Chapter 8 Fun Dream

• I sat up to move the fire to the other end before I settled down closer to the girls.
• Their sweet scent comforted me to sleep, despite the roaring rainstorm outside.
• In my dream, a raging wind pushed me into a cold river. My limbs were frozen as if they were paralyzed. I watched as my body sank continuously.
• “Ahhh!”
• I yelled at the top of my lungs but realized that my body still couldn’t move.
• “Ugh. What the heck?” Hailey’s voice sounded like it was from another realm. I couldn’t tell if it was a dream or reality.
• “His teeth are chattering... No, he’s got a fever!”
• Is that Yara?
• “What should we do? He’s burning.”
• “He might die if this goes on.”
• Wind, rain, those voices... I was shaking so much that I couldn’t tell their voices apart. Everything was morphing together.
• Is this the end of my life? I fell into a trance as everything faded to white. My late combat partner, Coyote, awaited at the brightest spot of the white light. He smiled warmly at me.
• Maybe I should depart this way and let them fend for themselves. I hope they’ll forgive me... eventually.
• I gave Cayote a relaxed smile as I grabbed his extended hand. My feet left the ground as a gentle force pulled my body upward.
• Out of nowhere, a warm yet curvaceous body hugged me from behind and grounded my floating body.
• It was a fuzzy and squashy sensation. I tried to open my eyes with all my might, only to fail horribly.
• This embrace cast away the chills in my bones. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long.
• “Don’t leave...”
• My feeble voice convinced it to return, and I was securely enveloped in its honeyed haven again.
• They took turns hugging me to cool my body down.
• Like a baby with its pacifier, I found comfort holding a plump, spongy object close to me.
• I heard a low hum, yet I was too fatigued to acknowledge it before I drowned in a sea of unconsciousness.
• When I stirred again, there was an itch on my face. I opened my eyes discreetly to Yara’s face right in front of mine. Clasping her arms around me, her clear, nervous eyes met mine. As she breathed, her hair on my face moved subtly.
• Seeing that I was up, she smiled at me coyly and loosened her grip.
• “Ah... thanks.” My throat was burning so much that my voice became raspy.
• “Are you only thanking her?” Holding on to my axe, Hailey looked down to give me the side-eye.
• I grinned at her playfully, to which she responded by lifting the axe.
• Whoosh! A coconut split into two.
• Hailey came to me with one of them and carefully fed me the coconut water. She explained in a gentle tone that I had caught a fever last night, so they took turns hugging me to cool down my body temperature.
• I felt so much better after the coconut water that I grew confident in my strength. However, I was deeply disappointed when I failed to sit up.
• My whole body felt like jello. I broke into a sweat from even the slightest movement. It was apparent that I needed quite a bit of rest.
• What about them, though?
• “Tina. Take care of him. Cuddle him if his body gets hot again,” Hailey instructed before leaving with Yara and my axe.
• “Where’re you headed?” I inquired.
• Hailey didn’t bother to turn back. “We’re out of food!”
• “Don’t go into the forest. There’s a wild boar—”
• The girls left without letting me finish.
• After they left, I noticed that the entrance was covered by the waterfall again. My guess was accurate. This temporary waterfall only appeared after rainfalls.
• I asked Tina to pull the ladder up because I was too weak to fight off Jude’s gang if they climbed up.
• Tina faced away as she bent down to pull the heavy rattans up slowly. Looking at the outline of her attractive figure, an evil thought came to mind. Should I fib that I am unwell again?
• When she was done with the task, Tina washed her hands with the waterfall before coming to me.
• Resting her chilly hand on my forehead, she asked, “How do you feel?” Tina appeared as innocent and caring as always. So much so that I felt compelled to abort my dirty plan.
• “Pretty good.” I smiled meekly, “Thanks for last night.”
• Tina blushed. With a tiny voice, she expressed her gratitude, “We should be the ones thanking you. Without you, we wouldn’t still be alive.”
• I chuckled. My brain felt foggy as if I was going to blackout again at any moment. I told Tina to tend to the fire as I couldn’t start another fire in my current state.
• She nodded, and I let my heavy eyelids fall. I lost my sense of time until a long inhale pulled me back.
