"Are you kidding me?!" Lance cried. "We have technology that travels through outer-freakin'-space but we can't get a signal through a few trees?"
"Look," Pidge growled. "When we were coming down I got a good look at the terrain. The forest ends a couple miles north of here. If we can get there, we'll have a better chance of calling for help."
"We had contact with the castle right when the wave hit too," Hunk pointed out. "Shiro and Keith were right behind us. Hopefully they'll have an idea where to look." Lance groaned and swiped his hand irritably over his face.
"Okay then. Guess we better get moving."
"What do you mean we've 'lost contact'?" Keith demanded. "They were right there!" Coran's voice crackled through the intercom.
"That solar flare caused a pulse of electromagnetism which destabilized the wormhole. If you and Shiro had entered it a few ticks later, we would have lost you too."
Keith's entire body was as taut as his voice. Shiro could practically see the younger man squeezing the Red Lion's controls. Time to step in.
"So how do we find them?"
"Return to the Castle and we'll regroup," Allura broke in. "With any luck, Lance, Pidge, and Hunk will have landed safely together."
The hike wasn't that bad, really. Take away the heat and humidity and it would have been almost pleasant. The three paladins followed a little turquoise river on their way to the edge of the forest, so at least they didn't have to worry about their water supply. The scenery reminded Pidge of an equatorial forest on Earth if not for a few patches of neon shaded deciduous trees.
They stopped for a short break and while Lance worked on purifying some water, Pidge gave in to her curiosity and moved to examine the fauna, sample kit in hand. Hunk followed, warily eyeing their surroundings.
"Do you get the feeling we're being watched?" Pidge rolled her eyes.
"We probably are," she said. "We're in the middle of the jungle. Even back home, there are new Amazonian species being discovered every day."
"Well yeah but that's not what I meant. Something doesn't feel right." Pidge merely shrugged and reached out to the shrub in front of her, only to freeze when it hissed at her. Hunk's eyes widened. "What was that?!"
Pidge didn't reply, staring at the bush and straight into the eyes of a large reptilian creature, which continued to hiss threateningly. Hunk blanched.
"Pidge…" he said quietly. "Back up very slowly." The girl obeyed, carefully retracting her arm, but it was too late. The creature lunged, missing Pidge's arm by inches as Hunk's huge hand tossed her backwards by her collar. She landed on her rear several feet away and activated her bayard, just in time to see the lizard thing sink its needle like teeth into Hunk's side.
Hunk yelped in pain and scrambled to detach the thing with his bare hands, knowing that his bayard would be useless. Seeing red, Pidge sprung, slicing the beast across its neck. The good news was that it released Hunk; the bad news was that it now rounded on her, shrieking with fury, mouth foaming. The Green Paladin spaced her feet and reared back her arm, ready to strike. The creature snarled, leapt, and collapsed to the forest floor in a smoking heap.
Lance lowered his rifle, still smoking, and raced over to Hunk with Pidge on his heels. The Yellow Paladin slumped on the ground, clutching his side and gasping.
"Hunk! Hunk, are you okay?" The older boy struggled to respond, his lungs refusing to cooperate. Lance held him up and tried to calm him as Pidge dug the first aid kit out of her pack. "I've got you, buddy. Just breathe!"
"I'm okay," Hunk panted, closing his eyes. "I'm good."
"I swear I can't leave you guys alone for two minutes!"
Pidge carefully pulled away the torn flaps of Hunk's body suit and poured clean water over the injury, trying to get a better look at it. There was surprisingly little blood, which did not reappear after being washed away. All Pidge could see were a handful of cuts where the teeth had penetrated the suit. It almost looked as though a large housecat had taken a swipe at him. Lance sighed in relief when he saw the wound.
"It doesn't look that bad Hunk. Your suit got the worst of it." Hunk craned his neck to look for himself and nodded.
"Phew. Yeah, you're right. Are you okay, Pidge? I threw you pretty hard." Pidge nodded tightly as she dug into the medical kit.
"You saved me from getting an arm taken off. I am not complaining." A thought occurred and Pidge's head snapped up.
"What's the matter?" Hunk asked.
"Do you feel sick at all? Any numbness or weird tingling sensations?" Lance realized what she was implying and his eyes went wide.
"You don't think that thing was poisonous, do you?"
"Venomous," Pidge corrected. "And that's why I'm asking."
"I feel fine," Hunk answered slowly. "It just stings a little." The others exhaled in relief.
