In The Dark

8 - June 9th

AJ clenched his teeth as he slowly lowered his swollen ankle into the cold river. Brian and Melanie were sitting a few feet away nursing their own wounds. Brian hissed as he attempted to rotate his shoulder. It had swelled quite a bit and was stiff and painful to move. Melanie kept her arm tight against her torso as a means to protect her ribcage. Every breath she took sent a shock of pain through her body, her head was pounding, and she still felt nauseous. There was a large leaf between her and Brian with a few handfuls of blackberries that the boys had tried to convince her to eat, but just the thought of eating made her queasy.

"You'd think we'd be hearing a search party calling for us or something by now," AJ groaned as he lifted his ankle out of the water for a moment. "What's taking them so long?"

Brian shrugged, instantly regretting his movement as pain shot through his shoulder. "Who knows?" he grunted through clenched teeth. "We shouldn't be that hard to find. You can see through the trees here."

Melanie stood up slowly, calculating each movement and trying to avoid causing herself any additional pain. AJ looked back at her and frowned questioningly. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Melanie replied softly. She walked a few feet away and gripped a nearby tree trunk. She breathed heavily and tried to fight off the wave of nausea that had been building since their last run through the forest. Brian stood up and made his way over to Melanie, placing his hand on her back and the other under her elbow. "I'm fine," Melanie panted.

"No, you're not," Brian replied softly. He pulled her hair back behind her shoulders and looked her over. She was pale and her skin felt clammy. A patch of her hair was matted with dried blood and he could feel her shaking as he gently ran his hand along her back. She pitched forward suddenly and gagged, unable to bring anything up. She clutched her side and cried softly, unable to hold back any longer. "It's going to be ok," Brian explained softly. "They'll find us soon and we'll get you something for the pain." Melanie nodded and tried to stop herself from crying. "Why don't you come lay down for a bit? Try to get some rest while we're waiting."

Brian led Melanie over to the little shelter they had erected using branches of various trees and logs from trees that had fallen over long ago. Melanie curled into the fetal position and closed her eyes, welcoming unconsciousness. He gathered some dried moss and leaves and created a pile, which he covered in sticks and larger pieces of wood, before sitting down to make a fire. With the rain from the previous night, he couldn't seem to get more than a bit of smoke and, after a few minutes of trying, he gave up and looked back at Melanie, shaking his head.

"She's not doing very well," AJ stated, biting at his lip and looking at Brian.

"We'll just have to keep her as comfortable as possible for now," Brian replied. "I still don't think we should let her sleep for too long. We should make an effort to keep her hydrated as well."

"How, when she can't keep anything down?" AJ asked.

"Just keep at it, I guess. We need to boil some water somehow," Brian replied. "Maybe she'll have some luck with liquids."

The boys sat together on the bank of the river, taking a moment to observe their surroundings and listen for any sign of help. A squirrel hopped from one tree to the next over their heads, sending a few dead leaves and seed pods scattering to the ground around them. AJ watched the squirrel for a moment before turning to Brian. "How long before we start eating vermin?" he asked only half joking.

"I'm good with berries for now," Brian replied with a look of disgust. "I think I'd try my hand at spear fishing before hunting squirrel." AJ nodded and scanned the rushing water of the river, taking note of the few calmer spots where fishing might be feasible.