Love Unspoken

Quinn was totally speechless after hearing what Alexander had to say.

She gave him another once-over. Dude was seriously messed up, with cuts and bruises all over his bare chest, but he was acting like it was no big deal.

Made it tough for Quinn to figure out if he was really in bad shape or just playing it cool.

"So, what now?" she asked.

Alexander let out a sigh and plopped down on the ground. "Wait to die," he said, like it was nothing.

Quinn rolled her eyes, glanced at the nearby ditch, and wondered if it was safe to drink some water since they couldn't clean the wounds.

But then she saw a snake swimming in the water and noped out of that idea real quick. After a moment of hesitation, she walked over and sat down next to Alexander.

Just as she sat down, Alexander suddenly handed her a water bag.

Quinn blinked, took it, and felt its weight. There was still half the water left inside.

"Let me clean your wounds first," Quinn said, putting down the water bag and reaching out to untie the cloth strips on his body. But before she could touch them, he grabbed her hand. "It's for you to drink. Don't waste it," Alexander said.

Quinn paused and instinctively said, "How is it a waste to use it to treat your wounds?"Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

Seeing the amusement in his eyes, she regretted it. She pulled her hand back and turned her head away, ignoring him.

Alexander said, "This little water isn't enough. If we can't clean all the wounds, wouldn't it be a waste?"

He picked up the water bag, opened it, and handed it to her again. "Drink first. I'll think of another way."

Quinn glanced back at him, seeing the calmness on his face, unsure if it was genuine or not. She still asked, "What way are you thinking of?"

Alexander raised his chin. "Boil the water from the river."

"But we don't have a pot," Quinn reminded.

"Use banana leaves," Alexander said.

In this forest, banana trees were everywhere.

Quinn looked at him skeptically. "Won't the banana leaves get burned?"

"Go pick some. I have a way." He pointed to the left behind Quinn and said, "See, there's one over there."

Alexander handed her the dagger from his boot.

Quinn hesitated for a moment. Although it seemed unreliable, there didn't seem to be any other options. She took the dagger and walked in that direction.

The banana tree wasn't far, only about 150 feet away.

But Quinn started to get nervous before she was halfway there. Being a bit farther from him gave her the creeps, like a wild animal could jump out and attack her any second. Gripping the dagger, she quickened her pace, finally running and reaching the banana tree as fast as she could.

She hastily grabbed the leaves and cut five banana leaves with the dagger, thinking that should be enough.

As she dragged the banana leaves back, she saw a blue snake on a tree, fighting with another snake. The two entwined bodies rolled and fell to the ground. And they were only 3 feet away from her.

Quinn's mind went blank for two seconds. The next second, she screamed, bypassed the two snakes, and ran back with the banana leaves as fast as she could.

Last time she was stranded on a deserted island, she hadn't seen these strange creatures. But this time, in just one day, she had already encountered many animals that challenged her understanding.

It was probably her loud scream that alerted Alexander. She had only run halfway when she collided with him.