Ant rose to his feet and walked steadily towards the sea,staring unwavering at the horizon ahead.

He kept on walking,only pausing briefly to kick off his flip flops,before becoming ankle deep,then knee deep in water.

His determination made sure he didn't stop,no amount of rocks he stumbled on,no force from the water,pushing him back,nothing would stop him now,as the water rose up to his waist.

He continually focused on the horizon,that straight line between the ocean and sky was all that mattered right now,nothing else.

He stared straight ahead,clearing his mind.

He wanted nothing to cloud his judgement,no distraction from what lay ahead,so he did his best to put any thoughts of Dec,of Anne-Marie,of his dogs,family,friends or career out of his mind.

Those people would be better off without him anyway,what use was he to them?he had more than likely killed his best friend..he had to go through with this.

All of those people and things didn't matter now!

The water was now up to his neck,as he stared straight ahead,fighting the occasional wave that attempted to lift him off his feet.

Determinedly soldiering on,he held his breath as his mouth...his nose...his eyes were submerged under water.

There was no going back now!

He tried to ignore the stinging in his eyes from the salt water as well as desperately resisting the urge to jump up to the surface.

He knew how drowning worked!

As soon as he attempted to take a breath,the water would rush into his airways,closing them.

That would be it...the end...

Dead!

But he hadn't quite reached that point yet,he was still holding his breath,but it was getting harder and harder with every passing second.

The sound of the ocean around his head was deafening,but also somehow strangely silent and it was getting increasingly harder to focus on exactly what he was trying to do,but he knew one thing for sure.

It was time!

It had to be!

This was the end!

He prepared to take a breath,leaving his life...or death in the hands of the God that he had never been sure even existed.

At that precise moment,a gentle,but surprisingly forceful wave,washed against him,raising him involuntarily to the surface.

As the sun immediately warmed his face,Ant took the biggest breath he had ever taken since the moment he was brought into this world.

He coughed and spluttered violently and attempted to reach the seabed with his feet,which he could only just about do by standing on his tip toes.

After a few seconds,he turned to face the beach to see how far he had come.

He could just about make out the tiny silhouette of Piccolo,still grazing on leaves,without a care in the world.

Ant then stared at the shelter in the distance.

"Dec" he said out loud "oh God,Dec"

He suddenly found a burst of energy from somewhere and swam furiously towards the shore,knowing that he had to get back to Dec.

What had he been thinking?how could he have thought even for a moment that killing himself and leaving Dec alone on the island...if he pulled through whatever was making him ill...was ok?

It wasn't and as Ant reached the beach,he collapsed onto the sand,sobbing uncontrollably...heartfelt,painful sobs from the pit of his stomach,sobs that actually physically hurt and felt like they would go on forever.

He had no idea how long he stayed there,crying into the sand,but eventually,he got up and pulled himself together,wiping his face on his sodden T shirt.

He couldn't believe what he'd almost done!

How could he have even considered leaving Dec here alone?

If Dec regained consciousness and realised Ant had left him to fend for himself,he would have been terrified.

Ant made a dash towards the shelter,dropping to his knees at Decs bedside.

"I'm sorry Decs" Ant whispered "I'm here now,I'll never leave you again...I promise"

Dec was still alive,still breathing,still burning up and still unconscious.

"I wish there was more I could do for you pet" Ant sighed as he doused a bandage in water and placed it on Decs forehead "I feel so helpless"

Ant decided the best thing to do was keep busy,so he set about restarting the fire,which had gone out long ago,going back to the waterfall and mango tree to stock up on supplies, before attempting his ultimate challenge once again...fishing.

Standing perfectly still,concentrating on the fish swimming just below him as he stood on a rock,Ant suddenly and successfully speared a fish in one impressive move of his arm.

"Gotcha" he yelled,delighted.

One fish was enough for now,he wasn't going to spend any more time there just yet,but his mouth was already salivating at the thought of having some hot food very soon.

First,he had to clean and gut the fish,which he did with ease,he wasn't at all squeamish about these kind of things,he'd done a butchery course after all,so just got on with it.

It wasn't a difficult task,he just used the scissors from the first aid kit to cut along the unfortunate fish's belly,scooping out the insides with his hands before washing it thoroughly with water.

Placing his catch gently on a large leaf,Ant made his way down to the sea and threw the fish guts into the ocean,then began searching for a large rock.

"Perfect" he mumbled to himself,picking up the necessary object "you'll do just nicely"

He returned to the fire and placed the rock on it,heating it up before moving it halfway out of the fire and placing the fish on it.

