"Stop it!" Someone cried out from the distance…
It felt like time had stopped as Bale's demented grin gradually faded.
'Who's that crazy?' Shock marred Levi's face as he watched the scene unfold. Bale slowly turned to the source of the sound, letting go of Devin.
A few feet away, Emily stood pristine in her navy blazer and checked skirt. She had her hands clasped together tightly, shivering under Bale's menacing gaze.
"And who, the fuck, are you?" Bale inched closer to her, his 6-foot-1 frame dwarfing the petite teenage girl.
Emily looked up, her face tense, and her amber eyes wide behind her glasses. Frightened as she was, she stood her ground. Looking into the eyes of a predator, she knew she couldn't show fear, not in front of this monster. Bale grinned, sending a shiver down her spine.
!
"Mmmm! Mmm!" He wrapped his massive palm around Emily's mouth, cackling as she struggled against his grip. "Oh, I like this one, she's got that fire in her eyes, Levi!" He cackled before pointing at Devin. "Is this you, broke boy?"
'Huh, so today is the day I met her,' Devin thought, watching on listlessly. He remembered how Bale had held her the same way, how he had been emasculated, how he had struggled against Levi's restraint to stop Bale from hurting her. Now, it all felt so distant. None of it mattered, none of them mattered, anymore.
"Look at that bitch, you'd fuck that?" Bale turned to Emily. "Nah baby, you need a real man." He let his other hand trail down Emily's delicate skin.
She looked straight into his eyes, determined to stand her ground. She refused to show fear, even as his lecherous gaze roamed her body, even as his hand squeezed and tugged at her plump breasts through her shirt.
Bale grabbed at her shirt, about to rip it off. When a violet sheen flashed through his eyes, too fast for anyone to notice. He paused and stood silent for a moment. 'He won't brake me!' Emily willed her courage on, her heart pounding…
"Ugh, fuck it." Bale pushed Emily to the ground. "Let's go." He left, leaving Emily on the ground.
"Wait, what?" Levi looked around in a daze.
"I said let's go!" Bale commanded, prompting Levi to run after him. "Sorry, boss."
Emily looked on in bewilderment. She followed Bale's back until he was far away, before turning to Devin. She quickly got up and ran to his side. "Are you okay? I know I should mind my own business, but I just couldn't take it anymore. What right do they have to hurt you like that?"
"Here…" She took out a clean red handkerchief from her pocket and handed it to him.
Devin walked away, leaving her stunned with her handkerchief still in hand. His steps were awkward as he clutched at his ribs, leaving Silverwood High behind him…
…
"So in this hypothetical, the person suffers from frailty, shivering, rapid loss of temperature, and dies shortly after?"
"Yes," Devin answered the middle-aged pharmacist over the counter.
'Old habits die hard,' He sighed, wearing sunglasses, a band-aid covering his right cheek, and tucked in a new shirt. Being Bale's punching bag he always had to be prepared for his moments, but that didn't matter right now.
"Well, these rapid symptoms could indicate severe conditions such as hypothermia, which can only occur from exposure to extremely cold temperatures, anaphylactic shock caused by an allergen, or a sudden heart attack." The pharmacist sighed, looking concerned. "Such rapid and severe symptoms occurring in a minute or two is unheard of, and unfortunately, there's no medicine that can be found here or any other pharmacy that could remedy such a situation."
The pharmacist hesitated, his fingers drumming lightly on the counter, while noting his covered cheek and use of sunglasses indoors. "I would recommend seeking professional help and going to the doctor."
"I see." Devin sighed, having heard this twice already. He simply turned around and walked out of the pharmacy.
"Wait!" The pharmacist stopped him before reaching the door.
"Hm?" Devin turned back, holding his breath.
The pharmacist swallowed hard, his voice softening. "Look, if you need help, there are places you can go to. If not the police, then maybe Childline or—"
"Tsk!" Devin clicked his tongue, walking out the door and leaving the pharmacist agape.
Out on the pavement, Devin crossed out MediChem from his list. He sighed, looking up at the two other pharmacies already crossed out. He sighed once more, noting the other forty-seven pharmacies left.
Day to day, he dropped off Darcey at school, scoured Cape Town looking through the multiple pharmacies, and brought Darcey back home. Every night, he lost sleep watching over her periodically, afraid she would be in pain again while he slept…
In his room, Devin had a fat stack of cash in his hand, totalling R5000. Listlessly, he put the money into a thick black pencil bag and zipped it up. "I have nothing…" He sighed.
After two weeks of going through the motions and diligently stepping through every pharmacy he could find, he had nothing. With five pharmacies left on his list, the situation felt hopeless.
Fatigue had ran it's course on Devin as he sat by the nightstand, and faced Darcey while brooding over his futile attempts. "How in the fuck am I right back where I started!?" He clutched at his face, his fingers digging into his skin.
"What do I do!? What can I do!? I can't let Darcey die again! I can't!" He broke down, feeling like the walls were closing in on him. The bags under his eyes prevalent, as his head hung low. Devin was lost on what he could do. He toiled, he suffered, and cast aside everything else, yet Darcey's fate seemed inevitable.
He looked back at his hand, still holding his pencil bag and sighed, "No." His weary eyes focused on the only person that mattered. "Darcey," he whispered.
"I have to find a way…" Devin's voice felt heavy.
"I will…" His voice now barely a whisper. His eyelids slowly covered his eyes.
"Find a way…" His voice trailed off. Devin's body leaned forward, threatening to fall over.
Thump. He dropped his pencil bag.
"Haaah." A sigh came from Darcey's bed. Creaking followed soon after, as she left the comfort of her bed and walked to Devin's slumped figure. "Huh, so I'm dying?" She tilted her head at her snoring brother. She wrapped her arms around Devin and carried him off with a grunt. "Ugh, Is that why you've been acting up Dev?"
Flump! She dropped Devin on his bed and cried out, "How is such a skinny guy so heavy!?"
"Ugh, anyway." Darcey turned to the black pencil bag on the floor. She picked it up as a smile graced her lips. "This is all your life savings, Dev. If you using this, you must be serious."
Darcey sighed once more as she rounded Devin's bed and lifted his mattress. Finding the hole underneath, it's secret hiding spot. She pushed the pencil bag inside, before walking back to Devin's side, her voice carrying a bittersweet tone. "It would suck to die, but it would also suck if that ruined you."
She sighed again, tucking him in. "I don't ever want to hold you back Dev, be happy. With or without me, it's your life to live."
She sighed once more as a gentle smile graced her lips. Darcey kissed his forehead.
"Goodnight, Devin."
End of Chapter 6