Ch. 11 | Symptoms

Leo

The two weeks we were given to prepare seemed to fly by and soon enough, we were standing at our posts in Italy.

I had somehow managed to talk my father into letting me stay close to Riley. I needed to keep an eye on her.

This could just be me overreacting, but the last week alone she's changed.

She looks like she's lost weight. Her eyes look tired and lifeless. Every night I can hear her running to the bathroom and not leaving for close to an hour.

Her tan skin has become pale.

"Leo?" I heard a soft voice call from my left. I turned to see Riley smiling at me.

"Hey there," I returned the smile and couldn't help but admire the small amount of blush on her cheeks.

"Have you eaten yet?" Riley rubbed her thumb against the side of her rifle.

We were all given a rifle called the Remington bushmaster.

The recoil was a bitch but it did damage.

"I haven't. You?" I sat mine on the ground.

"Nope. I actually came to ask if you wanted to go get breakfast. But I didn't know if you had eaten or if you were hungry. Or maybe if you just didn-"

"Riley, let's go get some breakfast,okay?" I cut her rambling off before it went too far.

"Yeah sounds good!" She smiled again and turned around, Leading the way.

I followed and watched her footsteps slow down. She seemed to be dragging her feet a lot more.

The rations tent was a 2 minute walk away. That 2 minutes turned into nearly 8.

Something was up.

•••

Riley

"You need to eat more." Leo slid another apple towards me.

"Im so full." I shook my head and slid it back but Leo held my hand in place.

"You took one bite of your soup then threw it out." He narrowed his eyes at me, "How bad is it?"

I felt tears welled in my eyes. He was right from the start.

"Riley, what are the symptoms?" He let go of my hand and joined me on my side of the table.

I just shook my head and tried to wipe the tears away. I was healthy.

"Nausea, is one. Weight loss, is another. Have you been experiencing a coppery taste?" Leo asked and I slowly nodded.

"Lack of sleep?" I nodded once again.

"I've been watching you with the morning routine. You can hardly complete the 5 mile run." Leo put his hand on mine once again and I finally met his eyes.

"What do I do, Leo?" I asked with a trembling breath.

I was scared.

"We get you to a doctor. An American doctor." He took my hand in his. I slowly pulled it away.

This was none of his business. Why was I letting him in?

"Leo, you're overstepping." I stood from the table and wiped my tears.

"Riley, you're ill." He stood with me and tried to reach for me once again.

I stepped back and shook my head,"I'm fine. I'll be okay. I'll see you tonight, Leo." I gave him a quick smile and exited the rations tent.

I didn't know where I was going but I couldn't do this.

I wasn't sick.

I wasn't going to let Leo tell me otherwise. I returned to my post and gently leaned against the brick wall.

My job today was just to stand guard at the gate. Check ID's and alert my commander of any suspicious activity.

It was simple, yet it made me so exhausted. Standing here, in the hot son, with pounds of gear on me and a 5 pound rifle.

My arms felt like noodles an hour in. My legs were sore. And my stomach kept threatening to empty itself.

"Private Earningst, You okay?" I looked over to the other Private who was posted on the other side.

"I'm just tired." I nodded and my eyes began to slowly start closing.

The world got dark quick.

"Earningst!"