Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait, and no, I'm not dead and I haven't given up on this story. I got a job so I've just been really busy lately. Hope this chapter was worth the wait!
Living in the cave was okay, but we all liked it better on the beach. There was a lot less mosquitoes there for one. Also, it was easier to get to the signal fire, if necessary. Although, at this point I think most everyone had given up on being rescued. All things considered, I made the executive decision to move headquarters back to the beach. We opted for making a sturdier hut. Now everything was pretty much back to normal. Well, except for the fact that we had more food now. Some of the snares had stayed put in the storm so we ate jungle rodents and little ground birds from time to time. More importantly though, there hadn't been another tropical storm.
I would have preferred another storm to what happened next though.
Fang was the first unfortunate soul. It started with a light cough. He had it for a few days, I thought it was just a little cold. However, he began coughing really hard that night as he dropped some firewood into the pile. I thought he might cough up a lung.
"Fang," I said tersely, "you should sit down". For once he obeyed.
He was fine for a minute before more coughs racked his body. It jerked with every cough.
"Are you okay?"
He nodded. "I think I'll just lay down." He headed toward the "medical" hut. We built 2 huts, a small one for sick and injured and a big one for everyone.
"We'll bring you some dinner," Maya called worriedly after him.
The next day it was worse. He had a fever.
"How is he?" I asked as soon as Dylan came out of the medical hut.
"I told him to rest for today. We should tell everyone to stay away from the medical hut though," Dylan replied with a frown.
I noticed other people coughing that day too. Nudge and Ella and a little boy named Trevor. We had them stay in the medical tent so no one else got the cold. A day passed, then another, and another. They weren't getting any better. I was done standing by. On the fourth day I went in the medical hut to help Dylan.
"Max!" he exclaimed, "I told you not to come in here. I don't want you getting sick too."
"You haven't gotten sick yet," I argued. "I'm probably immune like you."
He sighed, resigning, then shifted to make more room for me. They looked awful. They all just laid there, unmoving. It didn't look like just a cold.
"Nudge," I said softly, kneeling next to her.
"Max," she croaked.
I held her hand and dunked the scrap of fabric Dylan was using as a makeshift rag into the water he had brought. I replaced it on her head.
"How you holding up sweetie?"
She smiled weakly, "not so good."
I visited with her for a while before visiting with Ella and then Trevor. He looked terrible. He was pale as a sheet and shaking. I tried to make him as comfortable as possible before moving on to Fang. He didn't look much better to be honest. His eyes were closed, his breathing uneven. Sweat glistened against his skin. His hair clung to his forehead, I pushed it away, pressing the back of my hand against his clammy skin. His dry lips parted slightly and his eyes fluttered open.
"How do you feel?" I whispered.
"I've been better," he admitted, voice hoarse.
"You've looked better," I agreed.
He attempted a chuckle, but it got caught in his dry throat.
"I'm sure you'll be better soon," I offered, unsure what else to say.
"I hope so."
"Isn't there anything we can do?" I asked Dylan later that night.
"Max . . ." he said warily, looking into the fire, "I've done everything I know how to do. I was only ever an intern at the hospital. And I don't have any equipment or medicine and I don't even know what they have or if we're all going to get it or anything else!" He looked around realizing he had risen his voice. Then he pressed his palms against his eyes with a sigh, "I'm sorry Max. I just know that it causes a fever and vomiting, and I'm pretty sure whatever it is, they got it from the mosquitoes by the cave."
I rubbed his back gently, seeing how stressed and tired he was. "I know you're doing everything you can. And if . . . if they don't make it . . . it's not your fault."
He nodded, but his shoulders were still tense and his head hung. I tried to come to terms with it myself, yet I really couldn't picture a life on the island without any of the kids in the medical hut. I couldn't think of a life without them. I wouldn't. They would get better.
Wouldn't they?
The next morning I went to check in on them to find they already had a visitor.
"Hi," my sister greeted me from her spot next to Trevor.
"Hey-" I stopped mid-sentence. Nudge and Ella were both sitting up, sharing some berries. I kneeled next to Nudge, putting the back of my hand against her forehead. "Your fever broke," I said mystified. She had been burning up yesterday.
"I know!" She piped up cheerfully, sounding more Nudge-like. "I feel loads better."
Ella's fever was gone too. Happily, I hugged them both. After a little bit I checked on Trevor. He was asleep again, but still shaking with a cold sweat. Hopefully his fever would break soon too. Pulling the make-shift blanket a little higher, I moved on to Fang. Maya was sitting there with him, holding his hand, talking to him quietly. He looked the same as yesterday. That is to say, terrible.
"Max," he croaked hoarsely.
"Hey," I said taking a seat on the other side of him, "do you need anything?"
"Yeah, a shower."
"I hate to break it to you, but if I find a shower on this island you'll have to fight me for it."
His chest rose and fell with what was supposed to be laughter, "never mind then."
"Scared?"
"No," he replied, "I just don't like starting fights I don't think I'll win."