"Good," Pidge said. "Let us know if that changes. In the meantime, I'm gonna disinfect the crap out of this and bandage it."
"That magnetic storm damaged our communications relay and knocked the teledav offline." Coran frowned worriedly as he tapped the screen in front of him. "It's all fixable I'd say but it's going to take at least a few vargas to get everything up and running." Keith folded his arms tightly across his chest.
"In the meantime, we can't wormhole, and even if we could, we wouldn't be able to contact the others. Right?" Allura winced.
"This is my fault. I called for that training exercise without scanning for nearby solar activity."
"Nobody can plan for everything, Princess. This isn't anyone's fault." Shiro placed a calming hand on Keith's shoulder. "We'll help Coran fix the ship and we'll find the others." Keith still looked pained, his eyes fixed on the floor.
"What if they're hurt and they need us?"
No one had an answer.
They had only hiked for another hour or so before the heat of the day forced the three youngest paladins to take another break. Lance passed out ration bars, grabbing one for himself and handing another to Pidge. When he extended one of the near-tasteless nutrition bars Hunk, the taller boy grimaced and shook his head.
"Ugh, no thanks, I'll pass." Pidge raised an eyebrow.
"Hunk, it's been ages. You need to eat something."
"I'm not hungry." Lance and Pidge exchanged looks.
"Are you feeling okay?" Pidge asked. "You look kinda pale." Hunk opened his mouth, closed it, hurled himself towards the nearest bush, and vomited.
"Oookay, that's a 'no'," Lance remarked, eyebrows raised.
"Sorry," Hunk groaned. "I think the heat's getting to me." Lance crouched next to him and pressed his palm against the back of Hunk's neck.
"It's the heat all right. You feel really warm."
"A fever?" Pidge's brain quickly ran through the symptoms of infection and/or heat stroke and struggled to keep her voice steady. "We'd better check that bandage." Hunk sat back up, hugging his stomach.
"I don't think there's anything to check. It was just a few scratches." Lance patted his back.
"Just humor us, dude." Lance took the temperature gauge from their med kit and swiped it over Hunk's forehead as Pidge carefully unpeeled the medical tape. The Blue Paladin frowned at the reading. "100.5 degrees. It's definitely not the weather."
Pidge lifted the gauze from Hunk's wound and gasped. Though only an hour old and thoroughly cleaned, Hunk's "scratches" were covered in yellow, seeping scabs. Even more disturbing, she could see faint red lines stretching out from the wound.
"Holy crow, it's infected!" Lance exclaimed.
"What? No way! It just happened and Pidge already cleaned it out." Hunk looked frightened despite his confident words. "Maybe we just need to clean it again?"
"I will," Pidge said shakily. "And I'll give you another antibiotic shot." Lance rubbed anxiously at the back of his neck.
"If it is infected, maybe Hunk shouldn't walk any farther. The poison or bacteria or whatever is just gonna keep spreading if he does, right?"
"Dude, no way am I staying here by myself."
"Of course not, Hunk, but if Lance is right, it might be better for me to go on alone. We're only an hour or so from the edge of the forest. I can run ahead and get a signal out."
"And get eaten by another one of those lizard things? Yeah, no." Hunk shook his head, his jaw set stubbornly. "We're staying together and getting out of here." Pidge groaned in exasperation and ran her fingers through her hair.
"Hunk, are you sure you can keep going?"
"I'll be fine, guys. I mean yeah, I don't feel so good, but what else is new?" His self deprecating smile withered at the looks on his friends' faces. "Come on. The sooner we get moving, the sooner we can all take a long shower."
"Quiznak!" Coran barked from under the console.
"What is it?" Allura asked anxiously. Coran poked his head out.
"Some of these components are completely fried. I'll have to rebuild them from scratch."
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Coran sighed and sadly shook his head.
"Thank you, but no. I'm sorry, Princess. This may take longer than I'd predicted." Allura touched his shoulder reassuringly.
"I know the castle is in capable hands, Coran. We will find our paladins. We must."
If Hunk were asked to describe how he felt, he would say it was like coming down with the flu. He had the chills, body aches, and nausea, which sucked. He was sweaty and tired for sure, but then Lance and Pidge had to be as well. As for the wound that was causing all his misery, it surprisingly didn't hurt that much. Sure it itched, but who wouldn't feel itchy and disgusting tramping through an alien jungle?
