The Ringmaster's Keeper

Chapter 25: Venom

My head bobbed as Oscar walked with me in his arms. My eyes opened to his angelic face. The air was getting hotter and more unpleasant and I could feel the sweat beading on my neck. We were still walking in the jungle and everyone was in front of us, probably because Oscar couldn't walk all that fast with me in his arms.

"Hi." I whispered weakly, announcing my awake state. He suddenly looked down at me and smiled.

"It's going to be all right, we found the spider that bit you and it's confirmed that we have antidote for that type. Besides, unless you have an allergy, the side effects aren't that bad." He had stopped now, admiring my face.

"Thank you." I said feebly. He smiled again and continued walking. A couple of times flies had landed on my face, but I quickly moved my head to rid of them. No one really talked, so the sound of the forest seemed extra loud. I could hear all the bugs singing their song. The loud buzz was becoming deafening. Everyone started picking up the pace as slowly the big rainforest trees merged with the monstrous pine trees. Eventually all the rainforest trees were outnumbered to pine trees. The cooler breeze was much nicer as the climate suddenly changed from a humid, loud forest to a quiet, cool forest. We finally found the clearing after about half an hour and everyone lined up to go down the hatch that lead to the house.

"Are you all right to go down the ladder?"

"Yeah, I'm feeling fine." Oscar gently put my feet to the ground and I independently stood to prove that I was fine. I walked over to the ladder once everyone in front of us had gone down. My legs wobbled as I went down the ladder and I nearly fell down when I missed a rung. The boys were waiting at the bottom, ready to catch me just in case I fainted again. I didn't though, thankfully. Once my feet touched the floor, I quickly stumbled over to the couch and collapsed onto it. I sat there and closed my eyes, suddenly feeling tired. I felt someone, presumably Oscar, pick me up like a baby and put me down in the sick bay. I opened my eyes to Lili observing my hand while Oscar watched behind.

"Yeah, it doesn't look too bad. Do you know which spider bit her?"

"Yeah..." They kept on talking, but I wasn't listening. I closed my eyes again and I felt Lili's hand pick up mine again. I heard a clutter on the bedside table and a word of reassurance from Lili. All of a sudden I felt a small prick on the inside of my elbow and I opened my eyes to see an needle connected to a drip. I sighed and closed my eyes. Lili came back into the room and put something on my lap. I opened my eyes again, hoping this was the last time I would have to so I could get some sleep. Lili had set a tray on my lap with breakfast spread out on a large plate. I scoffed the food down, not wanting to reject Lili's kind offer. Once I finished she took the tray again and smiled at me as she left the room. Oscar stayed back, presumably to talk to me. After he was sure that no one would interrupt, he spoke to me.

"So, how are you feeling?"

"Really tired." I said, insinuating that I wasn't really up to a long chat.

"Well, I shan't keep you up long." He said, seeming like he read my mind. "I was just wondering about last night when I woke you and you said something about a person named Austin. Was he your...your, boyfriend?" He asked awkwardly. I was suddenly feeling more awake.

"Umm, yeah, something like that."

"Do you know what his last name was?" Oh, dear. He was getting suspicious.

"You know what, I'm not really sure what his last name is..." I said feeling guilty about lying.

"Was his last name Chambers perhaps?" Now he was pushing it. He was sure of it. Did I answer truthfully? Or did I lie? I didn't know what to do.

"Yes, that rings a bell." His face drained of blood and his jaw dropped.