Five

Nearing lunch time, Ororo figured they would be stopping somewhere soon for a break to eat, and looked ahead to the other raft. With Scott steering their raft, she hadn't needed to concentrate so much on the river ahead, and had allowed her thoughts to drift slightly. She found herself watching Logan, and noticed, after a while, that his steering appeared slightly clumsy, like he was struggling. His movements looked uncoordinated and sluggish, and Ororo couldn't figure out why.

Storm?

Jean's voice in her head snapped her out of her wandering thoughts. Jean? What is it?Ororo thought back, trying not to let her surprise at the sudden voice in her head show.

I think we need to find a place to stop soon. Something's not right with Logan. He's sweating a lot and he looks very pale and uncomfortable. He seems to be having a difficult time steering the raft, and he says he's okay, but I don't think he is.

Ororo's brows furrowed as she realized her concerns weren't hers alone. Even Jean could see that something was odd with Logan, and she would know, being in the same raft with him. Alright. Try and suggest we stop somewhere for lunch.

Okay.

They paddled on ahead, and Ororo heaved a soft sigh of relief when it was clear that the other group's raft was pulling up to a shallow bank. Jean got out first, using her telekinesis to levitate out of the raft while taking the rope to securely anchor it to a nearby tree. Ororo's raft was just approaching the bank when she watched Logan struggle to get up. He wobbled precariously, the paddle slipping from his hands as he suddenly fell over the side of the raft and into the river.

"Jean!" Ororo called out in alarm as the heavy splash drew the others' attention.

Reaching out with her telekinesis, Jean was able to keep Logan still against the current and get his head above water, but she was struggling to lift his considerable weight. "I can hold him, but I can't get him out of the water!"

Ororo turned desperately to Kurt.

He nodded swiftly in understanding. "I'm on it!" With the BAMF of imploding air, Kurt teleported just above the water where Jean held Logan in place, dropping down and grabbing onto him and then 'porting away again. He reappeared with Logan on the dry riverbank.

"Paddle! Paddle!" Scott shouted as Rogue and Ororo started pushing for the bank as hard as they could.

When they were close, Ororo tossed Kurt the rope to secure the raft before flying over to where Jean knelt beside Logan. "What happened?" she exclaimed worriedly.

"Nuthin', I'm fine. Jus' lost my balance," Logan muttered, struggling to push to his feet.

"You are not fine!" Ororo snapped at him, grabbing his arm when he finally managed to keep his footing. "What is going on with you Logan?" she demanded.

"I don't know!" he growled in frustration as Jean pressed a hand against his forehead.

"He's got a fever," she said softly with a frown.

Logan reluctantly sat back down in the grass as the others got off the rafts to see what was going on.

Ororo crouched beside him and spoke softly. "Shouldn't your healing factor be dealing with this?"

"It is," he ground out through gritted teeth. "Whatever this is…my body's…fightin' it. I jus'…need some…time." Logan made a face, then staggered back to his feet, stumbling a few steps before dropping to his knees and vomiting in the underbrush.

"Oh my god," Kitty gasped worriedly, covering her mouth with both hands in shock. "Is this because of my cooking?"

"No one else is sick?" Ororo said with confusion, checking the other kids for confirmation.

"That's because none of us ate it," Evan said with a grimace.

"Kitty," Ororo turned to the girl seriously, putting gentle hands on her shoulders, "What did you make for breakfast this morning?"

"It was just some of those powdered eggs and I…I put some wild mushrooms in it, like the ones you showed us were okay to eat!" Kitty's blue eyes were wide and filled with panic.

"Do you still have any of the mushrooms you used?" Ororo asked, trying to hide the fear she felt.

"Yeah, I saved some in a baggy in my pack." Kitty nodded, taking off her backpack and kneeling down to pull something out of the front pocket. She handed the little plastic bag to Ororo.

Dumping some of the mushrooms into her palm, Ororo examined them closely. She quickly found her fears were confirmed and looked back at the scared young girl in front of her. "Kitty are you certain that no one else ate these?"

She nodded quickly. "Yeah. I didn't have any either 'cuz I don't even like mushrooms. Why?"

"These are poisonous," Ororo explained more calmly than she felt. "These look very similar to some wild mushrooms that are edible, but these are most definitely not." She looked around at the other students. "No one is to eat any food you've foraged for without letting me see if first, understood?"

