security and serenity

4

"MJ, I know you're probably feeling like absolute shit, but you need to stay awake." Dot tells me sternly. I nod in return.

The girls managed to lift me to the campsite and placed me next to the fire we had going. Fatin managed to take a clump of clothes to make a makeshift pillow and put one of her jackets on me to help with the shivering. Dot and Nora put me on my side or what they called the recovery position as it is the best for the time being. All the girls are currently sitting around me listing diagnoses and creating a timeline of all my symptoms.

"Okay, so we have fever, chills, and dizziness so far." Leah writes down in her book creating a list. As she goes to say something else, I interrupt her by an unexpected wave of nausea making its way up my throat. I gag and try to force myself up to lean on my shoulder so I don't throw up on myself but realize how weak I was. Luckily all the girls noticed and worked quickly to get me in a position where I wouldn't make a mess.

"Nastyyy," I hear Rachel say between my intervals of throwing up.

As I finish getting everything out, I lean myself into the arms of the person holding me up while Shelby wipes my mouth with a makeshift napkin. "You're going to be okay sweetie." She says, but at this point, I'm barely conscious.

"Guys, she's looking a lot worse after that." Fatin states.

"Hey, don't do this to us. You gotta stay strong." Toni says from behind me meaning she's the one holding me up.

I flinch as I feel someone lift the bottom of my pants and a pain shoots through me. "Guys..." A very very worried Dot says gathering everyone's focus. "MJ, what happened to your ankle?" She treads carefully.

I shrug, "Something sharp?" I mutter incoherently.

"Sharp? There are two puncture wounds and your ankle is fucking swollen!"

"What does that mean?" Martha asks naively.

"She was bitten by something." Leah states.

"That looks like a snake bite," Shelby says in her Texan accent.

"It definitely is a snake bite."

"Well, now you know what it is! Fix her!" Toni says tensely from behind me as I still have all my weight on her once again.

"I can't! We need to know what type of snake it was before we can give her anything!"

"MJ!" Fatin slaps my cheeks to try to make me focus. I manage to pry my eyes open just a little bit to look at her. "What snake bit you?" I shrug slightly really not knowing and not even knowing I was bit until now.

"Guys, she's breathing differently now." Nora butts in.

"It's the venom. Rachel run and get me the medkit!" Dot yells and tells Toni to lay me back on the sand. As I feel the softness of the sand, I close my eyes shut as my body is overtaken by darkness.

"She's out guys!" Toni panics. "Just give her anything, Dot!" Toni yells at Dot as Dot rummages through the medkit Rachel grabbed.

"There's only one antivenom vial in here. How do we know it's going to work?" Dot asks the group.

"She's going to die without it so we might as well try," Leah says stone cold.

Dot looks around at everyone, "Do you all agree?" Everyone nods in unison and Dot prepares a syringe with the antivenom. "Ah, fucking hell." She says as she injects it into my arm.

..................

"Her breathing has gotten better. We just have to be patient guys. She hasn't gotten worse which is a good sign." I hear a voice say.

"It's been over five hours!" Someone emphasized frustratedly.

"Her body just needs to rest."

I feel movement in the sand I am laying on and someone holding my hand. "Listen, MJ you have to fight this like hell. You have to come back. Come back for your foster siblings. Come back for me. I don't know if I can survive the island without you."

I slowly give the hand that's holding mine a squeeze to indicate I am listening to them. I guess it worked as I can hear her shouting to everyone that I am waking up. Eventually, I get my eyes open, "So I really got bitten by a snake?"

"How did you not notice?" Rachel asks.

"I felt it walking back from hunting the turkey but figured it was just a sharp plant or thorns of a plant. I kind of then forgot about it."

"Well, all of you better keep your eyes open so you don't get bit. We don't have any more antivenom." Dot explains.

"There was only one vial?" I question them and everyone nods. I look over to Leah as I can see wanting to see what she's thinking because I believe we are on the same page. Not a coincidence.