Academy Island

Vertigo

The bag was full afterwards, and all I could do was sit there and breathe deeply, trying to gulp away the taste of awful fermented mango that wasn't even sweet. I never wanted another mango as long as I lived. The man had let me down to my knees, holding me up around my shoulders. He let the bag lower when the storm brewing in my stomach had calmed.

"Are you all right now? No more is coming?"

It took me a moment of checking the condition of my stomach's feels before I could answer. Rather than opening my mouth and breathing what I was sure was horrible breath, I shook my head. I could hear music playing faintly, and that helped to calm the sickness further. I wiped the back of my hand shakily over my forehead, wiping sweat away again. He nodded to himself and got a better grip on the bag, pulling me up from the ground.

"Upsy daisy."

The world dipped to one side as I rose, then went back to where it was supposed to be in overshooting increments, the dizziness forcing me to cling to him or risk falling. I tried to turn my face from his clothes, attempting to keep him clean. He had no idea who I was, and he was helping me anyway. I felt so bad that I had filled his good leather bag almost to the brim. I wheezed as we stood together.

"I'm so sorry. I'll clean it."

He helped me turn back to the log. "I'm not worried about the bag. Here, let's sit you down."

My hair fell forward into my face as I sat. I wanted it to. I was sure I was covered in filth, not to mention I probably looked horrifying right after being sick. He touched my shoulder and I peeked at his face. Handsome, and distracted. He darted his eyes all over camp and then red light washed over his alarmed features as he looked up to the sky.

I watched the flare with him as it climbed, leaving a curling trail of smoke in it's bright wake. He spun back to his desk, leaving me on the log watching him as put his bag down and reached under the table, messing with something that clunked against the wood. I stiffened with the appearance of a real revolver, gulping back more acid as he checked the chamber to make sure it was loaded. He gave me a small, crooked smile as he put the weapon away inside his unbuttoned shirt, his brown eyes lighting up as he reached for me.

"Let's go see what all the fuss is about, shall we? Come on."

I held him off, wanting to stay here to recover, still dizzy and lame. He should just leave me here, I would only slow him down. "Tiger. Everyone went after the tiger. I can stay here, I'll be fine."

His expression became stormy and he lifted me to my feet despite my protest.

"I'm not leaving you here alone. Shall I carry you?"

The thought of getting passed around again had my stomach reminding me angrily how that had gone last time. I shook my head hard and regretted the way it made the world spin.

"No thank you. I'll manage."

He paused when I tried to hop the first step, shaking his head at me. He held me up with a hand as I swayed on one foot, moving in front of me and bending his knees to let me lay on his back, piggy-back. I was going to make his nice white shirt so dirty, and I'd already ruined his bag. I mumbled an apology as I climbed on, wishing there was another way but hanging on to him all the same. There was a moment of vertigo, settling once he had me up. It helped that I was upright this time and could see where we were going, out and around the outside of the camp. He stopped walking and looked around, scanning the huts. I startled when he yelled.

"Nathan!"

I was beginning to think there was no end to the supply of boys out here. Muscles was the one who appeared though, running through the huts and changing direction once he saw us. He held a larger pistol that he put away in the back of his shorts and was talking before he reached us.