Everville: The City of Worms Read Online Free Page A

away.”
    Seeing that the woman was about to cry, the graying gentlemen standing next to her put an arm around her shoulder.
    Anika saw the doctor spot her by the door, so she continued walking to Dante’s room, not wanting to appear as if she were eavesdropping.
    After shutting the door and settling back in, she stood over Dante and said, “We’re going to get you out of this, Dante. I’m not going to let your mind rot away in here. We’re going to figure this out.”
    Anika left the room again and entered the nearest elevator. She always hated the way hospital elevators smelled, so antiseptically sterile, and the ring that they made on each floor almost had an echo, as if acknowledging the presence of the empty hallways that went on forever.
    Cleophas and Owen arrived in an old beat-up car. Owen got out and opened the back door for Anika as she approached.
    “It’s good to see you again, Anika. I know this has been a tough time for you,” Cleophas said as Anika crouched her way onto the seat.
    “It’s good to see you too, Cleophas, and thanks.”
    Despite the long trip, the rest of the drive was a blur. She noticed a few bumps here and there, as well as a few objects that resembled trees or bushes, but everything else just melted together, like a dream one wakes up from and quickly forgets.
    When they arrived, Cleophas escorted them into the main guest room of his home and then he went to get the journal he had been reviewing the day before.
    “Owen, I heard the doctor speaking to this couple about their friend in the hospital. He said that people who stay unconscious for a long time don’t come out of it. He said it never happens.”
    Anika’s face turned beet red and her eyes released a torrent of tears that poured out all over the end-table near where she was standing.
    “What are we going to do, Owen? I swear—I swear if we—”
    Before she had a chance to finish, her hand accidentally knocked the vase on the table off onto the floor, shattering it into pieces. Then she purposely kicked over the table and started pounding the wooden pieces with her fists until the top of the table was no longer able to withstand the abuse and collapsed inward.
    “Anika …” Owen said as he placed both of his hands on her shoulders.
    “We will get through this, and we will find a way to wake Dante.”
    Cleophas had been watching the scene from the hall but had waited a few moments until Anika had calmed down before he came in. She looked up and noticed Cleophas standing there.
    “Anika,” he said, “I understand what you are going through. I had to deal with similar feelings of sadness and rage when the same thing happened to Dala. With her passing, and the experience and wisdom that I’ve been fortunate enough to gain over the years, I’ve learned some very important lessons. Everything in the universe has a purpose, even violence, and there is constant renewal in destruction. Preserving and restoring goodness, truth, and liberty are worth fighting for, but uncontrolled hatred and unrestrained aggression serve only to further the agenda of the authors of deceit and confusion.”
    Anika sat there a few moments thinking about what Cleophas had just said as Owen rushed off to get something to wipe the blood that he had noticed dripping from her hands onto the carpet.
    “You’re right, Cleophas. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to smash your table.”
    “It’s already forgotten. Let’s use that energy to focus on finding a solution, and I have an idea just how we might do that.”
    Owen returned with a wet cloth and began wiping Anika’s hands. Cleophas then revealed his journal, and started discussing with them the details of what he had written. Owen nodded in acknowledgement while listening to Cleophas lecture for half an hour. By then the word ‘Ubaloo’ had been seared into Owen’s brain.
    “Here, take this,” Cleophas said to Owen as he handed over the journal.
    Owen felt a rush of adrenaline as a sense