Kate's tears dropped onto Rudy's cheeks. He did not respond.
"Please, please." Kate begged Lucy.
Lucy shook her head sadly, her own tears staining her face. "I have tried everything. There's nothing I can do now. His heart has stopped."
"What?" Ethan pushed his way into the circle around Rudy's still body. "Did you say his heart stopped? How long ago?" He pleaded with Lucy.
"Just now." She looked to Anne and Rufus for confirmation. "Maybe a minute or two?"
Anne nodded. Rufus agreed, "No more than three. It happened just a few seconds before you guys arrived."
Ethan pulled Rufus aside, away from Kate's keening.
"Listen, here's what I need you to do." Ethan outlined his plan.
Rufus listened carefully, then nodded. "Okay, let's do it!"
Ethan returned to Kate's side. He tried to explain, but her grief made it impossible for her to listen or understand. Finally, Ethan pryed her away from her brother and ordered Griffen to keep her back. "Lucy, Anne, Georgie step back. Now!"
As soon as everyone had moved a safe distance away, Ethan ripped Rudy's shirt open. Rufus stepped forward, rubbing his hands together. Ethan leaned back, clear of Rudy's body. "Now."
Rufus let loose a stream of 3000 volts aimed directly at Rudy's chest.
His reaction was nothing like on the movies. His body simply twitched once, then remained still. "Darn!" There was dead silence as they watched Ethan begin CPR. "One, two, three, four."
He looked up at Rufus. "Again." Ethan leaned away and Rufus shot another 3000 volt charge into Rudy's heart.
Rudy took a breath, his chest lifted. Ethan grabbed his arm "I've got a pulse!"
Lucy took Rudy's other hand, closed her eyes and concentrated harder than she ever had in her entire life. "There's swelling around his heart."
Ethan turned and took the first aid kit from Kate's backpack and rifled through the medical bag. "Lets hope it's bacterial pericarditis and not viral." He dumped all the pill containers on the ground and began reading labels while shouting orders. "Rufus, raise his head higher. That'll take some of the strain off his heart. Anne go through these bottles and find me anything that looks like a diuretic. You know something that makes you pee. Lucy, keep doing what you're doing."
Ethan uncapped a pill bottle. "Open his mouth. Georgie bring some water."
"What do you want me to do?" Kate was sobbing partly in relief, but mostly in fear.
"It's enough that he knows you are here." Griffen put his arm around Kate.
Ethan dropped 4 antibiotics capsules into Rudy's mouth. "Okay, Georgie, go."
Rufus pulled Rudy's bottom jaw down while Georgie slowly poured water into Rudy's mouth. Rudy sputtered, but managed to swallow two pills with the water. The other two pills slipped through his lips landing in the dirt. Kate gasped, but Ethan assured her that was the exact reason why he'd given her brother a double dose.
Next Ethan turned to Anne. "Did you find anything we can use?"
"I'm not sure, but these say they are to be taken with plenty of fluids. And this one's called Diuril."
"Perfect." Ethan took the prescription bottle from Anne and double dosed Rudy again in the hope that at least half would be swallowed. This time he managed to swallow three pills and a mouth full of water. Ethan leaned back on his heals. "Let's make him comfortable."
"What do we do now?" Rufus asked.
"Now we wait." Ethan began repacking the medical bag.
"You should eat something." Lucy held out an MRE to Kate. She had refused to leave her brother's side.
"May I take a look at your face?"
Lucy took a step back when Kate slapped the MRE from her hand onto the ground. "Get away from me." Kate hissed.
Shadow growled low in his chest. Lucy put her hand on his head. "Shh. Quiet." She then spoke to the older woman. "I understand you are upset, but believe me when I tell you that we all did everything we could for your brother."
Some of the others had wandered over to where Kate and Lucy huddled near Rudy.
"And you!" Kate next turned her venom on Anne. "Where was your great Precog power that you didn't see any of this playing out?"
Anne did not cry, instead gave Kate her best 'f you' street look.
"Hey, hey, easy!" Rufus stepped into the fray. "There is no sense blaming people. Everybody did their best."
Kate opened her mouth to respond, then closed it. Her face collapsed. Tears flooded her eyes, stinging the swollen one. Her shoulders slumped and sobs shook her body. Lucy gently gathered her into her arms.
"We need to get Rudy to a hospital." Ethan told the others.
"Is Kate well enough to transmit him?" Rufus asked.
"I don't know. And she's still refusing treatment from Lucy."
"It's like she suddenly doesn't trust us." Anne observed.
The group was silent.
Kate paced beside Rudy. She had just dropped two more antibiotic and diuretic capsules down his throat, followed by a trickle of water. His fever was down and he was resting quietly.
She had a decision to make. Her heart told her to find a way to transmit Rudy out of the rainforest, but her common sense told her it may not be that easy. The concentration it took to move people through time and space was exhausting. Kate wasn't sure she was up to it. What if she messed up? She could kill her brother. But, if she didn't get him medical treatment he would surely die. Kate kept pacing.
"Hey, beautiful!" Rudy's voice was raspy. "You made it."
Kate spun around. "Oh, my God." She dropped to the ground and carefully wrapped him in her arms.
"Why are you crying? We are together again." His weak smile made her cry louder.
Ethan finished explaining to the others what he had learned about the government's involvement in the Hive.
"So, should we be worried?" Rufus asked.
Ethan shrugged. "Honestly I don't know."
"Okay, so new plan." Anne leaned in, her voice low enough that Kate couldn't hear. "We take off on our own."
The suggestion caused a stir. They were a group of eighteen year olds that no longer had any connections in the world outside the Hive. That alone gave them pause. Had that been the goal all along? The longer they stayed in the Hive, the less chance they could, or would return to normal life.
"I'm scared." Lucy's little voice drew their attention.