Lost

Chapter 4

Later that day, Kenji transported the sickest ones in the group to the dropship, so he could keep a closer eye on them. Thora was one of them. As was Fisher.
She laid on her side, huddling in her sleeping bag. The feverishness had left behind intense chills. She had her jacket wrapped around her again and was glaring at Fisher with all her strength, which wasn't much.
"Told you a fire wasn't a good idea," she told him. Her head wasn't as foggy and muddled as before and she could speak clearly.
Fisher, who was laying on his back, flipped her off but said nothing. Unlike her, Fisher had been throwing up all day, and apparently he didn't think a comeback was worth it. She grinned cheekily.
Thora pulled the sleeping bag up closer to her chin, wishing she had some type of painkiller. Kenji insisted that they should use them for broken bones and such.
Dell had recovered much quicker than most of the others in the camp. She was sitting up, drinking, and eating. Kenji took it as a good sign, although he wasn't letting her walk around yet. Hopefully, everyone else would follow in her footsteps... and soon. She didn't know how much longer she could take Fisher's moaning. Or the pain reverberating in her skull. And her stomach. And the chills.
Somehow, between the groans and the vomiting of the other convicts, she managed to fall asleep.

Dell shook her awake, holding out a bottle of water, the 'EN-pad' tucked in the crook of her arm. Thora sat up with a yawn and found that her head wasn't spinning anymore. She grabbed the water bottle and drained the whole thing. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she thanked her friend.
"How do you feel?" Dell asked cautiously, holding out the 'EN-pad.'
"Better," she said with a nod, taking the device. Dell grinned.
"Then can you take me hunting? Some of the people around camp are saying we're gonna need more food and that they saw these huge bird-things."
"They're right that we need food bu-"
"I don't think she's well enough to go on a hunting trip and take care of you," Fisher said, sitting up with a pained groan, leaning his shoulder on the metal side of the ship. Dell's shoulders slumped. "Maybe she can take you tomorrow, kiddo. If she feels up to it." Fisher met her eyes and she gave him a thankful nod.
Kenji entered then, a grin on his face. How could this boy smile so much, she asked herself, especially given the circumstances. He made himself comfortable on the floor between Dell, her, and Fisher.
"I was asking around and I think it was only one type of wood that was used for the fire." He held up a branch.
"Are you sure that's safe to touch?" she asked nervously. She'd rather not have the only person in camp who was familiar with medicine sick.
He nodded. "Yeah, as long as it doesn't suddenly burst into flame in my hand. But then, I don't think getting sick is my biggest concern." Dell giggled. "Anyway, I think as long as we avoid burning this type of wood fires will be okay. And touching it if we have open wounds, as well."
"So you want us to test every other kind of tree to make sure it doesn't make us sick?" Fisher asked, a single eyebrow raised. "I'm good, but thanks for the option."
"He's got a point. We don't know anything about... anything down here. The next plant we use could be just as bad, or worse."
"If we don't test it out we won't be able to use fire for warmth, boil water, cook food, and eventually, build houses" Kenji contradicted. "We can't live without it." Another good point.
"Well, which tree is the one we know is toxic?"
"The smooth-barked ones." She cursed under her breath. Those surrounded the camp. If she had to guess, eight in every ten trees in the forest were, according to Kenji, toxic. "Exactly."
Fisher wiped his hands over his eyes tiredly. He was having a rare reprieve from the vomiting and sitting up and talking had probably taken a lot out of him. "That just makes it easier for us," he said in an attempt at his usual cool snark. He leaned his head against the side of the ship and closed his eyes.
She nudged Dell with her shoulder. "I think you should go get something to eat and get to bed early. You must be exhausted." The girl nodded, getting to her feet. She said goodbye to her new friends before heading outside. Thora felt bad that the girl had to spend the night alone in their tent but Kenji wouldn't let her leave the dropship.
Their second day down on Planet Cressida had come and gone and she wasn't even able to get up and see the sunset. Kenji helped Fisher lay back down on his sleeping bag then turned to her.
"Do you need anything?" he asked her.
"Some food would be nice," she said through a yawn. He nodded and left the dropship, stepping over bodies on his way out.
Most of the people seemed to be recovering quite well. Even Fisher, who was the sickest. They had been lucky. The toxin could have very well killed them all. And then Kenji and Aeryn would be the only ones left down on the ground.
She leaned against the side of the ship, her stomach rumbling loudly. She hadn't eaten in... well, technically one-hundred and thirty-seven years. But she hadn't eaten in two days and it was starting to take its toll. The day before, adrenaline had allowed her to ignore the ache, but now that the excitement had worn off, it was back. It was gnawing inside of her like a caged animal and she silently wished for a feast, or at least something more satisfying than jerky and dried fruit.
"How's it going, Commander? Is everyone listening to your every command?" Fisher asked, his voice so weak the slight didn't even bother her. She snorted.
"For the most part, yeah. Everyone except you." Fisher hummed and they fell silent for a long moment before she could get the question she wanted to ask sorted into words. "Why'd you want to be Commander so badly, anyway?"
He rubbed at his nose and there was actually a moment when she thought he was going to tell her.
"It's nothing," he snapped. "I mean, who wouldn't want it?" And then he turned his back, laying on his side instead of his back. She swallowed back the lump in her throat as she rubbed her aching stomach.
She relaxed against the side of the dropship, even though the hardness of the metal wasn't exactly comfortable. Kenji came back in only seconds later, a bag of jerky in his hand.
He tossed it to her, sparing a glance at his friend. Her shaky hands fumbled with the sealed bag so Kenji took it back and ripped it open for her.
"Thanks," she mumbled before tearing off a bit of the tough jerky. Her weak stomach could only handle a few bites, though, and she offered the rest to Kenji, who ate it while glancing once in a while at Fisher.
Once the older boy's breathing had slowed and they were sure he was asleep, Kenji turned to her with a look on his features that she couldn't quite make out.
"I know he can be a lot sometimes but... you can't be too hard on him. He's- he's been through a lot."
"We all have." Even as she said it she wondered what kind of things had happened to Fisher before they went into cryo-sleep.
Kenji nodded, licking his lips, trying to come up with something else to say in response. "Well, I'll let you get some rest," he said awkwardly after a moment as he got to his feet. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight." She waited until he was out of the dropship before powering on the 'EN-pad.' The logs weren't going to write themselves and what they'd learned today would certainly be important to the people up on the Albatross.
'Day 2: Don't burn the smooth-barked trees. It releases a toxin that causes nausea, vomiting, stomach aches, chills, fever, and deliriousness. All but two people fell ill, and that was only because they weren't in camp at the time the wood was burned. There is a hot spring close enough to camp that we won't have to move. As of now, the only wildlife spotted has been a bird-like creature. There are creatures in the trees that sound like Earth insects.'
Her eyes grew heavy as she wrote the last sentence. Apparently, the toxin hadn't completely disappeared from her system. She set the 'EN-pad' on the floor beside her sleeping bag before laying down, and almost immediately sleep overtook her.