Geoff's heart pounded in his chest loud enough for Ezekiel to hear it from a few feet away. At least it was beating a little slower than before.
Geoff was currently laying on his back with the baby gopher clutched to his chest. The weight on his chest provided by the gopher was strangely comforting, and it was helping to keep him grounded. He briefly recalled a breathing exercise Bridgette had taught him last year, maybe it could help him calm down.
He took a deep breath and held it in, counting in his head.
1...2....3...4.
On the fourth second, he exhaled slowly.
Huh, that made him feel a bit better. After four seconds of holding his breath, he repeated the exercise.
Over at the small stream in the cave, Ezekiel was wringing water out of a small piece of cloth. Geoff focused his eyes on him as he walked over. Zeke gently brushed a lock of hair out of Geoff's face and began to wipe away the blood smeared around his mouth with the damp cloth. The gesture was strangely soothing, Geoff thought as he sighed quietly. While he cleaned Geoff's face off, Ezekiel began to stroke his thick, blonde hair. Geoff couldn't help but let out a weak purr as his eyelids grew heavier. In the next minute, he was fast asleep.
When he noticed Geoff was out like a light, Ezekiel took this as his cue to continue with the cleanup job he was doing. After washing the cloth out, he began to scrub the blood off Geoff's claws. It was a tricky task because of how much blood was caked under them, but there was nothing a little elbow grease couldn't fix. Geoff had really gotten roughed up, hadn't he? Ezekiel took a moment to rest his head on Geoff's chest and feel the slow rise and fall of it as he breathed. For a cold-blooded mutant, he was surprisingly warm...
Ezekiel just couldn't help himself from falling asleep as well.
When Geoff woke up, he was aware of three things. The grime that had been scrubbed from his claws, Ezekiel using his chest as a pillow, and the overwhelming nausea he felt.
Moving Zeke and the gopher off his chest, Geoff bolted to the stream in the cave and hunched over in front of it. He retched. Bloody chunks and bile erupted from his throat and spewed into the water. Oh, how it all burned. This was worse than the time his friends had triple-dog-dared him to eat that muffin out of the cafeteria trash. He regretted going berserk on those wolves, because they were messing him up from beyond the grave. As he laid on his side and clutched his stomach, he was distantly aware of a small, calloused hand rubbing his back.
"Zeke?... is that you?.."
He recieved a grunt of affirmation in response.
"Man, I'm so sorry for causing trouble.. I didn't mean to go crazy out there, I couldn't help it! I-" Geoff's words were silenced by a loud sob coming from his own throat. Big, salty, alligator tears rolled down his scaly cheeks as he looked at Zeke. The smaller boy immediately cupped Geoff's cheeks and tried to wipe his tears away with his thumbs. After all he'd done, Zeke was still trying to comfort him. Geoff really didn't deserve his little buddy. He gently nuzzled into the smaller boy and whimpered quietly.
"Still need rest, come."
Ezekiel wiped Geoff's mouth with the damp cloth from before and guided him back to the spot he was originally resting in. Geoff laid on his back and held both Ezekiel and the gopher close, sighing contentedly. At least he got all those wolf guts out of his system. He felt a bit better now.
Geoff stared down at Ezekiel, who had snuggled into his chest and shut his eyes. He couldn't help but smile a bit, the little fella was like a kitten! He gently stroked Ezekiel's hair with his now-clean claws and recieved a small smile from the little mutant in return.
After a few minutes, Geoff let himself fall asleep once more.
Unbeknownst to the two mutants, however, they were being quietly watched. The cameras hidden all around the island had captured Geoff's massacre in high definition.
"Well, well, well! So Scott WASN'T lying after all!" A small cackle could be heard from within the dark studio.
"Chef, it looks like we've got ourselves a gator to trap!"
Chapter warning: Gore descriptions, violence, Body horror?
------
The gopher had finished eating, but now Geoff needed to find something to munch on before he got hangry. He wasn't a nice guy when he was hangry.
He turned and began his walk to the shore; fishing would be an easy way to get the food he needed. After his mutation, it almost felt like an instinct.
However, his thoughts drifted to Ezekiel. He had been gone for most of the day, and the sun was starting to set now, painting the sky with gorgeous hues of pink, orange, and yellow. If only Zeke was here to see it! Geoff hoped his little buddy wasn't too upset about his disappearance-- all he wanted to do was explore the cave! He didn't know he'd get caught up in a crazy cave-in!
