Chapter 2 cold bones

Gwen was woken up by the feeling of the bed shaking. When she woke up, she saw that it was Ben that was making it shake because he was shaking himself. She jumped out of bed and took a look at him. He was pale and his lips were blue. He looked frail and he was shaking uncontrollably.

"This is not good" she said to herself shaking her head as she ran to closet to find more blankets. There were only two left. She grabbed them both and darted to Ben's bed. He was shaking so badly he was about to knock himself off the bed but Gwen caught him in time. She tucked him in the many blankets he was in but it wasn't helping. He was starting to turn green and his nose was dripping.

"Grandpa! Grandpa! I need help!" The poor girl cried in distress

"What's going on?" He asked as he ran to Ben's bed

"He started shaking and I brought the remaining blankets from the closet and it's not helping. If anything, it's making things worse"

Max thought for a minute and said sternly "You get under the covers with him and hug him tight to keep his body heat high. I'm gonna get some of my plumber gear" as Gwen nodded and obeyed. Moments later he returned with a scanner like device and started scanning his arm "What are you doing?"

"Checking to see if he has cold bones"

"What's cold bones?"

"It's a level of coldness in the body. Once reached it can be deadly and the patient's body temperature has to be raised at any way possible. Preferably by inserting hot fluids into the victim's body. That's the best way to warm up his system because it's a general warm up and it warms him up from the inside"

"What do we do?"

"We to need to get him some soup" said Max as he got up and headed towards the steering wheel

"Soup?" Repeated Gwen, slightly confused

"Yeah soup. Especially chicken soup. A friend of mine told me eating chicken soup when you're sick helps. He says it's like the Jewish Penicillin" said Max as he fastened his seatbelt

"Where did your friend hear that?" Asked Gwen still hugging Ben

"He's Jewish" said Max as he ignited the engine and they drove off. Half an hour later Max exited a local convenience store carrying a handful of microwave ready chicken soup bags

"How long are those gonna last?"

"Just a few meals. These things aren't very healthy so I want to make real chicken soup when possible. These'll just hold him until morning"

"Do you want me to help with the cooking?" Asked Gwen.

Max simply looked at her sympathetically as he waited for the water to boil and said "Thanks sweetie but your best help is to keep hugging Ben to keep his body warm. I know how to cook normal food Gwen, I just cook the weird stuff because it's my hobby"

"We'll... Okay..." Said Gwen as she turned back to face her dying cousin as tears started to drip down her cheeks.

"Oh Gwen, Gwen..." he said sadly as he walked to his sad granddaughter and hugged her tightly

"He'll be alright! Before we know it, he'll be healthy again and he'll have that goofy smile on his face..." Said Max as he tried to cheer her up

"I know but I'm so worried about him... What if he doesn't make it?"

"Of course he'll make it. He's Ben! Remember? Ben always pulls through... So please don't cry..." He hugged her tightly as she started to calm down until she stopped crying.

The water boiled.

To be continued... Well what do you think? Pretty dramatic huh? Did you like it? Did you dislike it? Did you like it even more? Please tell me what you think in your reviews on your way out...

Thank you...