Work Text:
Mike is dying. It is all Charlie can think about. His body is growing weaker with each passing second, unable to fend against the venom that runs through his veins. That devastating truth haunts him as his friend writhes in pain, half-delirious from the fever. Grunts of pain escape him, no matter how hard Mike tries to hold them in, and droplets of sweat stick to his sickeningly pale skin.
The sight is almost too much for Charlie to bear, but he refuses to look away, to abandon Mike when he needs him most. His own hands shake as he gently wipes his forehead with a wet cloth, hoping that the coldness will at least provide him some relief. His touch remains featherlight, so scared that he is of hurting Mike more than he is helping him.
Charlie also makes sure to keep the ugly injury at the center of his chest covered in the green fluid that is supposed to alleviate his pain. However, he knows better than to hope it will heal his friend. It is merely keeping Mike alive; sooner or later, it will stop being enough. Without real medical care, there is no chance he will make it…
Tears of frustration gather in his eyes, but Charlie gulps them back. He doesn’t want to show distress in front of Mike. His friend has already gone, no, is still going through so much; he is the one who needs comfort, the one who is suffering through incommensurable pain, the one who has lost his father, not Charlie.
It tears him apart, to be a witness to his friend’s misery, and yet be unable to put a stop to it. All he can do is stand there and hold Mike’s hand as he fades away, in hopes that he will feel it and know he is not alone. Charlie has never felt this helpless before. He hates that he can’t do more. He hates that there are some things he just cannot fix.
If only he were someone stronger; someone who could tear apart the terrifying sea monster who put Mike in this state, someone who could get his friend off this awful island…
Wait.
Maybe he can do more. Maybe he can put pieces into motion to make all of this happen. Maybe he can take action and change Mike’s fate by doing so.
It is an incredibly reckless plan that starts forming in his mind, one that will probably get him killed, but Charlies doesn’t care. At the moment, death scares him less than the prospect of losing Mike to his slow agony.
All it takes is one look at his weak, suffering friend for Charlie’s resolve to settle in. He squeezes Mike’s hand just a little bit tighter. Bloodshot eyes look up at him and his heart tightens.
“I will save you, Mike, no matter what it takes. I promise.” Charlie whispers.
Mike doesn’t reply. He is either too weak or too far gone to do so. There is a high chance he won’t even remember this moment, with how high his fever is running. However, he gives out a small nod, and that is all Charlie needs.
Mike counts on him. He cannot disappoint him.
First, he’ll need to convince the others, and then…
Then, it will be time to anger a giant gorilla. Oh, and to somehow outrun it.
It sounds like absolute madness, even to himself, but Charlie has to try.
For Mike.