As he walked, he thought it was weirdly quiet.... and lonely. He'd been walking for a little less than 10 minutes now, maybe he could take a break to snuggle with his little gopher? Geoff stopped and looked around, the gopher was nowhere to be seen. The gopher was gone. A spike of fear shot up his spine, and stress began to creep through his mind. That little guy was alone in this forest of mutant freaks, and it was peak prey.
Weak and defenseless.
Geoff turned and took off the running through the forest. He kept his eyes peeled for any sight of that chubby, pink beast.
He couldn't believe he just left it behind, what was he thinking?! God, he was so fucking stupid sometimes! Of course the gopher wouldn't follow him when he walked away. It was blind, for crying out loud!
Geoff ran as fast as his long legs could take him, taking note of any tree, shrub, or rock the gopher could be hiding behind.
He'd never forgive himself if that ugly little cutie was dead because of HIM.
A raspy howl could be heard echoing throughout the forest. Geoff ran faster.
As he crashed through a clearing, he was met with a sight that turned the blood in his veins to ice.
There was a pack of grotesque, mutant wolves.
And they were feasting on a mutant gopher carcass.
The freezing feeling he had previously felt in his veins was gone. All gone.
Blazing heat traveled up his spine from the tip of his tail directly into his brain.
He was seeing red.
His heart was pounding out of his scaly chest.
He couldn't keep a single coherent thought in his head.
The vicious predator within him had broken loose, and now it was taking over.
Geoff was still hungry, after all.
There was nothing he could do to stop the growl that tumbled from his throat, or the ear-splitting roar that followed.
Those mangy mutts messed with his little buddy, and they were gonna PAY.
With no control over his body, he charged forwards and lunged at the nearest wolf. Razor-sharp teeth pierced the canine's furry skin, blood sprayed. He just couldn't stop himself as he tore the wolf apart, ripping off chunks of it's flesh and scarfing them down.
From the corner of his eye, Geoff saw the rest of the pack retreating. If they thought they could just run away, they were dead wrong.
Geoff quickly abandoned the mutilated wolf corpse and bolted towards the others. They may have been fast, but they were no match for his far superior speed.
With a quick flick of his tail, he sent half the pack flying, wounding them enough to keep them from running in the process.
With half of the pack wounded, Geoff began to blindly swipe at the other half with his claws and tail, breaking their bones from the sheer force of the attacks.
The second all the wolves were downed, Geoff went into a frenzy.
He tore into each wolf, barely caring about the mess he was making.
The pungent scent of blood pierced the air, and the metallic taste filled his mouth.
It was nearly euphoric.
-----
Geoff snapped back to reality, his head now clear of the predator instinct. He was shaking. He stared down at his clawed hands.
Blood. His hands were dripping with blood.
As he took a moment to survey the area, that was all he saw. There was blood soaked into the grass and splattered on trees, bits of fur and flesh strewn about, it was a massacre.
Geoff felt weak, he wanted to vomit, but he knew what would come out. He was scared. Scared of himself, scared of what he had become.
Geoff stumbled backwards and collapsed under what he hoped was a blood-free tree. He dug his claws into the ground and threw his head back as he gasped for air. This couldn't be happening.
He felt like he could pass out at any second, he dug his claws deeper into the earth.
He could only hear the rustle of trees, his ragged breathing, and his pounding heart.
But just then, he felt something soft and warm nuzzle against his arm.
Geoff's eyes shot open and he stared in the direction of the sensation.
The little gopher had somehow found it's way back to him. His gopher..
It climbed into his lap and he immediately grabbed it, holding it close against his chest. He curled around the gopher protectively as his chest heaved.
Tears began to spill out of his eyes and pour down his face. He was so relieved. The carcass belonged to a different gopher, his little buddy was alive.
Little buddy.... Oh, God.
Ezekiel.
He needed to find Ezekiel.
Using the tree as support, Geoff got to his feet with the baby gopher curled up in his arms. He gave it a gentle, affectionate squeeze and began his journey back to the cave.
Ezekiel paced around the cave, clutching Geoff's lucky hat close to his chest. Geoff had been gone for hours. He had looked everywhere for him, but he'd lost Geoff's scent AND his tracks.
He'd lost Geoff, the love of his life, the only person who trusted him. He could hardly believe it.
Suddenly, footsteps. Slow and heavy footprints.
There were only two of them, so they couldn't belong to any animal.
But... he KNEW those footprints, he'd heard them before. He knew that rhythm.
It had to be Geoff.
Ezekiel whipped his head around, but the sight his eyes fell upon made his heart sink.
