Had he noticed Jake following sooner, he would have told him not to. It wasn't safe. They didn't know what this seepage was! What if Jake got sick? It would be his fault that his friend got ill and that was not something he had ever wanted when asking for his help.
"Did you swallow any of that?" he asked before a hacking cough. "I breathed it in...my lungs are burning." Another cough, as if trying to clear his throat from what felt like tar filling it solid. He sank just under the water to make it easier to breathe than the air, but his deep breaths were interrupted each time by a throat clearing sound or a straight cough.
"Do you think we have enough? We should go." He point. "I'm going to swim a bit, to wash off anything stuck on me. I can't bring this back to Juliet or Cora."