"Why are we even doing this right now? It's like a hundred and fifty degrees," Eric moaned as he heaved another rock on the slowly growing pile in front of their shelter. Lex had come up with the idea to push some of the larger rocks under the base of their makeshift home so when there was another storm, water would wash away the sand but the rocks would still be there to hold everything up. Everyone had agreed that it sounded like a good idea but when the morning came they soon regretted their decision. The sun beat down on them without any hint of a breeze to bring relief.
"We have to get this done before the next storm, so quit complaining," Daley yanked a rock from the pile and shoved it under their shelter.
Eric opened his mouth to retort but was cut off by a shriek from Taylor, "Ow! Okay, that's it! I just broke a nail. Do you even know how much I pay for my manicures?"
"I'm sure you'll live," Daley said sarcastically.
"Well how about this? I quit!" Taylor spun on her heel and marched back to the firepit where she sat down and grabbed a bottle of water.
"I like the way she thinks," Eric said.
"We can't stop now. If another storm comes and washes this away," Daley pointed to the platform, "then we have nothing! We have no shelter, nothing to shield us from the sun, or the wind, or the rain."
Eric looked at Daley like she was insane, "You seriously need to relax."
This was most definitely the wrong thing to say. Daley's eyes narrowed to slits and her hands clenched into fists at her sides. She started to say something but Mel spoke first, knowing that if an argument broke out it would last for hours, maybe even a couple of days.
"Daley, we all need a break. We've been working all day and we haven't had much water."
Daley's hands relaxed and she started to nod her head. The best way to get to Daley was to use logic and Mel patted her on the shoulder, "Come on, let's get some water."
All the fight went out of Daley's shoulders as she turned and trudged her way to where Taylor sat. Nathan handed each person a bottle of water as they passed before taking one for himself. He had been in charge of carrying the water and filtering it and he'd come up with the idea to divide the bottles into seven groups. Each group had four bottles, his reasoning being that everyone could keep track of how much water they'd had. Daley had called him a genius, a name usually reserved for Lex, which made a wide smile break across his face. They all knew that Nathan and Daley liked each other but Daley was too consumed with survival to do anything about it.
Mel drank her bottle in a couple of gulps, looking around at the rest of the group. Her eyes stopped on the piles of water and she did a quick calculation in her head. Each pile had at least three bottles missing from it except for one. Jackson's pile had remained untouched and she quickly glanced around the beach to find him but didn't see him.
She thought back to when she last saw him, which was earlier that morning. After dividing up the chores for the day they'd sat down to eat breakfast. The heat was already pressing in on them by then and Eric had decided to take a quick swim before eating. He'd waved at them from the water and Mel had laughed, waving back. She'd shifted to her right to ask if Jackson was going to go in, too, but he was pushing his food around and scowling. Before Mel could ask him what was wrong, Eric came bounding over and resumed his place at her left.
"How was the water?" Mel asked.
Eric shrugged, "I mean, it's no hot tub but it wasn't bad." He shoveled more food into his mouth before digging around in his pockets, "I found this, though." He pulled out a shell the size of his palm. It was a pure white and perfectly intact, but you could see that it had traveled quite a bit from the parts of it that were worn smooth.
"It's so pretty!" Mel turned it over in her hands.
"Keep it," Eric said as he pulled on his tank top.
"Really? Don't you want it?"
Eric let out a snort, "I'm not exactly a pretty shell kinda guy. I was gonna give it to you anyway."
Mel grinned, "Thanks." She heard the crunch of sand and looked to see Jackson walking away, the camp knife threaded through his belt loop.
He'd barely eaten anything that morning and now Mel was seeing that he hadn't come back to drink, either. "Has anyone seen Jackson?" Everyone took a second to think about this before slowly shaking their heads.
"Last time I saw him was this morning," Nathan said.
"Me too," Daley swept her gaze across the beach.
Mel stood up, "We need to find him. Daley, you go with Lex down the beach. Eric, go with Taylor and check that way in the trees. Nathan let's go this way." She didn't wait for anyone to respond, she just started walking. The more she thought about it, the more panicked Mel became. Jackson was smart, he wouldn't not come back to camp for water so something must be wrong.
"Do you see him?" Nathan looked around.
