Free Dark Titan Journey: Finally Home by Thomas A Watson

is Jasmine. She will hold this while you drink so you don’t spill it or get sick,” Nathan said, handing the bottle to Jasmine.
    Staring at the bottle, the boy raised his hands to grab it then looked at Nathan, who shook his head with a hard look on his face. The boy turned to Jasmine, who was just smiling at him. Dropping his hands down to his lap, he opened his mouth. Jasmine let him drink a quarter of the bottle then pulled it back. Before the boy could grab at it she put the food bar to his lips.
    “Why’s his belly so big? Did he eat too much?” Casey asked.
    “No, he’s starving,” Nathan said. “It’s called Kwashiorkor, from severe protein deficiency. It’s not as bad as I’ve seen but another week or so and he would’ve died,” Nathan explained.
    “Is he going to be okay?” Casey asked walking over.
    Shrugging his shoulders, “I don’t know, can he? Yes, but it’s up to him.”
    “He is coming with us, right?” Casey asked with a worried expression.
    “Only if he acts right. If he presents a danger I will give him some food and leave him,” Nathan said, shocking everyone. Seeing their reaction, “Hey guys, I’m not hauling y’all across the country to save everyone we come across. If someone poses a threat to your safety I’ll deal with them.”
    “He’s a little boy,” Jasmine said.
    Nathan looked at her with a calm face. “Do I feel sorry for him? Yes, I do but I won’t risk everyone’s safety over him.”
    Blowing out a long breath, Jasmine fed the last of the food bar to the boy. “I know what you said is right but it doesn’t feel right.”
    “John, Tom, go take watch till I get warm. Girls, get some sleep now. Jasmine, stay up with Mowgli. Don’t feed him anything else for at least an hour or he will get sick. Only give him the food bars from the side of my pack,” Nathan said.
    Tom sat beside Nathan. “Nathan, it’s still raining. Don’t we want the water to go down before we leave?” he asked.
    Looking up at him with a calm face, “What has to happen before the water can go down?” Nathan asked.
    “Ah, stop raining,” Tom answered.
    “Even after it stops the water will rise from the runoff,” Nathan said. “Did you notice how much the water rose in the time it took me to get Mowgli?”
    “Only a little bit,” Tom answered. Jasmine coughed, not liking the name Mowgli.
    “We are in a large, flat basin with the water rising. I don’t want to swim out of here on the horses,” Nathan explained. Tom nodded and followed John up the ladder to the loft. “Amanda, take Emma and lie down with her,” Nathan said.
    Amanda stomped her foot. “Nathan, she wallows like a cow and slobbers all over me,” she whined.
    “That’s tough,” Nathan said. Amanda picked up Emma. Nathan moved over to the boy and looked him over. When Nathan reached for his arm to look at the scrapes, the boy jerked back. “I’m just looking at your owwies,” Nathan explained.
    Watching Nathan closely, the boy didn’t jerk back as Nathan looked at his scrapes and cuts. Then Nathan looked at his legs and feet. “You know, why can’t kids wear good shoes?” Nathan asked no one. “I mean a good pair of shoes will save them from so much agony,” he stated, looking at the filthy little feet with cuts and scrapes.
    Getting up, Nathan walked to his pack and pulled his med kit and shaving bag from his pack. Looking around till he found a pail and went outside where he filled it with water pouring off the roof. He grabbed some towels and sat down in front of Jasmine as she rocked the boy.
    “I hope you didn’t get that water off the ground,” she stated in a hushed voice.
    “No, I found the septic system and pulled it from there,” he snapped at her making her jerk back. “I got it off the drain from the roof,” he added, soaking a towel.
    “You could’ve just said that,” she mumbled.
    Gently soaking the boy’s right foot, Nathan squirted some soap on it. “After all I’ve taught