I smiled down at him as his eyes flickered closed and he blinked heavily. I didn't know what else to say so I took his other hand. His skin was hot and cold at the same time. I couldn't imagine having a fever in this sunny, tropical weather. Hopefully I wouldn't find out.
Fang closed his eyes then, gripping both our hands. He smiled lopsided, as on he can do, "I'm practically dying, but I've never felt this good."
Maya gave a small laugh, and I shook my head, both of us squeezing back. Within a minute he was asleep again.
Maya disentangled her hand gently, saying, "sleep well," before leaving me with him.
I don't know, I just didn't want to leave yet. So I stayed, holding his hand, our fingers entwined. After listening to his breathing for a while, I shifted to get up. His eyes opened briefly, before closing again.
"Max," he mumbled, hand clutching mine still.
"Yes?" I leaned in to hear him.
"Will you come back later?" he muttered almost incoherently.
"Yeah," I whispered kissing his hand before returning it to him, "of course."
That evening Maya and Iggy helped Nudge and Ella get out of the medical hut upon their request. "It's so drab in there," Nudge had complained and I couldn't blame her. I wouldn't wanna be stuck in there either. Nonetheless, I ducked in to visit with Fang again, holding a bouquet of beach weeds. I was directed by Angel to give them to him as a get well present. They were the same little white flowers she had been picking before the big storm. It was so . . . well, it was just freaking adorable, alright?
When we woke up in the cave after the storm we decided to go check out what was left of our hut. Everyone had headed that way, but Angel lingered by the cave entrance until Fang emerged. I watched it all, a few feet ahead as I was counting heads. She pulled on the tail of his shirt as he passed; an uncharacteristically child-like gesture for Angel. Fang stopped in his tracks, eyebrows raised momentarily in surprise.
"Um," she murmured shyly at her shoes.
He squatted so that they'd be eye level. "What's up?" he asked gently, flashing a small smile to put her at ease.
She smiled back before retrieving a small white flower from her pocket. She held it out to him in an offering.
"What's this for?" he wondered.
"For making sure I didn't blow away during the storm."
"You're welcome," he replied, looking taken aback, "maybe next time you'll catch me."
Angel giggled sweetly, as only little girls can, and hugged him around the neck. He froze, like a deer in headlights, before hugging her back. His eyes found mine over her shoulder unfortunately (unfortunately because I was probably smiling like a doofus). There really is some just so undeniably great about seeing guys and kids interact. Angel left him looking mystified as she ran off to catch up with Nudge and the others. He stood twirling the flower between his thumb and pointer finger before looking up at me. A pleased smile spread across his face.
The image struck me as I approached.
The corner of his mouth tilted a bit. "From Angel?"
"Yep. She says get well soon."
"Tell her I'll try."
I nodded.
Oh boy.
I looked away, trying not to stare. He was shirtless, laying there clad only in his dark jeans. His feet were bare too. "Hot?" I inquired.
"Like I'm on fire," he responded raspily.
"I'm sorry. Do you want some water?"
He shook his head, hair clinging to his damp scalp. "Just sit with me," he requested.
I obliged, taking his hand like before. We did not speak, just sat there, me listening to him breathing and him staring at nothing in particular, with clouded eyes. Every so often he would squeeze my hand and I would squeeze back. Not for the first time I wondered what was going on inside his head. I wanted to ask, but there was little chance that he'd tell me. So instead when his eyes started to flutter I shifted his head into my lap. I ran my fingers through his raven hair. He opened his eyes then, midnight irises staring up at me with a child-like openness. I was practically cradling his head now, free fingers moving slowly against his cheek.
"What are you thinking about?" I asked finally.
His other hand rose weakly to rest on the back of my neck. "Kissing you," he whispered, eyes flicking to my lips and then my eyes again.
His fingers gently pressed down. I let him guide my lips to his. It was a simple, soft kiss, but not without feeling. I pulled away, keeping my face close to his, remembering when he kissed me on the check, the time he gave me a piggyback ride, when he held me after the storm, and all those times he carried me. His hand slipped down to cup my cheek and he began to raspily whisper the words I could never forget.
"I thought we'd get off the island and go back to our regular lives. But now that I might never make it off . . . I'm just glad that I met you, got to know you. You're the most determined person I've ever met. You fight for what you believe in, what you want. You're smart, and more than that, you're clever. And witty. Most of the time you're serious, but sometimes you're the funniest person I know. You're stubborn and a sore loser. You get fired up easily. And when I see how much you care about your sister and friends and the other kids, I wonder if I ever cared about anyone as much as you do. You're a natural born leader if I ever saw one. And you're brave even when you're afraid. That night, of the storm, when I saw you, outside the cave waiting for everyone to go in, waiting in the pouring rain . . ." he shook his head, swallowing, "I realized how much I like you. Honestly, I like you more than anyone I've ever met."
I swallowed the growing lump in my throat. It was the nicest thing anyone ever said to me, but it sounded a lot like a goodbye. I couldn't speak or I'd start crying like a baby. So instead I kissed him again. And then once more for good measure. Then I shifted so that I was laying by him, curled against his feverous body, where I'd stay until he got better or worse.