They took it slowly for the last stretch of forest, though whether it was for his sake or because of the rough terrain, Hunk couldn't say. Lance and Pidge kept glancing his way, sometimes asking how he was, but mostly just staring. While he loved his friends and appreciated their concern, the constant attention was just making Hunk more anxious. He had never seen more beautiful sight than the meadow that began just beyond the tree line.
"We made it, Hunk. We're stopping. I'm gonna set up the array so we can get out of here." Hunk nodded, swaying dizzily on his feet.
"I'll help you."
"No," Pidge said gently. "You need to rest." Lance squeezed Hunk's shoulder.
"She's right, buddy. You earned a break."
"But-"
"Come on."
While Pidge was setting up her equipment, Lance helped Hunk remove his outer armor and bandana and laid out a sleeping bag on the grass. Once Hunk was lying down, Lance took his temperature again and gave him some fever reducers with water.
"Try to sleep, okay? We'll be out of here before you know it."
"'M 'kay," Hunk agreed groggily, letting his eyes slip closed.
"How's he doing?" Pidge asked softly. Lance shook his head, soaking a rag with water and folding it over Hunk's forehead.
"He's worn out and his fever's getting worse. It's over 102." Pidge bit her lip.
"We'll be broadcasting in a few minutes." A pause. "Lance, what do we do if no one answers?"
"They will," Lance replied firmly. "They're out looking for us right now."
"I'm sure they are but," Pidge rubbed at her eyes. "Hunk's already so sick. What if it takes a few days and the medicine doesn't kick in?"
"We can't think like that, Pidge. Let's just focus on what can be done. You're gonna get that signal out and our buddies are gonna find it." He wrapped an arm around the younger teen and she allowed him to hug her. "They'll find us."
"Well, that should do it," Coran sighed, giving the console a pat. "The teledav is back online and we should have full communications."
"That's great, Coran!" Shiro grinned. "How soon can we start looking?"
"I've calculated a few possibilities for where our missing paladins may have ended up." The Altean counted on his fingers. "Based on the strength of the magnetic waves divided by the—well it doesn't matter. We'll open a wormhole and be on our way!"
Hunk's chest heaved shallowly with each breath, exhaling hot, damp puffs of air that brushed Lance's cheek as he hovered over him. He was shaking with chills, his teeth clacking together hard enough to be audible.
"'M so cold…"
"I know, bud," Lance soothed, brushing sweat soaked bangs back from Hunk's broiling forehead. Pidge urgently bathed Hunk's face with another cold compress, half expecting to see steam rising from his skin wherever the cool water touched it.
"This isn't working," Pidge said, referring to the cloth in her hand. "It feels like I'm trying to put out a forest fire with a squirt gun."
"I know, Pidge." Lance agreed wearily. "We can give him another dose of "aspirin" but it's all pretty pointless until we can knock out the infection."
"Where are they?!" Pidge cried. No sooner had the words left her mouth that a pinging noise sounded from her computer. Pidge and Lance looked at each other for a beat before the former dove and snatched up the receiver.
"Hello? Hello?!" A blessedly familiar voice replied.
"Pidge, is that you? Are you alright? Are Lance and Hunk with you?"
"Shiro! Yes, we're all here. Look, we need an evac immediately. Hunk was bitten by some kind of animal and the wound is infected. He's really sick."
"Copy that, Pidge. We'll be down in 5 minutes. Just hang on." Pidge clutched the comm in her fist and heaved a ragged sigh. She and Lance hugged each other tightly.
Shiro's heart dropped the moment he saw Hunk lying motionless on his sleeping bag. He had seen his fair share of infected wounds over the years but he couldn't imagine how Hunk could be so ill so soon after being injured.
"You said it's only been a few hours?" Pidge nodded.
"We've been keeping it clean and giving him antibiotic shots but nothing's helping."
Shiro felt Hunk's forehead and paled.
"Let's get him back to the castle. Coran will know what to do."
All Coran knew was that he had an alien youth with a raging fever and not much time left. Lance had thankfully had the foresight to snap a picture of the creature that had bitten Hunk, but the prognosis was still not good.
"The raxelian is not venomous but its bite is still highly toxic. The beast's mouth is filled with potent bacteria. It leaves a superficial wound and then stalks its prey until the poor creature dies of blood poisoning."
"Like a komodo dragon," Keith muttered, staring anxiously at Hunk's flushed face.
