Everville: The City of Worms Read Online Free

Dante, but I guess there wouldn’t be. It looks like I’ll be getting a roommate too, part of the university’s plan to make up for the storm’s damage to the dorms.
    “I think it’s time we paid a visit to Cleophas and then The Keeper. I finally got a decent night of sleep, so we should get moving on a plan to help Dante. We have a little time before classes start up again. Hopefully we can figure something out before then. I’ll see if I can contact Cleophas, then I’ll check on some transportation. If we’re lucky, we might be able to visit him later this afternoon.”
    “Sounds good. I’m going to go back to the hospital and watch over Dante. We can meet up later.”
    Anika left Owen’s dorm and started walking back in the direction of the hospital. She tried to calm her thoughts as much as possible so she wouldn’t be stressed when she got back to Dante. Unfortunately, the general state of the campus only added to her stress, and by the time she arrived, she was once again battling back tears.
    Anika sat down by Dante’s bed and stared at the intravenous bag attached to his arm. She moved her chair closer to him and reached over to pick up his hand. She held it, rubbed it, and briefly felt comforted by its warmth. Her eyes looked as if she were about to solve some great problem but then got lost somewhere along the way.
    She then noticed the clear drops that were falling from the upright plastic bag, delivering Dante his nutrients drip by drip. They appeared to take an extra long time to fall. She imagined looking at the drips from the perspective of small insect able to stand on the water due to its surface tension, and wondered if this was what the rest of Dante’s life was going to be like, stuck in a hospital bed getting fed intravenously until his organs finally gave out on him, or he died of an infection from bed sores, waiting until they did.
    Anika’s glossy, pink bag vibrated. She reached in and grabbed her phone. Owen’s name appeared on the screen, and she touched it to answer the call.
    “Hey, Owen. What’s up?”
    The frog in her throat had returned, and Owen could hear that she had been crying again.
    “Cleophas is going to pick us up. We’ll meet you by the hospital lobby in about twenty minutes.”
    “Okay then.”
    Anika stood up, and for the first time she decided to take a walk around the hospital floor where Dante was located. She walked past the main hallway that led to the cafeteria and continued walking a little further until she noticed a small coffee cart manned by an older lady, whom she proceeded to pay for a steaming cup.
    The moment the first drop of coffee touched her lips, she began to feel normal again, but that feeling only lasted a few seconds. She sighed and headed back to Dante’s room for one last visit before she left the hospital.
    Just before she arrived at the room, she noticed the adjacent door was ajar and could hear the doctor speaking to someone. She glanced in and heard the doctor mention something about a coma.
    In the room, Anika saw a man and woman in their late fifties or early sixties along with the doctor and a patient, who was lying on one of the beds.
    Anika heard the woman say to the doctor, “I saw him moving. His eyes looked like they were about to blink. Has there been any change?”
    “I wish I could say this was a positive thing, but the truth of the matter is that there has never been a case where a patient has been unconscious this long and returned to near perfect health, at least none that I am aware of. It just doesn’t happen.
    “The brain is a delicate organ, and if it’s traumatized it’s difficult for it to recover. If the unconscious state lasts more than a few weeks, it’s almost always permanent. The movement you saw is more likely the body’s last gasp before it regresses. I think you should be prepared for the worst. If the nurse or I notice any change in vitals or other activity, we will let you know right