Geoff stumbled into the cave, dripping in blood and looking miserable. The blonde boy let out a pathetic whine and fell to his knees, letting his eyes meet Ezekiel's.
Ezekiel wrinkled his nose at the scent Geoff brought in and rushed over.
"Zeke, buddy... I'm sorry.. I'm so sorry..."
Zeke quickly hushed him and helped to maneuver him into a position where he was laying on his back, but Geoff refused to let the gopher go.
"You look sick, I take care. Just like before."
Ezekiel gently brushed Geoff's messy bangs away from his eyes and recieved a look of pure trust and vulnerability in return.
Geoff paced around on the cave floor, fidgeting with his hair.
"This CANNOT be happening, dude."
His tail whipped around in a panic, Ezekiel made sure to stay out of the way.
"HOW could this even happen, man?!"
Ezekiel sat and thought for a moment.
"Gator in swamp. It bite, you mutate."
Geoff stopped pacing around and sat on the floor with his legs crossed and his tail in his lap. "How am I gonna face Bridgette like this?.. Will she even love me as a mutant?..."
Zeke gave the other boy a sympathetic look.
The blonde sighed and ran his clawed fingers through his messy hair. "I don't think they're coming back for me, man. It's been a whole week."
"Not lose hope."
"Why don't we just do something to get our minds off this? Anything works." Geoff stopped fidgeting with his hair and began to pet his tail.
Ezekiel stood up. "We hunt. I go on land, you take water." He began walking towards his exit to the cave. "Sounds just fine, buddy." Geoff got up and followed close behind.
The way out of the cave was not 'a walk in the park', as one would say.
Geoff did his best to follow Ezekiel as they climbed over rocks and walked through shallow waters. "You know this place like the back of your hand, don't you?" Geoff attempted to make small talk as they ventured out of the cave. "Only some. Other parts are mystery." The smaller mutant grunted in response.
While he was trying to play it off and lie to himself to make the situation seem better, the blonde mutant knew that he was still devastated by this turn of events. All of his life plans were probably canceled, he'd never live a normal life again. He'd never marry Bridgette, and they'd never have kids. Bridgette probably wouldn't want freakish half-mutant babies, anyways.
The worst part about this whole thing, though? If he and Ezekiel were ever rescued, they'd probably spend the rest of their lives in some government facility, being experimented on and monitored. They'd never know privacy again.
Geoff squinted as light shone from the exit of the cave. A few minutes later, and he was standing in the sunlight again, his scales shining under the sun's rays. Man, that felt great. He felt the urge to just lie on a rock somewhere and just soak up all that wonderful warmth... But he and Zeke had things to do, and it wasn't time for another nap.
The pair trekked through the forest, with the taller of the two occasionally brushing branches away from his face so he wouldn't walk into them. They were careful to stay away from the campsite, things wouldn't be very pretty if they were found.
Soon, the pair reached the lake.
Geoff got on his hands and knees to check out his reflection in the water, he gasped at what he saw. His face was a pale green, while the bridge of his nose and the area above his eyebrows was darker and scaly. He gently ran the pads of his fingers along the scales. "This is fuckin' gnarly, and not in the good way."
Zeke patted his ridged back to console him.
Geoff bared his teeth and observed how sharp they were. He gently poked one.
"I mean, it's kinda cool."
Zeke stared at the gleaming, sharp teeth.
"Hunt!!" He grinned.
"Eh? Hunt? You want me to hunt?"
The smaller mutant nodded quickly.
"I guess I could?" Geoff craned his neck down towards the water.
The water rippled as Geoff dunked his face in.
Surprisingly, he was surviving beneath the surface of the water.
He looked around in awe at the fish and plants in the lake.
A curious trout swam towards his face, big mistake.
He snapped his jaws shut around the fish and rose out of the water with a wide grin.
Ezekiel clapped his hands excitedly and gave the blonde a double thumbs-up.
Geoff spat the trout into his hands. "Dudeee!! Did you see that?!" He laughed and knelt down in front of Zeke, dropping the fish in front of him. His tail thumped against the ground to mirror his excitement. Ezekiel grinned. "Swim!"
Geoff grinned and backed up a bit before charging forwards and diving into the lake with a splash. Swimming was unbelievably easy now, since he had a tail to propel himself forwards with and increased lung capacity. Thanks to his sharp gator teeth, he had managed to catch at least five fish, this was surprisingly....fun!
The duo spent a few hours at the edge of the lake, talking, eating, and swimming.
