“We need to prop her leg up,” I say. “The swelling is bad, and it might take some of the pressure off, which could help with the pain.”
Ace nods, and together, we use a tangle of branches under her calf, easing her into a more comfortable position. She whimpers, but doesn’t fight us.
“Sleep,” I whisper, stroking her hair. “Just rest, okay?”
Her breath evens out, and she’s gone again, the same as before.
Ace settles beside me, his hand searching for mine, rough skin brushing my knuckles. For a long time, neither of us say anything. We just sit in the dark, watching the embers, counting the slow breaths of eight people who have become something like a family by force. I think about the next day, and the day after that. About how we’ll have to ration water and food, how Iris will probably get worse before she gets better, how none of us are really cut out for this but we don’t have a choice.
I think about what it means to survive.
Ace leans in closer, murmuring into my ear as if he can hear my thoughts, “We’re gonna make it, Grace. You hear me?”
I nod, and even though I’m not sure I actually believe it, I want to.
He pulls me close, and slowly, we drift off again.
When the sun comes up, we are still alive.
And so we have no choice but to keep going.
AGGIE’S EYES DART TOmine, and then we both look at Tatiana before staring back down at the scene before us. In these last two days, Iris’s condition has gotten much worse. She is sweating and vomiting, her fevers taking over, and her leg is infected. The second we undid the bandage, we knew it was bad. The way Aggie quickly covered it back up, as she stares over at me in horror, tells me it’s far worse than we could have imagined. I push to my feet, taking Aggie’s hand and pulling her aside while Tatiana sits with Iris.
“It’s bad, Gracie,” she whispers. “I...it’s so fucking bad.”
“What do we do?”
“I don’t know. Are there any antibiotics in that kit?”
“I think so,” I say, turning and rushing back towards the camp.
Ace, Kellen, and Zeke are just returning from another water run as I am rummaging through the kit. “What are you doin’?” Zeke asks, placing a large bottle of water down.
“Seeing if there are any antibiotics in here. Iris is in a bad way, like a really bad way. She needs something.”
Nobody answers, so I look up and see that they’re all glancing at each other. Kellen is the one to speak. “Let’s go and have a look first.”
“It’s infected,” I protest, furrowing my brows in confusion. “If we don’t give her antibiotics, she will die.”
“Just let me have a look,” he growls, frustrated.
I press my lips together, and turn, following them back down to where Iris is laying under a tree with Tatiana. Kellen kneels down and lifts the bandage, studying the wound, then he asks Iris a heap of questions about how she is feeling, before standing and huddling back into a group with us.
“What’s the verdict?” Ace asks him.
“It’s bad, she’s right about that. Problem is, if we give her the antibiotics, it is likely too late and we will have wasted them. We have to think this through.”
My eyes widen. “Painkillers I understand, but this is a life we’re talking about. She is a person. We can’t just let her die.”
“I never fuckin’ said we let her die, but we can’t waste all our fuckin’ resources either because we don’t know how long we’ll be out here,” Kellen barks back.
“I understand that, but we have to take care of our own.”
“Enough,” Ace growls. “We need to have a logical conversation about this.”
“She’s goin’ to die,” Zeke says, his voice scarily empty. “That infection is insane and even with antibiotics, it’s likely too late. I’ve seen that shit in the field, and it never ends well.”
My heart skips a beat as I look at him with horror.
