Chapter Six-Shorty's Sickness, Icy's Apology

"Glare," Shorty whispered that night. He rolled over in his bed and let out a breath as he continued to sleep. "Glare!" Shorty made a face when she heard Armpit's snore and held her nose when his scent invaded her nostrils. "Glare, WAKE UP!" She hissed in a loud voice as she shoved him.

"What is it?" He whispered sleepily as he rubbed his eyes and turned to face her. "Why aren't you sleeping?"

"I need to show you something I found yesterday."

"Can't it wait till morning."

"No. It's important!"

"When isn't something important to you?"

"Never."

"All right, all right. I'm up," Glare said with a yawn as he followed his sister out of the tent. Glancing at his watch, he read the light up face and saw that it was twelve thirty. Yawning again, he followed her into her tent and saw Icy leaning against the wall, wincing slightly as her pen skidded across paper. "You all right?" He asked his twin softly. She paused her writing before she continued.

"She'll be fine. I promise," Shorty said as she reached into her crate and pulled out a box. She lifted the lid and pulled out a small gold dirty object. "I found this yesterday while I was digging. I know I've seen something likes this before, but I can't place my finger on it. In the heart it has the letters K and B."

Glare looked up at Shorty in surprise. He opened his mouth and began to ask, "But how did you-?"

"I'm a fast learner," Shorty interrupted. "I asked Icy about it but, she doesn't talk to me. I think she's seen something like this though. When I asked, her eyes lit up in a way."

"What do you think it was doing in the ground?"

"We have to figure out what it is first. Only then can we find out its purpose of being buried."

"All right…can I go back to bed now?"

"Go ahead. I'll stay up with Icy and get you if anything's wrong."

"'Night Shorty."

"'Night Glare."

The rest of the night seemed to go by too fast for Shorty. She barely got any sleep because she heard Icy whimpering and tossing and turning as she dreamt. Yawning, Shorty turned her feet until they were dangling off of the bed. She stood up as a wave of dizziness washed over her. She held her head and fell back waiting for the dizziness to pass. Once it did she shook her head and pulled on her boots.

"Well if it isn't Little Miss Sunshine," Glare said as he grinned and ruffled his little sister's hair.

"I figured you wouldn't get much sleep," Shorty said with a yawn as she leaned against him as they began their walk to the Mess Hall.

"I slept pretty well, actually," he said in amazement as he placed his hand on his sister's shoulder.

"Hey Glare, hey Shorty. How's Icy?" SpitFire asked as she and Smirk walked up to them.

"She isn't doing that well," Shorty responded as she looked up at them. "She won't talk to me or Glare and all she does is either draw in her sketch pad or write in her notebook. I don't think she's eating either. I mean, she never ate that much before, who could blame her. But now she doesn't leave the tent, I mean besides the injuries."

"I see. Do you know when she'll feel better?" Smirk questioned as he opened the door to the Mess Hall.

"Had to say," Shorty responded as they passed people of the other tents. "Her wounds will be fine in about two days. But she'll probably stay in bed from the emotional pain."

"What about her punishment?" SpitFire asked.

"I guess one of us will have to take over for her," Glare responded as he slid his tray across the metal holder in front of the food.

"I'll do it for her," SpitFire suggested.

"No, I don't want you to get too tired from that and digging," Glare said as he shook his head. "But thanks for the offer."

"Anytime dude," SpitFire responded as she punched him lightly on the shoulder.

"Spit, we gotta go. Our tent is getting mad," Smirk said as he tugged on her arm lightly.

"Whatever," she said as she shook her head. "See ya Shorty. I'll see you around, Glare."

Glare nodded towards her and picked up his tray. He looked down to see a knowing smile on Shorty's face. He stared at her for a couple more seconds before asking, "What?"

"You so like her," was all Shorty replied as she put her tray onto the table and hopped up onto the seat. "When're you going to ask her out?"

"Short, we're in a DESERT! Where can we go?" Glare asked as he motioned around himself.

"How's Icy?" X-Ray asked as D-Tent sat down at the table.

"Her condition hasn't improved. At least not that I can see," Shorty responded in a sad voice.

"We should do something for her," Caveman suggested. "My friends at school always gave me cards when I was sick."

"Where are we going to find paper out here?" Armpit questioned.

"I could get some from Mr. Sir's office," Magnet suggested.

"B-but what if he catches you?" Twitch asked as he drummed his fingers on the table.

"I've never gotten caught yet."

"Oh yeah, then how did you get sent here?" Squid asked with a smirk. Magnet glared while Squid just laughed. Shorty giggled as she lifted the spoon of cereal up to her mouth.

