Quickly, she jerks her hand back and sniffles hard. Refuses to check his reaction to see if her own has bothered him. “Let’s keep going. We’re burning daylight.”
He only grunts in reply, following as she takes the lead. He gives her a confused glance the one time she looks back, and that’s enough to make her doubt herself. He’s sensitive just like she is. Maybe more so, it’s hard to tell, but it’s something they have in common. Snipping at him to ease her own stress isn’t something she enjoys.
It’s for the best, though. He’ll see that later once they’re safely back to their own lives, where everything doesn’t feel magnified times a hundred.
It’s not real out here.What she’s starting to feel is just a one-sided figment of her imagination. It wouldn’t last in the real world anyway. She’s already proven time and time again that she can’t be trusted in relationships.
The rest of the climb is silent and grueling, but reaching the top offers them a bird’s-eye view of what lies ahead.
“That’s not on the map either,” she says quietly, staring at the building nestled into the snow much like she did the cabin. They freeze in place, waiting for it to vanish like a delusion.
He tugs down the scarf and grins at her for the first time since they began this uphill hike. “Nope, but this time I’m glad for it. Let’s go. Gotta be someone there. It’s too big to be empty.”
They pick up the pace, which isn’t all that difficult considering they’re going downhill. Steep enough they can mostly slide on their asses, but not so extreme they’ll tumble onto their heads or into a tree, and there’s plenty of those waiting at the base. It’s a virtual forest down there. They may not have noticed the building buried between them if it wasn’t such a massive complex.
They slide to a stop between towering pines and brush the snow off their pants with a gleeful flourish, heading straight for the beacon in the distance, hardly noticing the tiny bundle on the ground until they’re nearly upon it.
“Theo!” she whispers, jerking him to a halt just before they run over the smallest polar bear cub, blending perfectly into the white ground.
“He’s so cute,” she says softly, not daring to move.
Theo’s next words are ominous. “Where’s momma?”
He hardly has time to get the question out before a tank hits them both. It’s enough to send them flying from the force of it, scattering in opposite directions. She lands on her back with the wind knocked out of her and the world spinning. Lies there in shock, trying to breathe until the sound of Theo screaming for his life hits her ears, then she rolls over onto her knees and watches as he grapples with a giant polar bear. His arms desperately cover his face as the bear pins him. It’s no secret who’s winning this match.
Nora doesn’t think. Doesn’t have time. She just grabs the rifle that’s slid off her back and aims at a wide, fluffy backside, firing twice.
The bullets miss by a mile. She’s normally a good shot, but right now her whole body is shaking like a leaf, and her aim is fucked. Surviving a bear wasn’t part of her shooting lessons at the gun range. The noise is enough to scare off their attacker, who runs for the mountain they just slid down, her baby fast behind her. They disappear over the ridge so quickly that Nora could almost be convinced they were never here at all if Theo wasn’t groaning and writhing on the ground.
She rushes to him, dropping to her knees with wide eyes. “I’m here. I’m here, they’re gone. You’re okay. Please tell me you’re okay.”
She’s practically begging him to confirm he won’t die right here in front of her, nearly inconsolable as the words tumble from her lips. Hadn’t she just been thinking that she couldn’t lose him once she got more attached? That she could still get out in time and suffer less, but apparently, she’s so far in already that she’s jumping to worst-case scenarios like he’s already gone.
Her hands roam his body to search for injuries, finding deep scratch marks tearing his fluffy coat, but no blood.
He groans out a reply that sounds surprisingly clear-headed. “I’m okay. I think. Fuck, it’s my shoulder. Can’t move it.”
She blinks quickly, trying to clear her vision and focus on what needs to be done. She can’t help him if she’s losing it.
“Your arm’s lying at a weird angle,” she says, calmly. “Does it feel broken? Do you know what a broken arm feels like?”
“I do and it doesn’t, but who knows yet.”
“Could be dislocated. Where else does it hurt? Can you walk?”
“Everything hurts. Mostly my arm, though. I think I can walk. Don’t touch it. My arm, don’t touch it.”
She positions herself on his other side, steering clear of his biggest injury, wincing at the pained half-scream that leaves him as he tries to cradle his swinging arm. Touching it hurts. Letting it hang hurts. She knows that feeling all too well.
With his good arm draped around her shoulders, they begin their way to the compound ahead, yelling for help as they get closer and getting the same depressing silence the previous cabin offered. The door is locked when she jiggles the handle, and pounding on it does no good. She has to prop Theo next to it so she can search the windows for any that might be open.
The first two leave her frustrated enough to curse obscenities into the snowflakes that’ve begun to tickle her face, but the third offers them hope, lifting easily enough to crawl through without much fuss before unlocking the door and helping Theo inside.
They aim for the first flat surface in sight, after weaving through a maze of rooms to a bed at the very back, snug against a wall. Getting Theo out of the coat is going to be rough, but she can’t treat his arm without seeing it first. She has to be sure it’s dislocated or risk doing even more damage.
The fear in his eyes is palpable. He knows what’s coming.
“We’ll go slow,” she says softly, shucking her own heavy coat. “We need to get yours off, then I can help you.”
