Friendship And Hardship

[Chapter 3] - Lifetimes Of Wondering

The pouring rain added onto even more thick fog didn't make a simple adventure any easier. This...

This was a big problem.

"It's pouring up here, why are you out in the rain?" Barnacles asked, placing his arms over his head in an attempt to keep himself dry.
"It was protocol. I've been awake since... 5 AM? Maybe?" Parker explained, shrugging her shoulders.
"And how long has it been raining for?"
"Since about 3 AM."

He moved his hands from his head to his sides. "And how do you know that?"
"Because I checked the radar..."
"So you admit you were awake at three in the morning?" he questioned. 
"You know I have the worst sleep schedule, you sock. And besides, I have some things I need to show you back at the tree house. They might help us out with some things," she said, laughing. Her hair looked as if it had been dunked in a bucket of water, then stuck in a freezer. Parker's shirt had been soaked from the middle of her torso up to her shoulders. "I had to start answering and demanding the protocol really early in case something happened across the island," she added before turning around and violently hacking into the crook of her elbow.

"Maybe that wasn't the greatest decision you've made," he insisted.
"I've made worse. The protocol had to be put in place." Parker stated, still coughing like a mad man.
"It wasn't a good decision at all, you sound like you've just contracted ten different variations of the flu."

"I'm fine! Just give me a second, let me catch my breath," she stammered, hands on her knees.

Stars.

Was she seeing stars?

Or was that a bug? Or grass or something maybe it wasn't even stars because stars aren't usually that color...

And the next thing she knew, she was collapsed on the wet, soggy grass. Completely blacked out.

"I had the feeling this would happen, yet I still let it play out," Barnacles muttered, picking Parker up by her lower arms, almost dragging her up off the ground. "I just wish you had at least a somewhat normal sleep schedule." He attempted to pull back her hair, just to make sure it didn't get all in her face.

This feeling of being responsible for a person, especially in this state, right now? It made him feel a bit better, but why?

"Hey Kwazii?" His voice rang out in the HQ, grabbing the lieutenant's attention.
"Yeah? What is it?"
"Can you check the radar for me please?" Barnacles asked.
"Why?"
"Can you check the radar?" he asked again.
"Yeah, but why?" he questioned, messing around with controls for a second.
"Because it's pouring rain up here, and I need to know how long this weather is going to stay," he shifted Parker's arm over his shoulders, "and someone's passed out."
"Seriously? Can you guys get back or something?" Kwazii glanced over to the radar.
"That's what I need to know, I don't want to drag Parker through the rain if she doesn't wake up, and I don't want anyone coming to the island because of the weather."

"Well, Cap'n, I've got some bad news. The storms don't seem to want to stop," Kwazii added. "Either you guys go through the rain or we come and get you. Or wait until things get better with Parker or whatever."
"Last option seems better, thank you, Kwazii," Barnacles replied before shutting off his radio.

The patter of the rain against the soggy grass made everything seem a little bit better for a few minutes. It was so quiet, yet the dread remained in the Captain's chest, weighing down on him as if someone had placed a weight on his body.

Betrayal.

Guilt.

What was it?

Something about the deadpan look on Parker's face made him feel terrible.