"No." Alex pulled something from his pocket. "You stay here and I'll get the wood. I saw some back down the trail a ways. There could be snakes."
Hopefully there wouldn't be because Alex wasn't any more impervious to them than Jonathan was. Alex handed them the canteen and told them each to drink from it.
After he left, Carmen turned to Jonathan. "Let's kick away some of these rocks. We need to make a place for Natalie and Matthew to sleep as comfortably as possible."
They kicked rocks and twigs out of an area large enough to accommodate both children. Carmen gave them each a drink before laying them on the cold ground. The twins snuggled close to each other and whimpered for a few minutes before exhaustion took over and they slept. They were hungry, but they would have to wait until tomorrow morning. None of them were in any danger of starving and thanks to Alex, they had water. How long that would last was anyone's guess. It might have been enough to travel at night, but it wasn't enough to travel by day.
Jonathan began clearing an area and using a rock to dig a fire pit. While he was doing that, Carmen cleared an area for Destiny to sleep. She gave her a drink of water and once Destiny was semi-comfortable, Carmen cleared an area for Jonathan. She cleared the sleeping areas in a circle around the fire pit.
Alex returned with an armload of wood and began breaking it into short pieces that Jonathan laid side by side. Next he started a second row in the opposite direction. Alex put some grass in the cracks and a bunch of grass on the top. Jonathan dug a tin from his pocket and popped it open. He handed Alex a match. Alex struck the match on a rock and lit the grass on the top.
Jonathan handed Alex the tin of matches, grinning as the flames grew. He was probably enjoying the opportunity to camp the way he had wanted to from the beginning. Obviously they could have done it without all the expense.
The fire was small and protected by the rocks, which also reflected the heat back on them. Jonathan lay with his back to the fire. Alex had Carmen lay her head on one of his arms and circled her waist with the other. He drew her close and she snuggled against his warm chest. She didn't think she could sleep, but resting in the warmth of his protective arms, she did.