As night fell, they relaxed in the cave. Geoff had given his sleeping bag to Ezekiel, since he couldn't even fit in it anymore. He smiled at how cozy the other boy looked as he laid on his slightly scaly chest.
Geoff's tail wagged slowly as he drifted off to sleep.
Content warnings for chapter: Body horror? Descriptions of transformation/mutation, gore, vomit.
It was dark, very dark. He couldn't feel his legs, he couldn't feel his arms, he couldn't feel his body.
He couldn't feel his skin and flesh melting and falling off his bones, but he could see it. He could see his tendons snapping and shredding. The cartilage on his body dissolved. He didn't have the vocal chords to scream.
But all of a sudden, he was whole again. There was a nagging, burning sensation in his skin, all over his body.
The set of the Aftermath Show formed all around him, the coloured lights, that familiar couch. Bridgette was next to him, what a relief. However, she was looking away from him. He reached over and gently cupped her cheek so she could face him. He quickly regretted that move. Her face was horribly distorted, skin stretched in ways that shouldn't even be possible. He quickly jolted away from the nightmarish girl.
Big mistake.
A pair of hands roughly grabbed at his waist from behind, it was Duncan, with the same horrid facial distortion.
He wanted to scream, he wanted to scream so loudly. He wanted to run, he wanted to get away. Duncan's grip around his waist only increased as he tried to escape. Someone grabbed at his right leg. Owen. Another grab at his left leg. Tyler.
Nightmarish versions of his friends were crawling out from behind the props on set, they swarmed him and pinned him down.
He couldn't move. Bridgette and Gwen held his arms tightly.
He looked ahead, past the empty rows of seats, to the double doors, the entrance to the entire room.
There was a loud banging noise coming from behind those doors. He struggled in the grips of his friends, his fellow castmates, his allies.
Bang. Went the double doors again.
Bang. He knew they wouldn't hold.
Bang. The doors gave way and flew off the hinges.
A large, humanoid beast was hunched over at the entrance. It looked too much like him. It's wild blonde bangs obscured it's scaly features, it's long, thick tail swayed behind it. It approached slowly, and the ground shook with every step. As it got closer, he could make out more of it's features. The curved nose, the cleft chin. Those were all of HIS features. The beast was towering over him now, the distorted versions of his friends held him firmly in place. It opened it's jaws to reveal rows of sharp teeth and leaned in closer. He sobbed and closed his eyes as the jaws slowly closed in around his head and the beast's saliva dripped onto his hair. He accepted his fate as the jaws snapped shut.
Crunch.
Geoff jolted upright with a frightened scream, tears streaming down his cheeks.
His skin still burned. The nightmare was over, why did it still burn? The scream had startled Ezekiel awake, and he was staring at his blonde companion with wide eyes.
Geoff sobbed as he frantically rubbed at his arms. It was so hot, he felt like he was boiling alive.
"Z-zeke, what's going on?! What's wrong with me, man?!..."
Ezekiel didn't know what to do. He held onto Geoff's arm firmly to keep him grounded.
Both of Geoff's legs ached harshly, but that ache spread all throughout his bones. He whimpered and gasped through his tears as his entire body trembled. Ezekiel stared in horror as scales began to burst through Geoff's soft skin. They were covering his entire body. Geoff felt his bones stretch and grow, he threw his head back and planted his palms firmly on the ground as he wailed loudly. He tried to get up, but he hunched over in pain and fell to his knees.
It hurt. It hurt so bad. He just wanted this to stop.
Zeke watched as the boy grew taller and wider. His eyes were fixed on the horrific display in front of him.
Geoff felt his spine elongate and protrude from his lower back into a long tail. His nails formed into claws, his teeth sharpened, his ears grew pointier, jagged ridges grew and ran along his back and new tail. His hair almost reached past his neck now.
He screamed and clawed at the ground, the scales were still growing all over his body where smooth skin once was. His stomach churned furiously, the pain was making him nauseous.
Geoff kept his eyes screwed shut, but tears still poured down his face and dripped onto the ground.
Ezekiel was easily dwarfed by Geoff now, the boy was nearly twice as large as he had been just an hour ago.
Geoff was breathing hard, he still felt so damn nauseous. It was unbearable.
He gagged and turned away from Ezekiel before vomiting on the cave floor.
Great, now his throat burned as well.
There was a loud thud as he collapsed onto his side, he felt so weak. He panted and wheezed as he stared up at the stalactites far above him.
Ezekiel rushed to Geoff's side and pressed his cheek against his chest with a whine.