"Hmm" Ant sniffed the air,as his delicious meal cooked gently "smells so good"

Just a few minutes later,the fish was ready.

Ant gently knocked it off of the rock and onto another leaf.

"Oh my God" he smiled,as he took his first mouthful "that's amazing,could do with some salt and pepper though"

Ant had no idea what kind of fish he was eating,he only knew it tasted so damn good and more to the point,it wasn't mangoes or vomit fruit.

As much as he loved mangoes,once he'd had them all day every day,it was only natural for him to crave a different taste and flavour.

"Wish you could try this Decs" Ant mumbled,getting to his feet and taking his meal into the shelter.

"Look Dec" Ant beamed,holding the fish under Decs nose "I did it,I caught a fish,even gutted and cooked it,it's so bloody good"

Ant stared at Dec.

Still nothing.

Ant had maybe had a bit of hope that the smell of the cooked fish might entice Dec into waking up,but of course he knew that was a ridiculous idea.

"More for me then" he shrugged,as he popped the last piece of fish into his mouth,licking his fingers gratefully.

At that moment,Piccolo entered the shelter,curiously watching Ant chew the last morsel.

Ant turned to the cute Quokka and smiled.

"You wouldn't have wanted this mate" Ant laughed "you're a herbivore,but enjoy as many leaves as you like"

Ant sniffed the air,it wasn't his meal he could now smell,Dec had a certain sickly person smell about him,but it wasn't that either.

"Ugh,smelly Piccolo" Ant grimaced "have you farted?"

"Smelly Piccolo" Ant repeated "I know it's not your fault,but seriously?get outta here"

Of course Piccolo ignored Ants order and Ant didn't have the heart to chase the animal out,so he just carried on talking to him as the smell wafted away.

Ant was so busy watching and talking to Piccolo,that he didn't notice a slight movement from the makeshift bed next to to him,neither did he notice the flickering of eyelids.

Although he certainly noticed the slight groan that was to follow.

"DEC" Ant shouted surprised "Dec,you're awake"

Ant immediately put his face nearer to Decs.

"Declan" he whispered quietly "come on mate,talk to me"

Dec opened his eyes again,gazing sleepily at Ant,while wincing in pain.

"Ant?" Dec groaned.

"Yes Dec" Ant smiled "it's me,I'm here"

Dec attempted to sit up,but immediately felt dizzy,so laid his head back down.

"Woe mate,don't move" Ant said "you've been really ill"

"What happened?" Dec groaned.

"I don't know" Ant answered "but I found you collapsed in the forest"

"Fight?" Dec mumbled,almost incoherently.

"Yeah" Ant hung his head in shame "we had a fight and I'm so sorry Decs,I don't know if that's what made you ill,but I swear I'll never lay a finger on you again"

"Thirsty" Dec croaked.

Ant quickly reached for his water bottle,lifted Decs head up slightly and brought the water up to his lips,helping him to take a sip...then another...then another.

"I've been so worried about you" Ant announced,placing the palm of his hand onto Decs forehead "still hot,but maybe not quite as hot as you were"

Ant hadn't bothered using the thermometer from the first aid kit,it was pretty obvious Dec was burning up,he didn't need proof of it.

Ant removed the bandage from Decs forehead and doused it in more water and placed it back in position.

"That better?" He smiled.

"Yeah" Dec nodded slightly "where are we?"

"In the shelter?" Ant replied "you built it,don't you remember?"

"Oh yeah" Dec sighed "it wasn't just a bad dream then?"

"Unfortunately not" Ant frowned "but it's going to be ok now,you're gonna get better"

"I don't know what's wrong with me?" Dec mumbled.

"Me neither" Ant shook his head sadly "it could have been a bite from a spider or snake or some other weird bug that we've never even heard of,but it could have been from a punch I laid on you?"

"How?" Dec asked.

"Internal bleeding maybe" Ant replied.

"I'd be dead" Dec groaned "it's not that"

Ant was incredibly relieved to hear Dec immediately dismiss the idea that had been torturing him since the fight,it was a huge weight lifted from his shoulders.

"Do you remember much from before you collapsed?" Ant enquired.

Dec thought back to that day.

"Not much" he frowned "only feeling ill near the mango tree,don't remember much after that"

"Well,it doesn't matter now" Ant beamed "the most important thing is that you're still here and you're going to get better,I seriously thought I was going to lose you"

"Sorry" Dec sighed.

"You don't have to apologise" Ant laughed "you can't help being sick"

Ant couldn't keep the smile from his face,the relief he felt was immense.

Dec was conscious and talking.

He really was going to be ok!