Page 78 of Delirium

I sat back on my heels, tent parts strewn around me. “It doesn’t happen to everyone, but there’s a strong likelihood of it, yes. Judging by Camp and James, compared to us, I think we have a bit of time before that happens.”

Scarlett nodded, filing away the information for later, like I knew she always did.

“We’re going to be okay, darling. I promise. We’re going to get out of here—all of us.”

A whisper ran down my back, curling against the shell of my ear.Are you certain about that, Nash? Because you better make sure you’re really sure before you lie to a beautiful soul like Scarlett. She’d never forgive you for deceiving her.

I whipped my head around, expecting James, as he might’ve been trying to stir shit up, except he still sat on the log, staring off into the distance. The words felt like they wererightthere.

“You okay? Still here with me?” Scarlett asked, crouching down next to me.

“I’m good. Swear. I just thought I heard something, but I think it was just the wind.” Even as I said it, I realized the lack of wind rustling the trees. Shit. “How are you at starting fires?”

“It’s been a while, but I can probably remember. Do you have dry kindling, matches or a lighter or do I have to go hunting?”

I nodded, pointing to my backpack. “Side pocket inside the waterproof baggie. There should be a bundle of kindling and some matches. See if you can get James to help you. Lord knows the man probably can’t spark a flame to save his life, but it’s not good for him to just be sitting around moping, either.”

I watched her gather the lighter from my bag, cajoling a baffled James into kneeling next to her in the mud. She had been humble when she said she could probably remember how to start a fire. She had no issues at all building a small structure to catch light.

You’re going to kill her, Nash. You know that already. You kill everything beautiful you touch. And now you brought her out here to die.

Again I looked around, seeing no one near me. Just a figment of my imagination. I just needed to ignore my stress and focus on the task at hand.

One last look toward the sky told me our time was limited. We might be stalled in our travels from the rain alone, depending on how the next few hours played out. Focusing on building the tent took all my attention, and before long the small shelter stood assembled in front of me.

I tossed my bags inside, grabbing Scarlett’s and James’ abandoned bags, too. The faded red tent was small, but would fit all of us no problem. A bit snug, but it was better than nothing.

James appeared next to me. “Is that really going to fit everyone?”

“Unless you’d rather take your chances outside, I think so.” I gave him a look that told him exactly how large I estimated the stick up his ass was. “How’s the fire?”

He nodded toward Scarlett, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “Perfect with no help from me. I feel like every time I get to know her, she shows me up with something new.”

I laughed. “She’s definitely full of surprises. I can’t say I mind it, though.”

“No. It’s been…refreshing.” James didn’t take his eyes off Scarlett, kneeling next to her decent- sized blaze. “Do you have something we should be cooking?”

Scarlett must have felt us staring at her, because she looked up with a smile. Her grin told me everything was right in the world, even if we were all slowly losing our minds, even if we were stuck hiking through the rainforest to survive. When she smiled at me like that, it was all going to be okay.

“Let me get you one of the ready meals.” I ducked into the tent, rummaging through my bag until I found the supplies we needed, and joined Scarlett and James at the fire.

Within a few minutes we had a dinner bubbling over the flames.

Scarlett came and sat next to me, folding her arms over her legs. “I think Camp is waking up.”

Is he? Or did you kill him, too? All of this is your fault, you know.All of it.

I ignored the voices, so clearly heard I could’ve sworn Scarlett was the one saying them to me. Except she wasn’t.

I was hallucinating. At least I was still currently aware enough to realize it. Give me a couple of hours and I’d be just as bad as Camp and James.

I looked over to Camp, who was indeed stirring. When he opened his eyes, they were clear and lucid.Thank fuck.I could carry him if I needed to, but I didn’t know quite how far my strength would last.

He rubbed his eyes and got to his feet. “What did I miss?”

“Nothing much,” Scarlett said, patting the log next to her. “We just decided to set up camp, made some dinner. You hungry?”

“Starving actually.” Camp pressed a kiss onto the top of Scarlett’s head, sitting down next to her.

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