Give Me Courage (Give Me Series #4)

29 - Reishi

Specks of dirt clung to my face with every roll of my neck against the concrete flooring of the Hale vault. A sheen layer of sweat coated my skin and soaked through my shirt as my body consistently raised its temperature to fight off the virus infecting my immune system.

The virus forced my state of mind in and out of consciousness as it overwhelmed my system until I could barely focus on the quiet conversations happening around me. My friends' voices in the vault sounded muffled by the time the sound waves reached my eardrums. A few words or sentences managed to break through the cloudy haze of my mind.

A trail of tears snuck underneath my closed eyelids and ran across my cheeks until they splattered on the concrete beneath my face. My eyes rapidly moved underneath my eyelids with different scenarios resurfacing in my head, mixing occasional moments of consciousness with fever dreams. Time muddled together in a blurry fashion until I wasn't sure what was real anymore.

My eyes abruptly snapped open for a brief moment as a loud gasp flitted from my lips. I drew my arms in closer to my body, shivering from the cool temperatures my body believed was real, despite my excessive sweating. My eyes repeatedly fluttered open, fighting against the strong temptation to close them once more and locked on the body near mine.

Aiden laid a close distance with less than a foot between the two of us, curled into a loose ball. Part of his cotton shirt stuck to his body, resembling a second skin, dampened by the thin layer of sweat covering his skin with droplets trailing down his forehead and neck. The back of his head rolled against the concrete flooring, eyes tightly screwed shut as the virus worked through his mind and body, gradually growing worse along with the rest of us.

"It's okay, it's okay." I softly murmured to Aiden, thumb rubbing over the back of his hand, struggling to watch him through heavily lidded eyes.

He slowly exhaled at my words and dropped his head to my left shoulder. Our backs leaned against a pillar with Isaac's head resting on my thighs. The rest of the pack spread out through the vault, quietly chatting amongst themselves.

My heart grew heavier at the sight of my friends and brother suffering. Everyone's health took a fast decline once we were safe inside the vault, protected by the thick walls, overwhelmed with pain and the thick haze of confusion controlling our minds.

Aiden collapsed on the ground first, soon followed by my own body after I slipped from my brother's hold to check on Aiden and slammed the side of my temple against the concrete. Isaac dropped to the floor, instantly cradled my feverish body in his arms to make sure I was okay. Stiles wasn't in my line of sight when I slammed into the ground, but I heard the way his heartbeat sped up when I hit the ground.

A new state of consciousness pulled me out of the dark abyss I frequently found myself, allowing me to reopen my eyes to adjust to the dimly lit vault. My head rolled against the ground to the left, spotting Malia curled up on top of some dark green material she found. Her eyes were shut while her body twitched.

I inhaled through my mouth as I willed the strength to roll my head back to the right. Aiden appeared in my vision first, still asleep. My heart ached at my inability to bring him back to perfect health. There was a large part of me that felt like a failure as an Alpha, unable to protect my pack.

Scott and Kira sat on the other side of the room with their backs leaning against a metal container in the middle of the room. Scott noticed me moving from my spot and kept a watchful eye on me. My arm reached back for Isaac behind me, expecting to feel his body instead of my hand smacking into the ground.

"Isaac?"

I twisted around on the ground to peer behind me at the empty space. My eyebrows furrowed at the sight. I turned back to Scott with my lips parted in confusion until I realized my brother wasn't the only one missing.