There was no response from Geoff.
The boy wasn't human anymore.
Aside from his chest, belly, and inner thighs, he was covered in smooth, slightly shiny scales. All along his spine and his long, thick tail, there were rough ridges. His ears were also long, pointed, and covered in smaller scales. While his leg had healed, the scars on his chest remained. His hands and feet were now clawed, and his hair was long and wild.
Geoff simply couldn't find the words to speak, so he gently pulled Ezekiel close for comfort. Ezekiel stayed still as the blonde boy held him.
After a few minutes of complete silence, Geoff spoke up.
Ezekiel couldn't wait to get back to the cave, he had collected some berries and raided some sugar from Chef's kitchen, so he was obviously planning something special for Geoff.
He just couldn't stop thinking about him! Geoff was cool, funny, sweet, and REALLY cute. Now that he'd spent a few days with the boy, he just didn't know what he'd do if he lost him. Now that Geoff had mutated, Ezekiel's little crush on him had increased tenfold.
A year ago, Zeke probably would have scoffed at the idea of being attracted to a boy, but he had changed since then. The fact that Geoff trusted him enough to tell him about his identity made his heart pound in his chest. Geoff trusted HIM!!!
Thinking about Geoff made him even more excited to get back to their cave. THEIR cave!!
Ezekiel scurried through the tunnels with nothing but thoughts of that gorgeous gator boy running through his mind.
He stopped dead in his tracks when he reached their cave, though.
Geoff was gone, but all their stuff was there. He put his bag down and rushed over to where Geoff would usually sleep. He had left his lucky hat here. He'd never leave his lucky hat unless he was planning on coming back. Ezekiel scampered all around the cave, looking for clues as to where Geoff had gone, but something caught his attention. Part of the wall had crumbled nearby, and that could only mean one thing.
Cave-in.
He had to find Geoff.
Without any hesitation, Ezekiel bolted through the same exit Geoff had gone through.
Geoff sat on the hard stone floor of the cave, holding the mutated baby gopher in his arms with a firm grip. "It's just you and me in here, little buddy.. Just us.." Geoff murmured. The gopher squeaked in response. "Hopefully not for long."
He felt so stupid, Zeke probably had no clue where he was or if he was even alive. If he had just stayed in the cave, he'd be safe and comfortable, basking in the warmth of a nice fire. What an idiot he was!-
No. He couldn't be thinking like that right now. Right now, he needed to find some way out of this cave and return this baby gopher to it's mama.
Geoff stood up and began to claw and scrape at the walls with his free hand, searching for any evidence of weaker stone in them. It was like he was acting on pure survival instinct.
As he scraped his claws across the surface of the boulder that had trapped them there in the first place, little bits of rock crumbled away.
Perfect.
Geoff took a few steps back, turned, and smacked his tail against the rock with all of his might.
With a loud noise, the boulder broke apart. Geoff repeated his actions with the other rocks in the way.
Now that the rocks were smashed apart, Geoff could escape with his gopher buddy.
It squealed and squirmed in his arms, but he honestly found it adorable. The poor thing was probably terrified, though. All the more reason to get out of here!
As he continued his adventure through the cave, he spotted a ray of light shining through a gap in the rocks ahead of him.
An exit!
Geoff ran towards the gap and clawed through it until he was in the sunlight once more.
Now, he needed to find some food for him and the gopher.
Scott wandered through the lush forest in pursuit of that invincibility idol. Once he got his hands on it, those suckers wouldn't be able to touch him! He snickered to himself as he walked. Chris had probably buried it under a tree or something, so it shouldn't be too hard to find.
He had woken up early and skipped breakfast to look for this idol, but he didn't mind. The idol was way more important. Attending breakfast wouldn't keep him from being eliminated, but the idol would.
He could always eat some dirt if he got too hungry.
While he was digging a hole, he heard a rustle. A jolt of fear shot through him, was it Fang?! A mutant animal?! No time to think about that, he abandoned the hole he was digging and dashed away. He ran through the woods as fast as he could, but he stopped dead in his tracks at the sight up ahead.
It was tall and scaly with a tail and sharp claws. It was more than twice his size, meaning it could easily make a meal out of him. The ginger squeaked in terror and clamped his mouth shut, realizing that any noise he made would alert the beast.
Too late.
It's head whipped in his direction.
Geoff stared down at the short ginger boy standing a few meters away from him.
He looked kind of pathetic, if Geoff was being honest.