Mel shook her head, "No. Let's split up. I'll go this way, but let's stay within view of each other just in case."
Nathan went to the left and Mel started walking. She tried to think of where he might've gone but he hadn't ever mentioned any particular spot. When he left this morning, he had the camp knife with him so he must have been going to cut down more trees. Mel remembered the way to the grove that Jackson had found a few days before and it wasn't too far away. She called out to Nathan and pointed in the direction she was going.
"Jackson!" Mel cupped her hands around her mouth. She could hear the others calling out his name in the distance and she listened for any response. "Jackson!"
Mel stopped walking when she heard movement. She looked around, scanning the grass and trees around her before she zeroed in on a pair of beat-up shoes. She gasped and ran over to find Jackson struggling to push himself onto his knees.
"Oh my God. Jackson? Jackson are you alright?" Mel knelt beside him but he didn't answer. He was shaking and before Mel could say anything he grabbed his stomach and vomited. When he finished he crawled forward a couple and then collapsed onto his back.
"Jackson? Jackson, can you hear me?" Mel placed her hand against his forehead. His skin was cold and clammy and he'd lost all color in his face.
"Mel...dizzy…" Jackson said quietly.
Mel looked up and spotted Nathan a distance away and she called for him, "Nathan! Over here!" She bent down to Jackson again, "Don't worry, we're going to get you back to camp."
Nathan's shoes pounded against the ground as he ran over to them and his eyes grew wide when he saw Jackson, "What happened to him?"
"I don't know. Help me get him to the beach," Mel pulled one of Jackson's arms around her shoulders and Nathan grabbed the other. Together they managed to pull Jackson to his feet and walk with him. They took on most of his weight and although it took much longer than normal, they got to the beach.
"Just a few more feet, Jackson," Mel urged when Jackson started to stumble. She lifted her head and called for the others, "Daley! Lex! Eric! Taylor! We found him!" One by one, they swarmed over to Mel and Nathan.
"What's wrong with him?" Taylor looked nervous.
"We don't know. Nathan, let's get him to the tent. Lex, can you get that first-aid book you found?" Lex nodded and ran off. "Taylor, grab some water bottles," Mel said as she and Nathan removed Jackson's arms from their shoulders and laid him down on his sleeping bag.
Lex popped into the tent and looked at Mel, "Tell me his symptoms."
"He's weak, vomiting, really sweaty, and dizzy. I think he has heat exhaustion."
Lex flipped through the pages of the book. He stopped on a single page and quickly read through it, "I think you're right."
Taylor appeared in front of the tent opening and passed an armful of water bottles through to Mel. "Daley, can you grab two buckets? I need one of them filled with clean water. Eric, can you get some clean clothes?" They both left to do as Mel asked and returned a few minutes later, Daley handing over the buckets and Eric giving her a small stack of old t-shirts. Mel recognized them as some of the boys' old clothes that had gotten ripped during their first couple of days on the island. They'd decided to keep them inc case something happened to the rest of their things and they could wear them as a last resort.
"What are you going to do?" Nathan watched as Mel used the scissors from the first-aid kit to cut up one of the shirts. She dunked the scrap of cloth into the bucket of water and then wrung it out.
"We have to keep him cool," Mel placed the wet shirt across Jackson's forehead.
"What's the other bucket for?" Eric asked.
"In case he gets sick again," Mel answered without looking up.
"Ew," Taylor whispered.
"How do you know what to do?" Eric asked as he looked between her and Jackson.
"My parents are doctors, remember?"
"So, what should we do?" Nathan looked at her.
"We're going to need more water. Not just for Jackson but for everyone else, too. We all need to stay hydrated and I think it's best if we stop working for today." The others nodded in agreement and left to do as Mel suggested, but one of them made sure to stay close to the tent in case she needed anything.
Mel continued to put the cold strips of fabric on Jackson's face and neck. He was restless as he lay there, turning his head from side to side. After a few minutes, Jackson sat straight up and clutched at his stomach. Mel quickly handed him the empty bucket she'd asked for and he vomited again. When he was done, Mel held one of the water bottles to his mouth and helped him take a sip. He tried to drink more but she pulled the bottle away, "You shouldn't drink too much, you'll get sick again." Jackson nodded sluggishly before collapsing back against his pillow and going to sleep.
