Please read the Author's Note at the
end :)°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
My mother would often tell me, "The want often overpowers need, as with so many things."
Right now, I can't distinguish the want from the need.
Macx and I got to the small shed of a house and stayed for two days. We slept and drank and ate whatever canned food that was there which was very little. Then we continued. I can see the house anymore, and its been days since we left it.
After being silent the entire way here, Macx speaks up. "Aster," his voice is scratchy and hoarse. "I don't think I can keep going," his tan face is red and flushed at the same time.
"I know," I give him the best smile I can conjure, which turns out weak and forced. "But we don't have that long to go. Plus it's cooling down."
He nods his head, which then rolls back. He stumbles to the ground with a small thud.
I turn around and run to him.
He heaves, lying on the ground. Vomit starts to pool in his mouth. I flip him onto his side and hold his head off of the ground and he empties what was ever left in his stomach. He keeps heaving add the commit is replaced by a thick white foam.
"Macx, stop it," I demand as his eyes roll into his head. "Macx, I said stop." Tears prick my eyes.
When the vomiting finally stops, his eyes are closed and his chest barely rises with the shaky, shallow breaths he takes.
I pick him up, his head danglimf from my left arm and his legs from my right. Then I run, tucking his head into my chest.
I run as fast as I can manage, his head bouncing and rolling with each step I take.
After running four miles with Macx still unconscious, I come to a small group of five or six houses. I run to the closest one, rapping the door with my foot.
"Help!" I screech, my voice hoarse from dehydration and all the running.
Nobody comes to the door.
I run to the next house and got the door harder with my foot, and it opens, a small, chubby, boy.
"Please," I beg. "Please get your parents. H-he needs help."
The boy's eyes go wide as saucers. "Basil!" He calls behind him, turning his head, he eyes still big and steadily trained on me. "Basil!"
I rub the back of Macx's head and silently whisper to him.
A tall, lean figure appears in the doorway. "What do you -" he starts with a groan, but stops when he sees the state Macx is in. "Oh my God," he whispers, running a hand through his own light blonde hair.
"Help," I manage to croak as sobs rack my body.
The boy Basil, I presume, reaches out, taking Macx from my arms. "Bubba, go start a bath. A cold bath." He walks into the house and I follow at his heels.
He sets Macx upright on the tan couch, pulling his shirt over his small shoulders. "What's his name?" He asks me, continuing to take Macx's clothes off.
"Macx," I whisper, my eyes on his barely rising chest.
"Macx," he repeats me. "Good. That's good. Macx. Now listen here, buddy. My name is Basil Can I tell you a secret? You're going to be okay. I promise. Hey, it was just a little heat. You're okay." His voice is smooth and calm. "Youre doing so good, Macx. Just hang on."
Just then, the kid comes pounding into the room. "Cold bath. Ready." He juts his chubby thumb over his shoulder.
Basil nods, them scoops Macx up into his arms. He carries him down the hall, pushing the bathroom door open with his foot. "Follow me."
When I step into the bathroom I can feel the cold of the bath suspended in the air, seeping into the warm.
Basil gently sets Macx into the tub of icy water. He cups his hand, pushing water over Macx's mop of brown curls. The second the water seeps through to Macx's skin I can see his breath become deeper and more regular.
"Bubba!" Basil calls, and the boy runs in, fluffy eyebrows raised. "I need you to turn the air conditioning up, and get the French wool blanket. Bag some ice and lay it in the bed." Basil orders, washing water over Macx.
A minute later, I hear Bubba call, "Okay, I'm done! You can bring him out!"
Basil scoops Macx out of the water, soaking his own shirt. I follow him out of the bathroom and down a set of cool, concrete stairs. He brings Macx into a small musty room; damp and cool. He sets Macx on a twin bed coated in ice packs. "What happened?" He asks me after tucking a wool blanket under Macx's chin.
"He said he needed a break. Then he fell and started vomiting. Then a foam. For ten minutes, it lasted. Maybe longer. We - I - ran here. Four miles." I don't look at him. I watch Macx.
"Why were you four miles into the desert with a nine year old boy?"
The only thing that surprises me about the question is the lack of accusation in his voice.
"He's seven," I mutter under my breath. "And we were..." I struggle to find the right word. "running, I guess."
"Running?"
"Away."
"Away." He repeats.
"Yeah," I whisper, pushing Macx's hair from his forehead.
Silence washes over the room. The only sounds are our breaths and my own heartbeat.
"So," he pauses. "Do you always glow?"
I meet him with a dry laugh. "Yeah. Pretty much."
"Why?"
I shrug, playing with Macx's hair. "Your guess is as good as mine."
"You smell like vomit." Macx says groggily.
My eyes widen and I turn to face him. "Youre awake,"
He swats my hand from his hair and looks at me. "You smell. Like vomit."
"Yeah," I laugh. "Yours."
With wide eyes he ducks his head under the blanket, then pops it back up. "Why am I naked?"
"You had a heat stroke," Basil explains. "She ran you four miles."
Macx nods. "So we're in Charlotte?"
That makes Basil smile. "A little outside of it, but yes, yes we are." He winks at Macx. "You've got a good sense of direction."
•°•°•°•°•°•
Okie dokie, then! How was that? Sorry I took like, 12 days to update. I lost my phone for almost a week. I also did not proofread this, so comment any mistakes :) By the way, guess what!! Thanks to all you guys, we won the contest! Thank you all so much, and make sure to keep reading and voting! I love you so much! Thanks!!
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