Aquaertus

Chapter Seventeen - Symptoms

It's been a week since Derik was bitten by that monster leech, and his health has been questionable. He believes he's completely fine, powering through his sickness, but I'm not an idiot. I can see he's struggling, he's just too scared to admit it.

Now, I watch Derik as he attempts to catch a fish for us to eat. He's not doing as well as he used to.

When he dives towards one, he lands face forward into the water rather than grabbing it. Worried, I rush over to him to make sure he hasn't hurt himself.

"Derik, are you alright?" I ask from the shore.

"I'm alright, just a little dizzy."

I wade into the ocean to aid Derik in getting onto his feet and walking onto the sand to rest. I observe closely as he holds his head and closes his eyes to ease his pain.

"I'm worried about you, Derik. You're weak."

"I'm ok, Errin. I'm just healing."

"You've been healing for a week. I'm not a doctor like you, but I'm pretty sure you would have gotten at least a little better by now."

Derik stays silent. He knows I'm right, he can't deny it anymore.

"Derik, what do you think is really going on? Please tell me, so we can handle it together."

Derik sighs before he begins talking. "Since we're not on Earth I can't be sure, but I should've healed from the bite within 24 hours. At this point, I think I must have contracted some disease from that creature."

"What does that mean," I ask worriedly.

"I'm not sure. We don't have any kind of medicine for something like this, so we'll have to wait it out, no matter how much we hate it."

"Will you survive?"

He looks at me with pain in his eyes. "I don't know."

I squat down onto the sand next to Derik. I can't believe he might not make it.

Zippy senses our dark mood and hops over to us. She snuggles Derik's arm and he lifts her to his shoulder. I put my hand out for her to sniff, and she does, but stays glued to Derik.

For a while we sit in silence, watching the small waves crash against the shore.

I hate that Derik was bitten by that creature. I hate that I might lose the only friend I have. I hate the fact that I might have to be alone again. I hate that the stupid ship crashed in the first place.

I grunt as I angrily throw a rock into the water. Derik gives me a concerned look but stays quiet.

"I hate this," I say out loud.

"It is what it is," Derik responds.

"Is there absolutely nothing we can do? Nothing at all?" I ask in desperation.

"I don't think so. I'm sorry, Errin. I should've been more careful."

"No, no. This is not your fault." He nods. "I care about you a lot, Derik. We've become good friends, and I'm so happy about that. I'm going to stick with you until the end."

"I care about you too, Errin. You're a great friend," he smiles and I return it.

"We'll get through this together."