20 minutes after leaving the clearing in front of the Hive, Ethan stepped out of the jungle to the spot where Georgie and Kate waited.
"Hi. Sorry for taking these without asking." A compass, a marker and the map rested in his outstretched palms.
"No problem. I knew you'd take good care of them. You should probably keep them." Kate pointed at her swollen, shut eye. "Did you find what you were looking for?" Kate asked while returning the supplies to her backpack. She purposely avoided looking at him.
"Yes, yes, I did." Ethan dropped down beside her. "Let me look at your face, please." Gently he lifted her chin.
"It probably looks worse than it is," Kate joked, keeping her one good eye trained on Ethan's face. "Sometimes things are different than they appear on the surface."
Ethan smiled at her. "I doubt it. Things seem pretty obvious to me. If you feel well enough we should probably get moving."
Kate agreed even though it felt like somebody was using a jackhammer on her head. Ethan helped Kate pack up her BIVVY. She didn't argue with them when Ethan and Georgie divided her supplies to carry. Georgie slung his supplies, plus Kate's sleeping bag over his shoulder. Ethan took her backpack.
"Which way?" Kate let Ethan take the lead.
Rudy was shivering, sweating and freezing. Probably not a good combination. He shook his head to try and clear it, but only made him dizzy.
It was Anne who noticed something was wrong. "Rudy, drink this, please."
She stepped up beside him, a bottle in her hand. Rudy looked at her like he had never seen her before.
"Lucy, can you come over here, please?" Anne called across their camp.
Lucy and Shadow appeared at Anne's side. Lucy took one look at Rudy and dropped to her knees. "It looks like malaria."
"Can you help him?" Griffen asked. He and Rufus had joined the group.
"I'll try." Gently, Lucy placed a hand on each side of Rudy's face. His skin was feverish. Lucy closed her eyes. Calmly, she began to hum.
The others waited.
Kate's step faltered. "Rudy." It was a whisper.
Georgie almost bumped into her. "What's the matter? Is it a snake? A crocodile, cannibals?" Georgie's head spun from side to side looking for the danger.
"Georgie, stop!" Ethans tone was stern. "What happened Kate?" Ethan waited patiently for her to turn her attention to him.
"I don't know. Honestly, my head hurts so much, I can't concentrate. I thought I felt danger."
Ethan ran a hand down her arm. "Lets keep moving. The sooner we meet up with the others, the safer we'll all feel." He kept his voice level, tamping down his own impatience to connect with the rest of their group.
Rudy's fever broke. He was exhausted but managed to drink a few sips of water.
"Well, it looks like we will be spending the night here." Rufus looked around the clearing. "Griffen, buddy, how about setting up the rest of the BIVVYs? I'll help you get Rudy into his, then Anne, you and I will look for water and maybe find some dry wood for a fire. And, maybe everybody better slather on some extra bug repellent."
"Gotcha." They began setting up camp.
Lucy stayed beside Rudy and Shadow stayed glued to Lucy. Rufus felt comfortable striking out in search of water while Lucy was protected by her wolf.
Rufus waited until they were out of earshot of the others. He didn't want to scare Lucy. "Anne, can you control the visions. I mean, can you search for someone?" Rufus and Anne were picking up kindling to start a fire.
"I can control them better now than I could in the past. Why?"
"Just curious." Rufus shrugged.
"Yeah, right." Anne punched his arm.
"Okay." Rufus smile was good-natured. "I am worried about the others. Don't you think it's weird that Kate hasn't contacted Rudy?"
"I did wonder about that. The bond between those two is almost creepy."
"True."
"I expected Rudy to pop out, then return with news of Kate and Ethan and Georgie." He shrugged, "But, so far nothing, zip, nada. Strange, right?"
Anne agreed. "Give me a minute and I'll see what I can find." She sat on a fallen log and began the zen like meditation Len Green had taught her.
Rufus stayed nearby collecting firewood.
Ethan waited til Georgie stepped a few feet away, into the rainforest, to relieve himself before he asked Kate the burning question. He kept his voice low. "What's the gun for?"
Kate looked resigned. "Protection."
Ethan waited, but she didn't elaborate. "Okay." He wasn't letting it go that easily. "I'll play. Protection from what?"
"You saw the army." She said simply.
"That was no army, they were..." Georgie leaped out of the jungle. "I heard something moving!" His eyes were wide, his hands shook as he hooked his belt.
Georgie was grateful that Ethan did not disregard his fear, but suggested they keep moving.
"Okay," Anne unfolded from her yoga pose. "Here's what I've got."
Rufus waited.
"Ethan, Kate and Georgie are moving through the rainforest. There are no landmarks, so, I have no way of knowing what direction. They seem healthy enough. They have covered their faces and hands in mud, probably as extra protective from insects."
"We should do that."
"I agree. I'm sure it was Ethan who came up with the idea. Anyway, one thing I noticed was that Kate is not carrying any supplies."
"Does that mean she's hurt and can't carry them or were they lost or stolen?" Rufus mused aloud.
"No way to tell." Anne added. "But, I'm going with injured, otherwise she would have contacted her twin."
"Okay, let's take this wood back to the camp. At least we know they are moving. The others will be happy to hear some good news." They gathered the firewood up and scooped it up into their arms. "Then we'll head back out for water."
Georgie tripped for the third time. He was constantly looking over his shoulder. Finally, Ethan offered him the lead. Georgie scurried in front of Kate. Ethan showed him the map, locating their position by pointing to a 'v' shaped gouge in the landscape. Then he explained the marked route on the map and what landmarks to watch for. Georgie squinted and nodded. "Yeah, okay, got it."
Ethan dropped to the back, behind Kate. Her voice low, she asked, "Do you think that was a good idea?"
She didn't see Ethan's shrug. "Georgie is an okay guy, he just lacks confidence."
Kate nodded, surprised at the maturity of Ethan's analysis. "Plus, you memorized the map and the route."
"Plus, I memorized the map and the route." Ethan agreed.
"Want to tell me about the badge I found." Ethan asked.
Kate didn't seem surprised by his question. "I'll explain later. When we stop for the night."