Chapter VI

David

David heard the blood thumping in his ears as he withered on the floor in pain, and almost instantly he found Bailey and Bellamy drop to their knees beside him. The two bombarded him with questions that he couldn't even make out through the ringing that had begun in his ears.

"Where, David? Tell me where," he heard Bailey's soft whisper echo in his mind, and he struggled to reach down towards his ankle. Instead, he settled for gripping the thigh of his injured leg.

Once Bailey caught what he was trying to say, she pushed him to his back and rolled up his pant leg. Cringing, he propped himself up on his elbows and looked down to find that his ankle had swelled and black veins—much like the ones seen on Joey's shoulder—traced the small wound where the scorpions stinger had pierced his skin.

Bailey turned her head up to David, and her brow was furrowed in anger. "Why didn't you mention this before?" She stood up and marched to the living room back towards the side table. "You could've saved yourself from a lot of pain."

He listened as he heard the sound of glass clanging together, and couldn't keep himself from letting out an uneasy chuckle. "I'm destined to die in the Domes by poison, aren't I?"

Unexpectedly, he felt a firm grip on his shoulder, and he looked over to find Bellamy's tender expression. "We won't let you die." He thrust a thumb over his shoulder and winked. "Not when he have a whole palace with healing water at our dispense."

For some reason, David didn't take comfort in his words even after witnessing what the waters had done for Joey and Bellamy. The palace was miles away, and maybe he was just being pessimistic, but he didn't believe he even had that much time left. The way his breathing became laborious as the oxygen in his body began to fade, and how tired he grew made it feel impossible to hope.

His elbows wobbled and he nearly fell back to the wooden floor, but Bellamy swiftly placed an arm under his shoulders keeping him at a one hundred and fifty degree angel. He could tell Bellamy was strong, but not strong enough to sustain this position as the older boy moved behind David's head to better hold him up with both Bellamy's arms under his.

David's vision began to blur and black dots painted his vision. His head began to feel heavy as it slowly rolled to the right, but rough pats on his cheek caused his eyes to pop open. "Hey, now! No, closing those eyes."

Through David's clouded vision, he watched as Bailey briskly walked his direction and knelt beside him holding a vial of something purple in front of his face.

"David, listen to me," Bailey began softly, her voice calm and gentle, but it set off red flags through his mind. Like she was about to say something terrible, but wanted to keep him from panicking. "The poison in your system is going to cause your lungs to fill with water. That's the most dangerous symptom caused by the Indian Red, and, because of the government, it happens much faster in the Dome. This vial is full of a serum we made to help slow it down." She shrugged. "Kinda like an antidote without fully being one."

"You made that?" Bellamy asked, skeptical. "Have you tested it? Aren't you afraid of it not working?"

Before she could answer, David heard Thomas's voice pierce the dry air. "What's going on out—David?" David gritted his teeth so tightly through the pain that he knew he couldn't speak. He clenched his eyes closed as the beating of his heart in his ears amplified, and Thomas's voice grew closer. "What happened?"

"Apparently someone was too caught up in the moment to remember his own injury," Bailey said as David heard the cork pop. "Open up, David!"

Struggling to unclench his teeth, he was able to part his lips a few inches, and his lips puckered as Bailey pinched them together. Seconds later, a sour liquid touched his tongue. Careful not to taste too much, he swallowed the thick substance in one gulp, but it burned his throat on the way down and he broke out in a string of coughs.

"Help me get him up. We have to get him to the palace."

Before he had a chance to move, someone lifted him off his feet and he knew it was Bellamy by the fact that his arms had already been under David's.

"Let me help him." He heard Thomas's voice and knew right away it was his. It wasn't easy to forget the only voice he'd heard for the past three days.

"It's fine, I got him," Bellamy replied.

"No, I need you here," Thomas stated.

"Why?"

"Because I need you to watch after Joey," came Thomas's whisper. "Keep her safe." There was no argument, and David lifted his heavy eyelids to find Thomas in front of him. "Come on. Let's get you healed up." He squatted, placed both of David's arms over his back, and stood draping David over his shoulder. David grunted from the pain of the sudden jerk, and felt his body and arms bounce against Thomas's back as the older boy took off in a sprint.

David jerked as Thomas unexpectedly stopped, and a girls voice filtered through his ears. "Bailey, what's going on?" From the sentence, he could tell it was Taylor.

"Do we really have time for this?" came Thomas's aggravated question.

"Go, I'll catch up," one of the twins replied, and Thomas began his run once again.

Through his dazed state, David couldn't even be sure how far and how quick they'd run. When his surroundings darkened, he opened his eyes unable to tell the difference between unconsciousness and the world. Light suddenly hit his pupils, and David cringed and his eyelids fell close.

He heard a small splash along with Bailey's voice, "Come on! Hurry!"

Thomas knelt down and carefully pulled David off his shoulder, and he felt the hard stoney ground under his body. Small hands gripped his shoulder, but they weren't strong enough to pull him in their direction. Another splash came, only this time bigger, and David grimaced and yelped as Thomas grabbed under his arms and yanked him into the water.

Almost instantly, the water below him under the surface around his leg began to glow the same white and yellow it had early around Joey's shoulder. David felt a soothing sensation overpower him as the burning in his ankle died away and he was left painless.

The familiar cold that resided in his body returned and gave him an abundance of peace. Taking the opportunity to feel more like himself, he called on his ability and felt the cold rush over his body. His face relaxed and he blinked through the crystal water a few times as the light underneath vanished. Planting his feet on the pools slip ground, he stood up straight, and Thomas released him.

Panting heavily, he placed a hand over his racing heartbeat. Looking down into the water that came half way up his torso, he couldn't keep a grin from sprouting from ear to ear, but it was short lived when a small shriek filled his ears.

"In all the years I've seen this water heal, it has never done that before!" David glanced up into Bailey's worried and concerned expression, and almost burst out in laughter.

"No, no! It wasn't the water," he explained. He spread his arms out to the side and smirked. "This is what I'm supposed to look like."

Lowering her hands that were covering her mouth, she glanced him up and down. "Oh," she whispered.

His excitement vanished when a fist came into contact with his shoulder. "Ow!" he said, turning around to face Thomas's angry glare.

"What the heck, dude?" Thomas screamed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I-I tried!" David stammered. "But I was more worried about Joey than myself. I guess I just ..." He trailed off and gave a sheepish grin. "Forgot?"

"For—" Thomas cut himself as he flung himself around and ran a hand through his damp hair.

"Okay, let's just take a breather and calm down," Bailey suggested gently. She took a deep breath in and let it out slowly.

"You can't go a day in these Domes without getting poisoned, can you?" Thomas accused, ignoring Bailey.

David chose to follow her advice, and he looked back down at the water one more time before making his way towards the few steps up to the surface. He dragged his heavy-weighed-down-shoes out of the water onto dry land, and glanced back down at Thomas. "You think I wanted that scorpion to sting me?" His voice came out soft, almost broken.

"I don't know what you wanted, David." Thomas crossed his arms.

Rolling his eyes, David copied Thomas's pose and trudged back down the dark hallway.