that the zombies had come out with us.

All the crazy feelings I was put through again, thanks to the power my partner had over me, disappeared, and I felt only naked fear from not being able to fight them.

Could I somehow, if I gave my all and forced myself to fight, get rid of them?

The answer was no, but what if it couldn’t be "no"?

Then, the answer turned into a "yes."

It was going down again after I had been brought up so high.

And it was going down fast.

Although Kenny let the cause of my impending fear disappear, he vomited blood, trembled, and seemed to have a high fever.

That was so much worse than the zombies.

Because now, I was really powerless.

Just seeing his eyes, I already knew he was back, not because the violet hue in them had gone, but because they were filled with regret and self-hatred.

When I felt his pulse still strong and steady, I breathed a sigh of relief.

Ethan came, and I finally glanced at the tiger not far away; it was time to go.

He can’t see this picture; he has to rest.

I stood up, forcing the last of my shadowy energy to acidify the blood he had vomited onto the grass.

Then I carried him away, trying to keep him from glancing over my shoulder, but as weak as he was, he was still adamant to watch.

I had to get him away fast, but with my own legs trembling and exhaustion nearly overwhelming me, it was already a wonder that I could walk while continuously talking.

Then I heard the swift steps of the tiger and breathed another sigh of relief. Another potential burden from Kenny’s mind lifted, just like that.

It will be alright. Just a bit of medication and a capable doctor who would hopefully give his all after his life had more or less been saved from the zombies, and he would be alright again.

He had just overused his powers by making the zombies disappear.

He had fought the fight alone again, even though I was right beside him, paralyzed by fear.

"Do you think I can conjure up my mom? Just once?"

A weak voice, more whispering than speaking, ripped me out of my thoughts—breaking my heart and rendering me speechless, unable to answer, as if I were being strangled.

I spotted Henrietta not far away where I had dropped her in the grass.

"I miss her."

Hearing his words, I looked away from her indifferently, thinking instead of the woman I had seen in the vision I had watched.

Brown hair, similar eyes to Kenny, so breathtakingly beautiful, and with that certain leisure around her, a casualness that you usually didn’t find in rich people, but the girl from across the street, the tomboy that would beat the boys’ asses at school, or a waitress at a creepy diner.

"She was really beautiful, looking just like you."

Kenny’s voice was choked up, and even his whisper had died down to just a breath.

"Do I look like her or my grandma? Choose one."

"Both." I stroked his back, seeing the doctor standing in front of the garden, his daughter or granddaughter or whatever beside him.

They looked out anxiously; the old doctor made his way to us.

"What happened?" He took Kenny’s pulse while walking beside us.

"Power overuse. He has vomited a bunch of blood, is still bleeding from his nose, and has a high fever. He can’t lose consciousness, no matter what. Do you have something that will make him sleep without completely knocking him out?" I didn’t know the parameters for meeting the Maestro, but a sleeping person would probably not lose consciousness from fever... or would they?

"I understand. I will prepare everything." He ran away again before I could ask him; even that old man was way faster than me and my slowed-down, dead-tired steps.

I saw him talk to the girl, and they both hurried inside.

The sirens had been silent since we came back from that place, but I could hear noise coming from the city if I concentrated.

But I didn’t give a fuck about what was going on there.

I turned around and found that Kitty and the kid were still behind us; they just had fallen back a bit, and farther away was Ethan, apparently having picked up Henrietta and now bringing her with him.

I brought Kenny into our room, placing him on the blankets covering the bed, which we could replace much easier than the whole mattress.

Kenny likes it clean, so I have to pay attention to that.

"I want a warm light," he demanded weakly, childishly.

"I don’t want it to be dark."

I reached for his forehead, noting that he was having a really high fever.

"Mhm, I will get one after the doctor looks over you," I promised.

"I don’t want fever-reducing medicine; just stay here with me."

"Why?"

"Cause I like it."

"The fever or me?" I asked with a chuckle, feeling my limbs growing so heavy that it was difficult to stay upright.

But I heard the doctor coming down the staircase, so soon we would be able to sleep. After he had checked on Kenny and was sure he would be alright, I would get a few more blankets and then crash down beside him.

But then, with just a word, a whisper of his, I didn’t feel heavy at all anymore; instead, I felt light and floaty, as if I had been set free.

At the same time, it was as if I heard a chain clicking in place, forever securing the shackle I had so desperately, so tirelessly tried to fasten around his wrist with the other end placed around my neck. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"You."