Survivor

34| Goin' on a Ginger Hunt

"There," he panted, "see? I got it."

"Yes Cam, wow. You really made it look easy," I teased as I walked past him towards the fire pit.

"Smart ass," he muttered and followed me out. I began placing logs onto our fire pit and Cam was gathering some sticks and brush to get one started. I sat down on one of our log seats and watched him work. The sun was almost fully risen now, so I imagined most of the guys would be up soon. Nobody ever slept in around here.

A few minutes later, Nathan ran from the cave with a frantic look on his face. He rounded the corner to the side of the cave wall and dropped down to all 4's before his body started heaving, and he threw up.

"Oh no," I said, "I'm gonna go check on him."

I grabbed a water bottle of clean water and made my way over to Nathan. "Hey buddy. How you doin'?"

He sat back against the cave and groaned. "Not good. I feel yucky," he complained and stuck his bottom lip out. He looked so sad and vulnerable it actually kind of hurt my heart.

"Awe Nate I'm sorry. Here, have some water."

"Thank you," he said, grabbing the bottle from me.

"Don't worry. Cam and I are going to go get some ginger root. It'll help with your nausea."

"That sounds..." he cut off, "Oh god, Cass go away. I don't want you to see this."

I didn't really want to see it either, so I muttered a quick "feel better" before heading back towards the fire.

Poor fella.

To my surprise, Jake was up and talking to Cam. He still looked very sick, and he was swaying a little on his feet.

"Morning Jake. How come you're out here?" I asked.

"I needed some fresh air. I was feeling nauseous in there. Plus, I didn't want to listen to Nathan and Luke puking or Adam coughing," he explained. He locked his green eyes on mine and squinted as if he was scrutinizing me. "Hey, how come you look so tired? Are you sick too?"

"No. I just didn't sleep that well last night, that's all."

There was a moment of silence as he continued to look at me, and when he did speak again all he said was, "Hm."

Strange? I didn't understand his reaction but decided not to press him. Instead, I handed him a water bottle I had filled earlier to ease the tension. Besides, he was still very sick.

"Thank you," he said, grabbing the water bottle from me. His expression became much softer and I was glad.

Derek approached us shortly after, running a hand through his hair, "Morning guys. So, looks like Adam, Wes, and Nathan are all sick today too. The only ones who aren't are the 3 of us," he explained, pointing a finger at Cam and I.

"Well, now that you are up, we can go get the ginger root. Cassie and I can go. Derek, I think you should stay back and help take care of everyone."

"No. You two shouldn't go off by yourselves; it's too dangerous. I can go with you," Jake interjected.

"Jake, no you can't; you can barely stand. We will be fine. Trust me," I said, pleading with my eyes so that he would understand and lay off.

He ran a hand through his hair and looked to Derek who gave him a slight shake of his head. He let out a huff and crossed his arms over his chest. "Fine. I guess you're right. Cam, keep her safe."

"Of course I will," Cam said.

"I'll keep Cam safe too," I teased, but Jake just rolled his eyes.