"Don't eat that, Shorty," Zigzag told her in a warning voice.

"Why not?" Shorty asked in confusion.

"Something's been tampered with that," he responded seriously, "Aliens. I think they did something to it."

"Ziggy, aliens aren't real," Shorty said slowly as if speaking to a kinder gardener.

"There is something wrong with that bowl of cereal. You shouldn't eat it," he said, ignoring her. 'I'm just looking out for you."

"I have an older brother and an older sister to do that for me," Shorty said kindly. "But thanks anyway." She brought the spoon up to her lips but dropped it as she started to cough.

"You all right?" Zero asked her quietly. Everyone at the table stopped talking.

"You got Zero to talk!" Squid said in amazement, running a hand through his brown hair.

"Yeah, what else can you do Zero?" Armpit asked as pairs of eyes looked at him intently. He just kept his eyes on Shorty before she responded quietly, "Yeah Zero, I'm fine."

He nodded and continued eating. Gradually, the others did the same. As Shorty ate her cereal she noticed Zigzag giving her a weird look. She dismissed it and finished her cereal and juice. She then got up from the table and held it as everything before he started to sway. She gripped the table tightly until she regained her balance and started to walk out the door.

"You all right, Shorty? You're looking a little pale," Squid said as he walked next to her.

"Why so concerned?" Shorty asked as she rubbed her eyes. "I don't still remind you of your sister, do I?" He just nodded as she sighed and said, "Write her all ready. That's what I would've done if I was older and I had a little sister I missed."

"It's complicated," he sighed.

"We went over this before. The only way she'd hate you is if you never wrote her at all."

Squid stopped walking to grab his shovel and he handed one to her. She took the shovel and staggered a little before following him.

"I'm going to tell you something I don't want repeated, all right?" Squid asked her.

"You know you can trust me," she said as she quickened her steps to walk next to him. The shovel felt heavier to her than usual. So heavy…

"Back at my place my mom abused my sister and I," he told her. "I took all of the beatings to make sure that she wouldn't get hurt. My sister looked up to me and I always made sure she was safe so she could live a better life. Eventually, I got tired of it all. My dad wasn't home, he left when I was only four, and my mom drank too much and took drugs. I guess I got tired of it all and tried to get away. So, I left hours at a time and they gradually turned to nights. The whole time I was robbing houses, graffiti-ing, and I was in a gang at the time so I kept getting into fights." As Squid talked Shorty staggered a little but regained her balance as she shook her head to make the headache she was getting to go away. The sun that was starting to rise felt hotter to her as sweat dripped off of her forehead. "One day, I got caught and was sent straight here because I didn't have anyone to defend me in court." He looked down at her and asked, "Are you sure you're ok?" He asked as he stopped at a place to start digging.

"Yeah. I'm fine," she responded. "Just trying to figure out SpitFire's, Icy's, and my shower problems." It wasn't a complete lie. She's been trying to figure that out ever since they got there, which wasn't really that long ago. "I guess we can just get some of you guys to make sure no one looks." She added as she stomped on the end of her shovel and began to dig. Squid nodded as he pulled his white do rag over his head and tied it over his hair. He then pulled on his brown cap and, after shooting one last glance at Shorty, began to dig.

Soon the sun came up and the heat rose, making some of the guys take off their shirts to stay cooler. Max wasn't fazed by it, she's seen her brother like that working in the yard plenty of times. She wasn't like a lot of the sisters who get nervous around their brothers when they were half naked. Besides, it wasn't like she was able to focus. Everything around her was spinning…

"Shorty, I've been calling you for the last ten minutes. It's lunch time," Zigzag said as he reached down and pulled her out with ease. "What've you been doing the whole time? It looks like you barely dug your hole."

"I guess I just spaced out," she replied softly as she ran a hand across her sweaty face and forced a smile.

"You aren't looking too hot," he said as he inspected her.

"I could say the same to you," she shot back with a small smile. Zigzag laughed at her joke as she took a bag lunch and went back to her hole. She stared out across the dry lake and everything seemed to shimmer. She blinked a couple of times to clear her visions but everything swirled and swayed. Sweat dripped down her face as her legs shook as she tried to stand. No sound came out of her mouth as she tried to call out to her brother. She let out a small, "…help…" before she fell onto her side.

Hearing a soft thud, Zero looked up and saw Shorty collapsed on the ground. He got out of his hole and rushed over to her. He dropped down by her side and checked for her pulse. He placed his palm on her forehead and pulled it away and shouted, "Glare! Glare, get over here!" Looking up, Glare's mouth fell open before he and the rest of D-Tent ran over to his sister.