• I opened my eyes again to see Tina’s ghostly pale face and her folded arms on her stomach.
• She pursed her lips to muffle her sound, not to disturb me. But her sickly crumpled face still worried me.
• Gosh, no! My stomach fell. Is she having gastroenteritis from our far from hygienic food?
• It was a deadly sickness out in the wild. People lost water considerably due to frequent diarrhea and vomiting. With no medicine available, there was little to no hope in healing.
• The anxiety gave me a surge to launch out of my bed and walk to Tina. “What’s wrong?”
• “I—” Tina crossed her legs tightly with a face as red as a tomato. “I’m fine.”
• “What do you mean, fine?” I wiped away the sweat on her forehead. “Come on. This is serious. Tell me.”
• Suddenly, I saw a stream of blood seeping from her pants to the ground. Naturally, I bit my tongue.
• Ah. She is on her period.
• Tina followed my sight and spotted the bright red spot as well. She hid her face behind her hands as her shoulders shook.
• She must be distressed right now. I made an excuse to give her some space, “Gee. I feel dizzy. I need to lie down.”
• I removed my rugged shirt and tossed it to Tina, who was quietly sniffling behind me.
• “How about you wrap yourself up with this? Take care of yourself and get those cramps under control.”
• Tina’s sobbing grew loud. I didn’t know how to respond other than letting out a sigh.
• Thankfully, I heard Hailey’s voice. I went to drop the ladder for them to climb up.
• Their faces were filled with joy. Hailey proudly flaunted a few crabs she had caught. “Some good protein for our patient—”
• Hailey sensed the thickness in the air. Detecting Tina’s weeping and the blood between her legs, Hailey’s smile vanished. She smacked my face.
• “You bastard!”
• That was an unexpected escalation. I glowered at her puzzledly, “What now?”
• “Tina!” Hailey ignored me to storm toward Tina.
• “Did he—”
• I finally understood how misleading the situation was. I was half-naked, and Tina was bleeding down there. It made sense that Hailey would jump to that conclusion.
• “He... no... It’s not like that,” Tina whispered.
• Hailey raised her voice, “There was a huge mosquito on your face. Thank god I killed it for you!”
• She must be kidding me. I was amazed by how she didn’t bother to apologize. It required exceptionally thick skin.
• If I were my normal self, I would’ve fought her already.
• I went back to sleep with a grudge, feeling left out as those girls held a conversation.
• After a period of time, I felt a nudge and opened my eyes. Hailey’s wide grin greeted me.
• “Big crab! Look!”
• She showed me a red crab.
• “Be a good boy, cousin. Open your mouth. Ahh...”
• I rolled my eyes. “You should look at how fake you’re being now.”
• “Hmph! You’re so petty.” Hailey rubbed my cheek gently. “Does it still hurt?”
• “Yeah, down here.” I poked at my chest.
• “What do you mean?”
• I exhaled sharply. “You should know that I have my morals. Getting hit doesn’t hurt, but being wrongly accused by family—”
• Hailey shoved a chunk of crab roe into my mouth to cut me off. Its fresh umami flavor overwhelmed me. Hailey pulled another dry smile. “Give me a break. I can read you like a book. That’s why I don’t feel bad about the slap. I can bet that your filthy mind is thinking about smacking my ass with my pants off as payback.”
• I chuckled to give a non-verbal affirmation. We knew each other well, after all. Wolfing down my dinner, I didn’t continue the conversation.
• My body was stronger after the naps and food. Hence, I volunteered to hunt for food, which Hailey and Yara strongly protested against.
• Before they exited the cave again, I warned them to stay away from the forest, the deep sea, and to watch out for Jude.
• When we were alone again, Tina sat next to me. “Does it hurt?”
• “Nah. I’ve got thick skin.” I curled my lips to reassure her.
• I saw a bulge on her stomach and crotch area from the shirt I gave her.
• It was a hilarious sight, but I didn’t want her to get self-conscious. Fighting back my laughter, I struck up a conversation to focus my mind on something else.
• I asked about her reason to travel to Dubai, and why her boyfriend didn’t come with her.