Under Normal Circumstances

Going Native

The day reached its peak and was incredibly hot. I felt like I was breathing soup with the humidity as well. I hated my jeans for being hot and chaffing when they got damp from my sweat, but they kept most of the bugs from biting my legs.

"You doing ok, May?" Slivko asked.

I looked up from the uneven ground I'd been carefully watching and saw him looking back at me. Conrad must've heard because he also glanced back.

"It's just really hot," I panted. I had to come to a sudden halt when I realized he had stopped walking and faced me now. Stopping was a bad idea because my head felt funny now.

He looked at me with furrowed brows.

"Hey guys, let's take a quick break?" He called over his shoulder.

Houston and San were pleased with this idea and rested on the nearest thing they could sit on, catching their breath and mopping the sweat from their faces.

Slivko set down his gun and took all the bags off his shoulders, setting them by a nearby tree.

"Come here," he waved me over to him.
"Give me this," He said grabbing a back pack strap.

He helped me take it off and set it with his stuff. It was so nice to get rid of the weight and let my sweaty back breath a bit.

"Is everything alright?" Conrad asked, stepping over to us.

"She's over heating," Slivko told him. "If she has a concussion she needs to stay hydrated."

Conrad nodded as he looked at me.
"That's right. You don't look so good, Darling."

Slivko's jaw clenched.

"All this humidity, I just can't do a thing with my hair," I joked.

"Weren't you supposed to take care of her?" Slivko questioned him as he slung his gun over his shoulder and took my hand in his.

He led me over to a small waterfall that was nearby. We were having to take a small detour into the woods because we couldn't walk on the bank of the river due to it turning into a straight vertical cliff. Small streams along or path told us we were still going the right way. Once we were standing by the waterfall he took my other hand from by my side and turned them palms up before putting them under the water.

"The veins are close to the surface on the inside of your arms," He explained, tracing his finger from my inner wrist to my elbow, making me shiver from the ticklishness of it. "Cool off the blood here and it makes its way everywhere else."

"That's really smart," I said, running my whole forearms under the water.

He dug into a pocket on his pant leg and pulled out a silver flask. It must have been empty, because he opened it and put it directly under the water, filling it. The others came and cooled off too, taking a drink as well.

"Take a little sip, not too much or you'll get sick," He warned, handing it to me.

"Wow, you're really smart," I told him before obediently taking a few small sips.

"I'm in the military, sweetheart," He smirked at me.

I nearly choked on the water because he made me laugh.

"Hey, you're looking like yourself again. Feeling better?" He chuckled, taking the flask from me.

"Yeah," I responded, then gasped when he poured some of the cold water on the back of my neck. "Geez, a little warning."

He took a drink and then poured the rest on the back of his neck. I caught some water and threw it at him, splashing him in the face.

"Yeah, definitely feeling better!" He laughed, wiping it off his face and flicking it at me.