Chapter
13
By
Rachel
It seems that
Kevin was thinking the exact thing I was and broke the silence by asking me if
I thought AJ and Howie were okay. I shrugged and shook my head when he offered
me some crackers and watched through emotionless blue eyes as he put the
remaining crackers away. Even though it had been almost three days since the
last time I ate, I had no hunger whatsoever. I knew if Kevin figured out that I
hadn't been eating, he would switch into his ultra "dad" mode and
make me eat, and I personally didn't think I could eat a thing, even though I
knew not eating wasn't good for my body.
"So um,
Brian," Kevin started to say, but his attention was drawn away from me and
turned towards Nick, who broke into another coughing fit, which he again did
not wake up after as I hoped he would. Once Kevin got Nick to settle down, he
again began what he was trying to say earlier. "How badly were you
injured, Bri? You never did tell me," asked Kevin as he caught my gaze.
"I'm
fine, Kev. I wasn't hurt too badly." I turned my head slightly towards the
left, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kevin roll his eyes as he put his
finger under my chin and made me look him right in the eye.
"Yeah
right, Bri. You can't even walk on your leg, and you must have been hurt worse
than the rest of us because you were standing up when we crashed, am I
right?" I shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. "Well?" he
asked.
"Yeah,
you're right, Kevin. I broke my leg and broke some ribs, and Howie thinks I had
a really bad concussion. But I'm okay," I quickly said, purposely leaving
out the fact that I may have had internal bleeding so I wouldn't worry him more
than necessary.
He gave me a
sharp look and said, ”If you say so, Bri." And then it was silent.
We again sat
in silence for a few moments; the only sound heard throughout the plane was all
of us breathing. The sound of Nick's uneven and shallow breathing immediately
alarmed me, and it must have shown in my face because Kevin put his hand on my
shoulder and whispered, "He will be okay, Bri. Have faith." I nodded
as I looked around the plane, purposely avoiding his gaze so he wouldn't see
the tears of worry that had risen to my eyes.
To say I was
shocked would be an understatement when he asked me where Jason's body was.
"In the cockpit," I hesitantly answered and watched him as he got up
to his feet and bent down to grab the blanket I had been using earlier and
walked up to the cockpit. I strained my ears to hear anything that was going
on, but heard nothing until I saw Kevin run out of the cockpit and open the
plane door, rushing outside into the unforgiving cold. My heart went out to
him; I knew it must be a horrible feeling to lose your best friend forever, and
I hoped I would never have to experience it.
I sat on the
floor for a few minutes in silence and looked up when I heard the plane door
open. Kevin entered with bloodshot and puffy eyes and gave me a weak smile.
"You
gonna be okay, Kev?" I asked as he sat down beside of me.
"Yeah,
over time I will be," he said as he yawned loudly.
"It is
your turn to get some rest now, Kev. I will watch over Nicky, okay?" He
nodded in response and lay down on the floor curling up into a ball to keep
warm. Seconds later, he was sleeping, and I sighed in relief.
I looked down
into the still, pale face of Nick and saw the beads of sweat that had
accumulated on his forehead, even though he shivered uncontrollably.
"There has to be a thermometer around this plane somewhere," I
thought as I rose to my feet and hopped over to where Howie had left the first
aid kit the day before.
I lowered
myself down to the floor and opened the kit, dumping the contents on the floor.
Hidden underneath some bandages and first aid cream was a small digital
thermometer, and I softly cried out in triumph.
I hastily
shoved the remaining contents into the kit and shut the lid, sliding it
underneath the closest seat and made my way over towards Nick. I turned on the
thermometer and put it in his slightly open mouth, keeping a firm grip on it so
it wouldn't slip.
About a minute
later the thermometer beeped, signaling that it had registered his temperature.
I gently pulled the thermometer out of his mouth and looked at the numbers.
104.7 degrees.
I sighed in
frustration as the realization of whatever was wrong with Nick was more serious
than I thought finally sunk in. I pulled the blankets up tighter around his
body to keep the warmth in, hoping it would help control his fever chills.
I leaned
against the wall of the plane and jumped when Nick started thrashing around and
mumbling incoherent things. I knew the fever was making him delirious, and I
gently held down his body until the thrashing stopped. Moments later, he was
motionless and seemed to be sleeping yet again, not once regaining
consciousness. I returned to my original position against the wall and wished I
could do something to help Nick, but I knew there was only one thing I could
do, and that was pray for his recovery and AJ and Howie's safe return.
***
