Remi-niscent

Chapter 17:

Ty's P.O.V
By the time I open my eyes again and check my watch - Which I am surprised to see is still working, it quickly becomes clear to me that I've somehow managed to sleep right through the rest of the previous day. While I am thankful for the undisturbed rest, I'm also kicking myself at the same time as I see that I've slept well into the start of this morning, wasting the precious time that we had gained during our escape yesterday. 

As of now, it's already six am, however the sun is nowhere to be seen as it's concealed behind a thick, impenetrable layer of dark and dreary looking clouds. Even though the temperature has dropped significantly in comparison to a week or so ago, I am toasty warm with my arm draped loosely across Remi's stomach, her warmth radiating off onto my skin. I frown slightly as a thought hits me and while unwilling to believe its possibility, I now need to test the theory which I do by lifting one of my hands to rest gently on her forehead. On contact, I'm shocked to feel just how hot her skin is, the rest of her exposed skin clammy to the touch and her breathing uneven and shallow. Instantly wide awake with all remaining traces of sleep gone, I sit up going over a mental checklist of where to start first and then press two fingers to the underside of her jaw to check her pulse. Now that I'm actually paying close attention to my surroundings, I realise that the palpitations of her heart are beating far too fast and irregular, as though she's burning up from the inside and her heart is pumping in overtime to cool her off.

I curse quietly under my breath when all the symptoms match up and my suspicions are confirmed. Fever. I should have known earlier. Knowing a course of action needs to be taken at once, I jog down to the canoe to gather up some spare shirts and drop them in the water. When they've been submerged completely, I pull them back out, wringing only some of the excess water from the fabric before racing back up to where Remi is lying. Then making sure not to cover her airways I place one shirt across her forehead and drape another loosely around her neck to try to cool her off. The gnawing pit of worry in my stomach only grows stronger as I see how feeble she looks in this state and as I press a light kiss against her forehead, I'm acutely aware how hot her skin is against my lips.

Then it dawns on me that if Remi's gotten sick then the others might be affected as well, however praying that that's not the case, I stand and turn to look out over the beach. From my vantage point, I can see that Lee, Em, Logan and Jack are already up and have gathered closely around a small fire trying to ward off the cool morning air. After making my way down to them and having a small chat, I come to the conclusion that they all seem to be doing as well as they can in our current situation. Continuing on my way to the others I find that both Sam and Olivia are doing fine as well, but in the process of kneeling down next to Jase my heart sinks, as I can already see the telltale beads of sweat and shallow breathing that are a sure sign of fever. After a quick touch to his forehead, my fears are confirmed as he too is burning up from the inside.

Looking over in the direction of the others I call, "Hey someone please grab some of the spare shirts, soak them in water and then bring them over here?"

They must hear the urgency in my voice as Jack and Logan immediately get to their feet, quickly following my instructions and then carrying some dripping shirts over, "What's wrong?" They both ask in confusion.

"Remi and Jase have come down with a fever," I explain shortly while arranging the wet pieces of cloth around Jase trying to make him more comfortable.

While not entirely grasping the severity of the situation Jack looks down at Jase in concern, "Can we do anything to help?"

I shake my head, "Not really. At least not with the supplies we have at hand, I've already checked the emergency kit and I can't find anything in there that would useful for treating a fever. So in all honesty I don't really know what else to do apart from trying to cool them down."