He was shaking like a leaf, looked like he was about to piss his pants, and was covered in dirt.
Oh no, this was one of the CONTESTANTS. What if he blabbed to Chris?!
Geoff reached to grab the ginger boy but before he could close his fingers around his slim body, the boy darted off.
Golden sunlight trickled through the curtains, it was a truly blissful scene, Geoff thought as he laid on his bed. Though, he was snapped out of his thoughts by some movement nearby.
Bridgette was still asleep. She was snuggled up on top of Geoff with her cheek pressed to his chest. Geoff couldn't help but smile, she was perfect. He lifted a hand to stroke his fingers through her golden locks. Bridgette smiled in her sleep at the contact and nuzzled her cheek further into Geoff's chest. Oh, how he loved her. She was his everything....
Geoff whined in protest as the dream faded out and his eyes opened.
The first thing he noticed was how hot and uncomfortable he was, did he have a fever?
The second thing he noticed was the ache in his right leg and back. As he glanced down at his legs, he saw that his wound had been bandaged up. He seemed to be in a cave, but how did he get here? Either way, he was still exhausted, surely it wouldn't hurt to get a few more minutes of rest?
His eyelids drooped and soon enough, he was fast asleep again.
When he awoke again, the first thing he saw was a pair of wide, grey eyes staring directly into his.
"G'mornin', Zeke...." Geoff yawned. Something felt different, he didn't feel the hardness of the cave floor. "Zeke?.. Is this my sleeping bag?..." Ezekiel nodded in response. "And you wrapped up my leg, too?..." Another nod. Geoff couldn't help but smile, it was nice that Ezekiel cared enough about him to make sure he was comfortable. He tried to sit up, only to be gently pushed back down by Ezekiel. "Rest." Ezekiel managed to growl out. "I take care." Geoff was the only member of the cast who had been somewhat nice to him, and he wasn't going to lose that allyship. He had to make sure the other teen didn't succumb to his wounds and die.
"You've been hanging onto your speaking skills, eh?.. It's nice to know that you still sound somewhat like you did a year ago..." Geoff smiled weakly, before coughing into his hand. Ezekiel gave Geoff a concerned look and pressed the back of his hand against his forehead. His temperature was still high, that wasn't good at all. "This place is really hot, isn't it?.." Geoff spoke. "Not hot. Fever." Ezekiel replied. "That makes sense, I feel gross.. " Geoff groaned. "How'd you get me here, anyways?.. I think I blacked out..."
"Carry." Ezekiel carefully lifted Geoff off the ground as a demonstration before setting him back down on the sleeping bag. "You're stronger than I remember, does being a mutant give you more strength?..."
Ezekiel just shrugged in reply.
"Hungry? I make soup." Ezekiel pointed to a steaming pot on a campfire a couple meters away.
"You made soup?... how?..." Geoff was genuinely curious. "Did you raid Chef's kitchen or something?..."
Ezekiel gave Geoff a simple nod. "Chef not watch kitchen at night."
"Oh, I guess that checks out."
"I steal couple things from kitchen." Zeke shuffled off and came back with a large burlap sack. He reached into the sack and pulled out one of chef's bowls and a spoon. "Wow, that's pretty neat, homeschool.." Geoff grinned slightly.
"I feed you. You rest more. Good?"
"Yep, sounds good, buddy." Geoff sat up as best as he could and combed his fingers through his messy, blonde hair. Ezekiel wandered over to the pot with the fork and spoon before dipping the bowl into the pot and scooping up some of the soup. He went back over to Geoff with the bowl of steaming liquid.
"What's in that stuff, anyways?" Geoff stared at the chunks floating in the slightly thick liquid. "Potato. Fish. I steal salt from kitchen. " Ezekiel scooped up a spoonful of the soup and blew on it before offering it to Geoff. "You're getting pretty resourceful, huh?" Geoff replied before taking the spoon into his mouth. It was salty, though it didn't taste too bad. "Not bad, homeschool!" Geoff reached forwards and gave Ezekiel an appreciative pat on the head. A toothy grin spread across Ezekiel's face at the contact, and he continued to feed Geoff the soup.
After a little while, Geoff was fast asleep on the sleeping bag again. Since there was a little stream running through their part of the cave, Ezekiel had soaked a cloth with water and placed it on Geoff's forehead to try and regulate his body temperature.
Ezekiel hesitantly leaned in and pressed his ear against the other boy's chest to hear his heartbeat. It was comforting to hear the gentle rhythm of Geoff's heart and feel the slow rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.
