Chapter 20: Confused

                                    

                                          
Loud yellings of pain coming from open doors of the medical ward were what brought Serena out of her thoughts, stopping Camilla's words from repeating themselves in her mind.
Her head snapped toward the doors and her eyebrows scrunched together. "What's going on?" she mumbled, her legs unconsciously taking her toward the ward.
Pushing the door to open wider, she entered and the crease on her brow deepened upon seeing the chaos.
Three teenagers were placed on the beds, twitching and yelling in pain. They were clutching their stomachs, their faces were pale and sweaty and their eyes were scrunched shut in pain.
Healer Jake and his staff were running around trying to help them.
Her healer instincts kicked in immediately and before she could stop herself, she was standing near the first bed.
"What has happened?" she asked the healer who was wiping the young boy's brow with a cloth. She quickly began to examine the boy's condition.
The healer stopped surprised for a second for seeing Serena there, but another grunt of pain brought him out of his trance.
"We are not sure." he answered. "They were brought here by border patrol. They have extreme stomach aches. It seems they have sneaked out of the pack borders."
"It should be what they have eaten." said Healer Jake as he came to the bed Serena was standing beside. 
His face looked frustrated and desperate. "But we don't know what. They have eaten a few things as much as they managed to tell us. But I don't know anything that can cause something like this."
Serena frowned. She pulled the boy's eyelids up and peered at his red eyes and dilated pupils. She then pulled his shirt up and examined his chest. Her eyes widened when she saw red rashes on his chest that seemed to be scratched.
She ordered the healer to keep the boy from twitching and then pressed a few points on his stomach. The boy's reaction made her eyes widen again.
She quickly put a hand on the boy's forehead. "Have you eaten any strange fruit?" asked Serena hurriedly. "It's small and red, like a slightly big cherry."
The boy grunted and twitched again but nodded. "We thought it was wild plum." he gasped. "We found the tree outside of the border. The fruits were so sweet and juicy."
"Have you had wine or any alcoholic beverage before eating it?" asked Serena again.
"God, yes!" admitted the boy. "We had stolen a bottle from Alpha's storage."
Serena quickly straightened and looked at Healer Jake. "Quickly prepare Maliana brew." she ordered. "We should make them throw up and then drink lots of Maliana brew to clear the poison from their system."
Jake didn't waste time asking her about what was the poison. They all jumped into work to help the teenagers first.
Serena quickly grabbed a bowl from the nearby table and pressed a few pressure points on the boy's stomach. 
The boy quickly turned to his side and began throwing up in the bowl that Serena had kept under his mouth. In no time, she had repeated the process on the two others with the other nurses' help.
Soon the brew was also ready and after laboring for half an hour, the three teenagers were finally sleeping peacefully.
Serena was tidying the blanket around one of the boys when Jake approached her.
"Thank you, Serena." he said, gaining her attention. "We could have lost them if it was not because of you."
Serena smiled at him. "I did what every healer would do." she replied. "They have eaten Crimson Berrytwig. The fruit is not poisonous in itself and is very delicious, but combine it with alcohol and you will have a serious problem. First, there will be a rash appearing on the body, then a severe stomach ache followed by high fever, and then lungs will stop working."