"Shorty! Shorty, wake up. C'mon, wake up," Glare said as he shook her.

"That aint gonna work man," Twitch said as he held out his arm. "She's sick."

"How do you know?" Magnet asked.

"Pale face, sweating, shivering slightly, swaying, and dizziness. Those are the signs," Caveman responded as he walked to his hole, grabbed his canteen, and walked back. "Squid, could I have your do rag please?"

"Why?" Squid demanded.

"For a rag. We need to keep her fever down or she'll die," he responded as he held out his hand. Squid pulled off his hat and united his do rag before handing it to him. Caveman soaked it in his water before tying it around her forehead.

Shorty muttered, "Too hot…" as it connected with her skin.

"Someone needs to get Pendanski," Zero told them.

"No, it's faster if someone takes her back to her tent themselves," Caveman said as he shook his head.

"I'll go-" Glare started.

"No, let me," Squid interrupted. The boys of D-Tent looked at him in shock. They didn't think it was possible for Squid to have his sensitive moments.

"Do you have a soft spot for the Montgomery girls or something?" Magnet asked with a teasing smile.

"Man, shut up!" Squid snapped as he lifted the girl's body with ease. He turned on his heel and began to walk back towards the tents. No one noticed something shiny falling out of Shorty's pocket, except Caveman. He picked it up and, after inspecting it, he placed it in his pocket.

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Icy turned her head when she heard a ruffling at the tent flap and her eyes widened slightly when she saw Squid coming in carrying Shorty's limp body. He laid her down on the bed and pulled off her boots before pulling her scratchy sheet up to her neck.

"What happened?"

Icy's voice was so soft Squid didn't know she even said anything until he turned around and saw that she was looking at her sister intently.

"She's sick, we don't know what caused it though," he responded.

"It was probably Twist or Perv or one of those people," she said in the same soft voice as she closed the notebook she was writing in. She turned so her feet was hanging off the side of the bed before she slowly stood. She took a step and waited a couple of seconds before taking another step and starting to make her way to her sister. She stumbled and Squid reached out his arms and caught her.

"You all right?" He asked as he helped her stand. She looked up into his eyes and blinked as her face turned red before replying, "I'm fine. I need to check on Shorty." Squid let her go and she finally dropped down next to Shorty's side.

"Shorty…Shorty, listen to me," Icy said gently as she pushed her black hair away from her face. Shorty groaned but whispered, "I'm listening."

"The last time this happened, what did you have us give you?"

"uhhh…too hot...medicine…now…"

"I know, I know. But tell me the name of the medicine."

"What's this I hear about someone being sick?" Dr. Pendanski asked as he entered the tent.

"It's my sister. She has a huge fever and a headache," Icy responded from her position on the floor. "Help her." She had a hint of urgency in her voice and Squid saw a hint of fear behind her eyes.

"I will help her, don't worry," Dr. Pendanski said as he smiled. Icy made a face but didn't say anything. She got to her feet and started to shuffle her way out of the tent. "Where are you going?"

"I'd rather not breathe in whatever crack you're inhaling to make you all perky like that," she responded without turning around. "I'm not the perky type of person."

She made it down the steps of her tent and was starting to make her way to the Wreck Room when Squid ran after her.

"Hey Icy, wait up."

"Waddya want?" She growled as she continued her shuffle, trying to ignore the pain in her legs.

"Back in the tent, when you told Pendanski to help her you sounded scared."

"Check your ears, Fish Boy. I wasn't scared."

"Then why did I see fear behind your eyes?"

Icy stopped her shuffled and crossed her arms over her chest as she asked, "Why were you looking at my eye sin the first place? Were you sent here for stalking someone? Cuz that's what it seems like you're doing to me."

"At least answer my question, has she been this sick before?"

"…why do you care so much about what happens to Shorty anyway?"

"Because she remindes me of my sister, who could be dead right now because of me."

Icy gave him a hard look before responding, "I'm sorry to hear that. A couple of years ago Shorty fell ill and she almost died from a common cold. "She paused to take a shaky breath before continuing. "We didn't know and up to this day we don't know what's wrong with her or what caused her immune system to become this weak. Since she's so fragile we make sure that she's more healthy than we are."

"That explains why you don't eat," Squid said as he nodded in understanding. "I didn't think you'd ever become an anorexic." He added as a joke.

Icy punched him in the arm and smirked as he rubbed and muttered, "For a girl, you're pretty strong."

"Don't forget that unless you want your balls rolling on the ground."

"How do you do that?" Squid asked suddenly.

"Do what?" Icy questioned.

"Keep going on after the terrible things that happened in your life."

"…Because the terrible things that happen in my life keep coming and never stop."