The Disbanders

Chapter 26: Decisions

"What? What do you mean, you know what's wrong with him? Doesn't he just have the flu?", asks Hayden.

"No, it's something else. I'm telling you, it's worse!"

"Okay, but how do you know?"

"There are more symptoms. He's lost a ton of weight, and he's starting to cough up blood. It's all over his clothing sleeves! Look, we need to tell the others. Come on!" Without hesitation, I grab his wrist and practically drag him back to the house with me.

We make it down the hill, back to the fire pit, where I release Hayden and send him to a seat. Will and Alexa come outside.

"What's going on?", asks Alexa. "Why are you-"

"I know, yes. I'm muddy. That's not what's important here, though. Sit down. There's something I need to tell you all." Will and Alexa glance at each other, then at Hayden, before sitting down nervously.

"So, what is it?", asks Will. I take a deep breath.

"I'm convinced that Chuck has the hantavirus." Nobody seems to believe me.

"What are you talking about?", asks Alexa. Hayden shrugs.

"What even is that?", asks Will.

"It's a rare illness that my aunt told me about. It's caused by exposure to rodent biological waste, such as feces or urine. Some symptoms include fever, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, weight loss and coughing up phlegm and blood!" Again, nobody says a word. "I'm not kidding. I know this sounds crazy, but if I'm right, he has a 45 to 50% chance of dying! Death would essentially be guaranteed if he doesn't get treatment. Exposure begins 1-6 weeks after exposure, and––." Will stands up, cutting me off.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down," says Will, growing frustrated. "How could we even confirm this?"

"Chuck was the one who cleaned the trailer two weeks ago! His symptoms started showing up within a week! He was one on his hands and knees, inhaling rat feces and probably rubbed his nose, or eyes, something like that!" I feel as though I'm spiralling, but I also know that everything I'm saying is true.

"How do you even know about this illness in the first place?", asks Alexa. "It seems very random." I sigh.

"I know about it because of my aunt," I reply. "She was a surgeon, and when things got really bad with my parents, she'd pick me up and take me to the hospital. For years, one of the things she did with me for fun was tell me about rare illnesses and the details of them. That was the most recent one she told me about, right before I ran away." They all look at me, stunned. I sigh again, exasperated. "Okay, I know that's really weird, but don't judge me! None of us had a normal childhood! I had a set of medical flashcards that my aunt made me when I was eight on this little Disney Princess notebook I had. It literally kept me entertained in my childhood, and helped me coped. I had nothing else, so I memorized those instead. " I can feel my eyes begin to well up, and a lump in my throat. "I know there's more wrong with Chuck than is visible, and if I remember correctly, things will get much worse in a very short span of time, if we don't do something about this soon!"

Alexa looks as though she has something to say. Finally, she opens her mouth.

"I mean...." she begins, struggling to find the right words, "how can we really confirm this? I know this was a big part of you, but that doesn't mean it's true in this case. Besides, we can't simply go up to Chuck and tell him: 'by the way, you're going to die pretty soon, have fun with that!' We can't worry him like that." I roll my eyes at her sarcasm.

"I thought you were feeling better about this," says Will. "Remember our conversation this morning? You're still incredibly sleep deprived, don't forget. You could be spiralling a bit here." I turn to him, appalled.