Chapter 15
My legs could barely carry me as I trekked through the swamp. It was like my bones were swapped out with jelly, and even muscles I didn’t know I had complained with every step.
I expected the camp to be empty.
No doubt the others escaped already, but my hammock would still be there. Sleep sounded like heaven at this point.
More importantly, the sage patch would be there too.
If I’d been abandoned, again, there was at least a safe place to rest until morning.
My flashlight was completely destroyed, since it was in a side pocket of my pack, and I mentally cursed myself for not packing a spare, as I tried to navigate in the dark.
But that made the illumination of the cackling fire in the distance that much clearer.
Fuck, yes. That’s what I’m talking about.
I rolled my ankle in my rush, not seeing the log in the dark, but it was easier to get myself up and moving again with the promise of warmth and hopefully food nearby.
What I wouldn’t do for a pizza right about now?
I stepped into our camp, surprised to find everything was still in place, despite all the missing people.
Drew was the only person there, laying on his side in the cot I left him. A walkie talkie clutched in his shaking hand, like it would save his life. He gasped when his eyes landed on me. “There you are! You survived.”
His pale face and the sheen of sweat on his shiny forehead worried me. The temperature had dropped quite a bit, but maybe I only thought that because I was soaked. No amount of logic shook the sinking in my raw stomach.
“That’s what I do.” I took a deep breath as I warmed my hands by the fire. “Did help come?”
“No.” He shook his head. “Prof Carter hasn’t returned yet. Everyone else is out looking for you.”
“Foolish.” They should have moved on while I had him distracted.
He gave a painful laugh. “Shannon wasn’t going to allow anything else.”
My lips twitched at his words. My heart grew warm and full, with foreign emotion. Bossy bitch.
Her next doll set should be ‘Shannon saves the day’. Package includes making it so easy and hard to hate Shannon at the same time, as is customary with all Perfect Shannon dolls.
Drew’s teeth chattering, broke my internal joke. The shakes weren’t only in his hands, they’d taken over his body, as if he was freezing.
Please be shock.
“Let them know I made it, and I’ll change your bandages.” Even though my stomach grumbled in complaint. He had to be checked now. “I’m sure it’s been a couple of hours.”
“Base to teams. Talia has arrived at base. Please return. ASAP,” Drew grunted as I pulled the bandages back.
I fought the urge to gag at the smell. At the green and brown growing inside the wounds. Infection settled in fast and hard. This damp, wet place was a breeding ground for all the things we didn’t want in his bandage.
No matter how sterile we tried to be, the air itself was a cesspool of bacteria and fungi.
The edges showed the first signs of turning black. He was necrotic.
This man should have been taken to a hospital hours ago.
“Roger,” two voices answered at the same time.
I laid the bandages back over his leg, so he wouldn’t see and panic, and strolled over to the medical supplies, trying to seem like the situation wasn’t as urgent as it was.
My fingers shook as I looked through the medication options, praying to gods I didn’t believe in for an antibiotic that could hold the infection at bay. But that was already wishful thinking, deep in my heart I knew he was already septic. We wouldn’t have anything for that.
The strongest antibiotic I found was more suited for a bad tooth infection. We were only an hour and a half away from the nearest hospital. No one could have foreseen us being stuck here when we made our plans.
But we should have.
Pressing my lips together, I grabbed him a bottle of water, the best antibiotic we had, and a vial of morphine.
I stared at the vial innocently clutched between my fingers. It would be more efficient to overdose him with the morphine. We shouldn’t waste precious resources on someone who was probably already dead.
I held out the water and handed him two capsules.
He smiled like the innocent puppy dog he was, throwing the pills back with all the trust in the world. “Thank you.”
If only he knew what was on my mind. That my brain half-abandoned humanity for something older and primal, but was as natural as breathing.
I forced a smile and filled the syringe with morphine. I pulled the plunger back until it was a fatal dose. My eyes went to where he slumped, closing his eyes without an ounce of fear he should have had. An innocent soul with the survival instincts of a dodo.
My fingers trembled. I should be honest about his chances. If he knew the kind of pain that was coming, he’d understand the wisdom. It wouldn’t be long before he begged us to kill him.
Wasn’t it more humane to kill him fast instead of letting him suffer?
The fire cackled behind me. The rest of the swamp was silent as if it was holding its breath, waiting to see what I would do.
I adjusted the dose and pushed the proper amount into his IV, even though every instinct screamed that this was cruel and wasteful.
There weren’t many pieces of me left. I had to hold onto the human one as long as possible. Otherwise, I’d end up clinically tossing ethics to the side… Like Levicy Rinah did.
For now, Drew still had a small chance, and I had to act like it.
When the time came, I’d do what needed to be done. Until then, we had to pretend we were still in the civil world.
I went into the trees on the other side of the camp, changing into dry clothes, wanting as much space between me and Drew as possible. More like I needed space between me and the upcoming uncomfortable decisions.
I changed and sat on a trunk, letting the brew of my emotions whirl. Nothing stuck well enough to evaluate. I guess it was too much to process at once. Before I could pick something to focus on, something popped up from below the surface, like a fucked up water balloon.
Professor Carter bobbed in the water, but how stiff her limbs were immediately made my breathing catch. Half her face torn off and her one eye staring at me devoid of any emotion. Dark blood coated her, but I was sure her throat was gone.
I scanned the water looking for his red eyes peering back at me, but I came up empty. I didn’t dare approach the water. That was exactly what he wanted me to do. I could feel it in my bones, in the eerie stillness of the water.
He’d left her here for me to find. I forced deep breaths in and out, clenching my fists to keep my hands from shaking.
A crunch behind me, sent my heart pounding loud enough my ears hurt, and I jumped up, whirling around. I expected the monster, but only found raccoons running up a tree. I let out the breath I’d held slowly.
Help wasn’t coming.
I had to make a plan to get out of this alive.
Otherwise I was already caught.