To her surprise, Archie ran into the tent and returned holding their water cups instead.
Roxanne watched in bewilderment as Archie sniffed the insides of the cups.
As he had expected, the cups had a strange smell— the same smell that he had tasted in the water earlier.
Although his siblings had drank all the water in the cups, the strange smell remained.
Archie thrust the cups under Roxanne’s nose. “Mommy, take a sniff.”
Roxanne knew what he wanted her to do.
She leaned in and inhaled deeply. When the scent hit her nostrils, her complexion turned pale.
Although she was reluctant to admit it, the facts were very different from what she had speculated earlier.
All three of the water cups had the same strange smell.
“Maybe my stomach isn’t hurting so much because I only had one sip of the water,” Archie said speculatively.
He had just swallowed the first sip of the water when he sensed that something was wrong, so he had spat out the second mouthful immediately.
However, Benny and Estella had finished all the water in their cups.
If the source of their stomachache was indeed the water, then it made sense that Benny and Estella would be suffering worse than Archie.
Roxanne was convinced by Archie’s sound reasoning.
Early on, Archie mentioned that there was something wrong with his water, and Roxanne had indeed detected a faint smell that usually occurred only when a certain type of bacteria was mixed with water.
However, the problem was that it was a type of bacteria that only survived under laboratory conditions. The fact that it was found in the wilderness meant that someone must have intentionally placed it there.
As such, the first thing Roxanne did was to check if there was anyone else around. However, she had a clear view of the entire field. Apart from them, there was no one else.
Due to that, Roxanne assumed it was a coincidence that the water had such a smell and not because the bacteria were actually present.
Little did she expect that someone had added the bacteria to the kids’ water. Roxanne’s heart clenched when she thought about the symptoms one would experience after ingesting the bacteria.
“Mommy, it hurts so much…” Benny muttered, grabbing his mother’s hand. He had finally caved in, unable to hold on any longer.
The boy held Roxanne’s hand briefly before letting it go as he was so weak from the pain that he barely had any strength left.
Roxanne was heartbroken when she saw Benny’s hand falling to the ground. She picked up the boy’s hand and stroked it gently while mumbling, “Don’t worry. Everything will be fine. I will cure you guys soon.”
The woman had come across patients who were infected with the same bacteria during clinical trials. She had seen adults tossing and turning in bed due to the unbearable pain, and some had even passed out.
The pain was hard to bear even for fully-grown adults, not to mention two young kids.
At the thought of the suffering the children were going through at that moment, Roxanne felt so anguished that she could hardly breathe.
Noticing that his mother was starting to panic, Archie reached out and held the woman’s other hand.
“Mommy, should we feed Benny and Essie some medicine?”
Even though the boy was still young, he was extremely mature and sensible for his age.
Archie was also experiencing discomfort in his stomach, but he still found it bearable.
Although he was worried about his siblings, he knew that being anxious would not help.
Given that his mother was already very distressed, if he started panicking as well, no one would be calm enough to keep the situation under control.
With her son’s reminder, Roxanne regained her composure and started rummaging through the medical kit.
She remembered that there was no cure for that species of bacteria in modern medicine.
Hence, they could only rely on traditional medicine.
Nevertheless, modern medicine could help to alleviate their pain temporarily. It was just that very strong painkillers had to be administered, and such painkillers were usually not found in standard first-aid kits.
After all, if one was in so much pain that they had to take those painkillers, it would be absolutely necessary for them to go to the hospital.
After searching for a while, Roxanne was still unable to find what she was looking for and had no choice but to give up finding it.
Meanwhile, Benny and Estella were still rolling on the ground in pain.
Estella was crying silently with her lips pressed together.
Despite being in so much pain, she was still thinking about others and feeling worried that her discomfort would affect the others’ camping experience.
Roxanne’s heart clenched when she noticed how hard the little girl was trying to endure. Even her fingers were trembling.
“Archie, can you handle the herbs for me please?”
Archie agreed without hesitation.
The boy had spent most of his time by Roxanne’s side while growing up, and more than half the time, he was with her in the research institute.
As such, he was very familiar with the handling of traditional medicinal herbs.
After washing the herbs, Archie removed the damaged leaves, only leaving the healthy leaves and the dark green stem.
Roxanne removed two leaves from the stem and picked up some of the common medicinal herbs from her medical kit before she headed into the tent to look for something else.
Fortunately, Lucian had packed some professional camping equipment for Estella before the camping trip.
Initially, Roxanne had thought that they wouldn’t need any of those items. Who knew that those would turn out to be exactly what she needed to save the children’s lives?
After she found the small pot that Lucian had specially prepared for Estella, Roxanne emerged from the tent.
Without further ado, the woman poured some water into the pot and threw in the herbs and two leaves before starting to boil the mixture.
While waiting for the medicine concoction to be ready, Roxanne got up and carried Benny and Estella into the tent.
Overwhelmed by pain, the children had a blank look in their eyes, and their foreheads were covered in sweat.
Roxanne covered the two little ones with some clothes before stroking their heads and saying, “Just bear with it a little more. You will feel better soon.”
Benny and Estella gave a slight nod but were too weak to speak.
After settling the kids, Roxanne stood up and walked out of the tent.
Right after she stepped outside, she felt her stomach churning.
She had taken a sip of Archie’s water earlier.
As it was just one sip, the pain in her stomach was still bearable.
Ignoring her discomfort, Roxanne went to check on the traditional medicine concoction that she was preparing.
Archie was watching the fire to ensure that the mixture was boiling properly.
When the boy saw his mother approaching, he asked in concern, “Mommy, will Benny and Essie get well after drinking this?”
An inexplicable glint flashed across Roxanne’s eyes before she shook her head dejectedly and replied, “No. It will just help to lessen their pain.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.