“No. I don’t.”
“Wait,” said Brett. “Loobey, you have cancer? What’s the prognosis?”
Loobey sighed and leaned against the counter. The sweat on his forehead came in beads. “It’s no picnic, but I’m dealing with it. It is what it is.”
“I’m sorry,” said Brett. “My nan had breast cancer in her fifties. She survived, but I know she went through hell. What kind do you have?”
“Hodgkin’s lymphoma. It’s cancer of the lymphatic system. I don’t know the ins and outs of it – I kind of block my ears when the doctors get too technical – but it’s treatable and I’m being treated. End of.”
Brett took in a deep breath and steadied himself. “Okay. We don’t have to talk about it, Loobs, but if you need anything, I’m here.”
“Thanks. I just want to get on with things.”
“Of course, but if you have cancer, then it’s even more important that you stay away from Sean. With your compromised immune system, you’re in greater danger than any of us.”
Loobey grabbed a beer from the fridge and took a swig. “This is probably going to make me puke, but I need it.”
Brett put a hand on the counter and shoved aside some of the snacks until he found something he seemed to be searching for. It was a packet of salted peanuts. “Here, eat these while you drink. I read once that they can help with nausea.”
“Really?”
“It’s probably an old wives’ tale, but you never know. Eat a couple after every sip. See how you go.”
Loobey took a swig of beer and gasped with pleasure, then munched on a handful of peanuts. He seemed to loosen up. “Oh, sweet intoxicating poison. Just what the doctor ordered.”
Brett turned to Ryan. “You need to keep Sean away from the cottage until Tom gets back. If you and Aaron want to risk your health, that’s your choice, but keep him away from Loobey and me.”
“Fine. Let’s just hope no one else gets infected, if this is the way we behave.”
“I’m just being practical, Ryan. Keep yourself and Aaron as far away from Sean as possible, okay? And at all costs, do not let him touch you.”
“I get it, but I can’t abandon him. You saw how pathetic he was. How afraid he was.”
“He’s dying,” said Loobey. When they looked at him, he sighed and went on. “I’ve spent enough time around cancer wards to know the look. If Tom doesn’t get back soon, Sean ain’t gonna make it.”
Brett cleared his throat, ran a hand across his forehead. “I don’t know what we’re dealing with, but based on his rapidly increasing emaciation, I would have to agree. The fungus is draining his reserves. Get him to eat something, Ryan, if you can.”
Ryan grabbed a packet of crisps to accompany the beers. “I’ll do my best. What are you two going to do while I’m back at the stream?”
“Wait for Tom,” said Brett. “What else is there to do?”
“Drink,” said Loobey, holding up his beer, “to our health.”
Chapter Seven
Ryan joined Aaron and Sean by the stream. There was a good three metres between the two of them and Sean appeared calm with his bare feet in the water. The fact that he was naked bar a pair of boxer shorts didn’t seem to concern him. Ryan was wearing his jacket and still felt a crisp chill.
“You okay, Sean?” asked Ryan.
Sean twisted around, a weak smile on his green and pale face. “Just enjoying the scenery, mate. Not every day you get to enjoy fresh air like this. It can add years to your life.”
Ryan plonked himself down on Sean’s left, Aaron already sitting on his right. He stared down the hillside as his lungs took in the clean air, absorbing the grey-green-orange landscape that seemed to stretch on forever. “This is why I picked the place. I wanted to make some memories.”
“Job done,” Aaron muttered. Once again he was poking at the water with a stick. “None of us is ever going to forget this.”
Ryan had to concede his brother’s point, although he could have done without the tone. “Things didn’t exactly go the way I expected, but we’re going to get through this. How’re you feeling, Sean?”
Sean shrugged, as if to suggest he was fine, but a small amount of that calm gave way to panic. The sudden pleading look in his one good eye made it seem like he was a prisoner trapped inside his own body. When he spoke, it seemed to take great effort. “W-What’s happening to me, Ryan?”
“You’re going to be just fine, Sean.”
“I don’t believe you. I can see it in your face, man. This ain’t gonna get better, is it?”
“Brett said it’s just a fungus. Medicine will treat it. As soon as Tom gets back with help, we’ll get you seen to. Right as rain, you’ll be.”
“It’s too late, Ryan. There’s all this noise inside my head. It’s like screaming, hundreds of people screaming at me. I… I’m scared. I’m really scared.”
Ryan wanted to reach out and hold his friend, but the green fuzz was all over his body, right up to his throat. It was like sitting next to a monster – something human in shape only. Ryan did the only thing he could think of. He rolled a beer across the bank and tossed the packet of crisps. “Here, try to eat something, okay?”
Sean reached out to take the beer but changed his mind and put his hand in his lap. His fuzzy fingers rested against the strange bone-like protrusion on his stomach. The desperate, frightened look in his eye had gone. “I’m not thirsty.”
“Oh, okay. Do you mind if I drink? I know it’s early, but my nerves are fried.”
“Fine.” That was all Sean said. He sat completely still, staring into the water.
Ryan tossed Aaron a beer behind Sean’s back and opened one for himself. They both took a swig and exchanged nervous glances with one another. For a second, Sean had been himself
