Annie Oakley's Arc

Chapter 23 of 25

Morning light came through the triangle window of the A-frame. Annie woke to Misty being sick into the pail again. Lainey was already there, holding Misty's hair back, one hand on the girl's back. Annie's own stomach ached, but it had been hours since she'd thrown up. She counted them in her head. That felt like something. Lainey wiped Misty's mouth and set the pail down. She looked at Annie. "You slept." "My tummy hurts. But I didn't get sick." "Good." Lainey pressed the back of her hand to Annie's cheek. "Warm. Not bad." Then she moved to Misty and did the same. Her face changed a little. "You're hotter than last night, honey." "My belly feels big," Misty said. She pulled her hat lower. "It hurts different." Annie sat up too fast and the room tipped. She grabbed Misty's arm. "Are we gonna give it to each other? I don't wanna make her worse. I don't wanna get worse." Her voice climbed. "We're in the same bed." Lainey put a hand flat on Annie's shoulder. "Stop. Listen to me." She waited until Annie's breathing slowed. "You don't have a bug. You have ulcers. From fear, from not eating. Lindy said so. That's not something you can catch, and it's not something you can give." "But my fever—" "Is from crying and worrying. A stress fever. It'll pass." Lainey said it plain, like a fact she'd checked twice. "You've got ulcers in your tummy, Annie. That's all. It's the same thing Lindy found before." Annie's shoulders came down. "And Misty?" Lainey looked at the smaller girl. She pressed gently on Misty's belly. Misty winced. "Hers is bacterial. The swelling's from that. That's why her fever's up and mine's not worried." She met Annie's eyes. "But it's not the catching kind either. She can't pass it to you in the sheets. You two are safe together." Annie held onto that. Two sick girls, one bed, and neither one making the other worse. She looked at Misty, throwing up every couple hours now, her belly tight and hot. Ulcers didn't do that. Misty needed more than fizzy water and rest. "She needs Lindy," Annie said. "For real. The swelling's getting worse." Lainey nodded once. "I was thinking the same." She stood and pulled her hat on. "I'll ride to the clinic. Bring the healer back or bring what she sends." She stopped at the door. "You keep Misty drinking. Small sips. Can you do that, sick as you are?" Annie wiped her face. Her stomach still pulled, but her hands were steady now. "I can do that." "I know you can." Lainey left. Hooves sounded, then faded. Annie turned to Misty on the paisley comforter. She was scared before. Now she had one clear job. She poured half a glass and held it to Misty's lips. "Small sip," she said. "Then we'll pray while we wait for Lindy."