Chapter 939: The Water

When Roxanne indicated she wanted to examine his stomach, Benny readily removed his arms. Roxanne caressed Benny's forehead; distress filled her eyes. Despite examining both children, she couldn't diagnose their ailment. Their pain intensified with each passing moment, leaving Roxanne feeling helpless and deeply regretful for bringing them to camp without adequate supervision. Her guilt was evident.

Archie, noticing his mother's distress, approached quietly. "Mommy," he said.

His voice broke through her reverie. She composed herself, then asked, "I brought a medical kit. Could you fetch it from the tent?"

The children were in excruciating pain, and Roxanne, unable to pinpoint the cause, focused on alleviating their symptoms. Archie returned quickly with the kit. Roxanne dispensed painkillers, giving each child one, and waited.

"How are you two feeling?" she asked.

She considered two possibilities: overexertion leading to a cold, or a bacterial infection. However, this didn't explain Archie's apparent good health. Indeed, Archie showed no symptoms.

Archie frowned, patting his stomach. "My tummy hurts a little," he said, gesturing to show it was mild discomfort.

Roxanne's suspicion grew. Five minutes after administering the painkillers, the children showed no improvement. Estella, curled up and sweating, was barely moving from the pain. Roxanne was distraught.

"Mommy..." Archie called out.

Roxanne's heart sank as she looked at him. His brow furrowed, he solemnly declared, "I think I know why Benny and Essie are sick!"

"What is it?" Roxanne asked, hope flickering. She expected an explanation of their activities while she was away.

To her surprise, Archie retrieved their water cups from the tent. Roxanne watched, bewildered, as he sniffed the inside of each cup. He detected a strange odor, the same he'd noticed earlier in the water. Despite the water being consumed, the smell lingered.

He thrust the cups under Roxanne's nose. "Mommy, smell."

Roxanne complied, inhaling deeply. Her face paled. The evidence contradicted her earlier assumptions; all three cups held the same peculiar scent.

"Maybe my stomach doesn't hurt much because I only had one sip," Archie speculated, explaining he'd spat out the second mouthful after sensing something was wrong. Benny and Estella, however, had drunk their entire cups. If the water was the culprit, their more severe symptoms made sense.

Roxanne found Archie's reasoning sound and convincing.