Everyone else nodded quickly, even Kitty whose lower lip was trembling, her blue eyes filled with tears. "Ohmigod, I'm, like, so sorry Miss Munroe. I—I didn't know! Is Mr. Logan gonna be okay?"

"It will be alright, Kitty," Ororo assured her, comfortingly rubbing the girl's shoulder.

"Storm!" Jean cried out from the bushes where she was hovering beside a very sick Logan.

Ororo hurried over to find Logan weakly clutching at a tree to keep upright. She placed a hand against his back, feeling the hot skin beneath his cold, wet t-shirt. "Logan," she said softly, "We know what's happening to you. Those mushrooms you ate this morning in Kitty's eggs were poisonous."

"Yeah..." He grunted. "I…heard."

"Is your healing factor going to be able to deal with this?" she asked him worriedly, speaking quietly so most of the students wouldn't overhear.

"Should. Jus'…might be…real sick…fer…awhile…'till poison's out." Logan started to slump against the tree, and both Ororo and Jean grabbed one of his arms.

"You need to get out of these wet clothes." Ororo turned toward the anxious-looking students. "Would someone get Logan's bag?"

"Ja, I'll get it." Kurt bounded off, teleporting into the raft and returning in a puff of smoke and brimstone with Logan's rucksack.

Logan feebly snatched the bag from Kurt and held up a hand for Ororo and Jean to back off. "I got it."

Ororo shared a look of concern with Jean as Logan staggered into the woods to find some privacy so he could change.

"Auntie O, should we unpack some stuff? Are we gonna camp here for a while?" Evan asked, taking off his rafting helmet as he approached her.

Ororo shook her head. "I think not. I'd prefer it if we kept moving so we may reach the pick-up spot where the Professor is to retrieve us as soon as possible."

Evan nodded in understanding and turned to go back toward the rafts.

Following her nephew, Ororo addressed the students. "Listen up, please. With Logan ill, I've decided we're going to continue on down the river with no breaks until we reach the pick-up point. Scott, I'm going to have you steer the lead raft. I want to keep a close eye on Logan, so Jean and Evan, I need you both on our raft paddling." She looked around as the teens nodded in agreement. "That means Kitty, Rogue, and Kurt, the three of you will have the second raft with all our equipment. Do any of you feel confident enough to be able to steer the raft?"

The three looked between each other, all looking a little unsure. Rogue finally stepped forward. "Ah can do it."

"Are you sure?" Ororo asked the girl seriously. "If you're not comfortable with that then we'll leave the gear here and keep everyone on the same raft. We can come back for it later."

"No, it's okay," Rogue assured her, jaw set with determination. "Ah can handle it."

Ororo nodded and asked everyone to get in their rafts and move the gear from the first raft into the second. She turned back towards the woods where Logan had gone and Jean stood waiting for him. He hadn't come back out yet. She frowned, brows furrowing worriedly.

"Ororo, do you want me to—" Jean waved a hand into the woods.

"It's alright. I'll go check on him, Jean. Why don't you go help the others. Would you mind putting a sleeping bag down in the middle of the raft so Logan can lie down?"

"Sure, Storm."

Ororo swiftly made her way through the dense woods, picking up the pace when she found Logan on all fours, dressed in a dry pair of jeans but nothing else. "Logan?"

At the sound of her voice, he forced himself to his feet and swayed dizzily, one hand pressed against his cramping stomach.

Shouldering Logan's pack after shoving the rest of his things back in it, she moved beside him and pulled his left arm across her shoulders while winding her free arm around his waist. His skin was hot and damp both from sweat and the wet clothes he'd just taken off, and Ororo frowned with deep concern as she helped support him while they trudged back toward the river.

"I'll be…fine," he insisted, grunting. "I jus'…need to—"

"You're going to lie down in the raft so you can rest and heal, and we're going to get you home," Ororo said firmly as they reached the clearing.

Logan growled half-heartedly and nearly let loose with a string of curse words when Ororo wrapped her arms around him tightly and flew him to the raft. He groaned and slumped down on the sleeping bag Jean had laid out between two seats, his feet hanging over the side.

"Everyone ready to go?" Ororo asked, settling on the seat above Logan.

The teens all nodded, and as soon as Jean finished telekinetically untying the ropes anchoring the rafts to the riverbank, they were off.

.