"Is there a cure?" Shiro asked.
"A cocktail of powerful antibiotics should knock the infection right out. Try to keep Hunk comfortable. This won't take long."
Hunk was anything but comfortable. Trapped in his own nightmares, he found himself surrounded by horrifying images, everything from Galra to poisonous reptiles. The worst part was the hands. No matter how hard he fought, clawed hands kept holding him down, hindering his every movement. He was panicking.
"You've got to keep him still Shiro, or I can't administer the antibiotics."
"He's delirious, Coran. He doesn't understand what's happening."
Hunk thrashed and would have fallen off of the gurney if Shiro hadn't been holding on to him. The Black Paladin positioned himself on the bed behind Hunk and bear hugged the sick teen, trying to keep him from hurting himself.
Keith stood to the side with one arm wrapped around Pidge and the other around Lance. Pidge was clinging to him for dear life, her face buried in his side and dampening his t-shirt. Lance on the other hand, was still as a statue, taking in the scene with a complexion the color of chalk.
"Hunk." Allura's voice cut through the chaos like a blade. "Hunk, look at me." Hunk groaned, still doing his best to wiggle out of Shiro's arms. His strength was failing. Allura reached out and gently took Hunk's face into her hands, her palms cool against his blazing cheeks. "Hush now. We're here to help you." Hunk stopped struggling, his fever glazed eyes finally focusing on Allura.
"Okay," he slurred. "Sorry."
Coran swooped in and emptied the syringe into Hunk's shoulder. He pulled back and let out a breath of relief.
"Well done, Princess."
Shiro hugged Hunk's upper body, his chin resting on the top of the boy's head.
"Good job, kiddo. You're gonna feel better soon." Coran squared his shoulders.
"Right. Now we can focus on breaking that fever."
"Can we put Hunk in a cryopod?" Keith asked. "Force his temperature down?"
"That could kill him," Lance shook his head fiercely. "Put Hunk in a deep freeze with a fever that high and he could go into shock."
"Lance is right, I'm afraid. We have to cool him down gradually."
It was a long process. Hunk was stripped to the waist and covered with wet towels, while an intravenous line flooded his system with helpful fluids. Coran prepared future doses of the medication, explaining that Hunk would continue to need it in the days to come. Eventually, with everyone's help, their Yellow Paladin's temperature began to fall.
Time meant nothing to Hunk, who drifted dreamlessly now that his nightmares had receded. For all he knew, years had passed before a voice roused him from nothingness.
"Hunk, can you hear me? I need you to drink this."
A straw touched his lips and Hunk obediently drank, the liquid cool and slightly sweet in his sandpaper dry mouth.
"Pidge?" he croaked. The voice gently shushed him and Hunk could feel small fingers combing through his damp hair.
"Your fever finally broke, Hunk. You're gonna be okay." A dozen questions circled in Hunk's hazy brain, but none of them coalesced into anything resembling words.
"Nope," Pidge said. "We'll talk later. For now, just get some sleep, okay?"
Hunk slept.
When Hunk surfaced again, he was feeling better. Granted that wasn't saying much, but his head felt clearer and he could open his eyes without the room spinning, so that was something.
"Welcome back," Lance said.
"Hey," Hunk replied, yawning. Lance was perched on one side of the bed, Pidge on the other. They were both smiling but they looked like they hadn't slept in a week. "You guys okay?" Lance huffed a laugh.
"Man, leave it to you to worry about us when you were the one at death's door."
"'Death's'", Hunk repeated. "Was it that bad?" Their shared expression answered the question for them. "Oh."
"I'm so sorry, Hunk," Pidge blurted. "You almost died because of me!" Hunk blinked and Lance sighed.
"Coran said if that lizard thing had bitten Pidge or even me that we wouldn't have lasted very long. You saved her life, man."
"Aww, Pidge," Hunk said, patting her hand. "I'm just glad I was there. I'd do it again in a heartbeat."
"Please don't say that." Pidge swiped at her eyes. "We almost lost you and it would have been all my fault."
"I'm fine," Hunk insisted. "You and Lance took care of me and we all made it back okay. We're a team. We look out for each other." Pidge's eyes welled. Hunk pulled both her and Lance into a hug. "I'm sorry I scared you guys, but I'm not sorry for what I did."
"Still," Lance sniffled. "Next time we take a field trip, let's hit the beach or something, okay?" Hunk and Pidge chuckled.
"Deal."