Page 140 of Forsaking All Others

“Trust me. Trust me, Cat.”

She shakes her head and looks down at her feet, and I lean my head down to capture her gaze.

“Look at me.”

Sighing heavily she looks up and meets my eyes, and I’m once again struck by how haunted hers are.

“Have I ever broken my word to you?”

“Dishonourable actions, honourable intentions,” she murmurs, “we both know how the Game is played.”

I grit my teeth.

“I’m done with dishonourable actions,” I growl, “no matter the cause, no matter who seeks it, I’ll stay true to who I am. I know you feel the same. I’ve seen it, Cat.”

She shakes her head, but I sense she still has faith in me, even though every fibre of her being, past and present, is telling her not to.

“Get Thorun to the end, Cat. Trust that I know what I’m doing and that everything will work out for the best.”

“For you or for me?” She whispers.

“For all of us,” I murmur, holding her gaze.

“I’ll get her to the end,” she says quietly, “but not for you. I’ll get her there to honour a debt. She saved my life; I’ll save hers.”

“And she’s your friend,” I remind her, “as am I.”

“We’ll see,” she sighs, pulling away and moving to where Thorun stands, still swaying slightly.

“You will.”

I retrieve some candy from my pockets and press it into her hands before mounting my bike, Silke’s body attached to the back like a sack of potatoes.

“And you'd best get moving. If Cherry makes it to the altar, I swear I’ll swallow liquid silver.”

I’m rewarded with one of Cat’s rare smiles as, nodding to Thorun, I set off into the night to hunt for the one who claims I can have no other.

105

The last drop point before the finish line has already been raided by the time Thorun and I reach it, and I hug Thorun close as she bursts into tears.

It’s been a fortnight since Jag’s visit, and while I still have some of the bag of jubes he’d pushed into my hand before he left because Thorun and I have been rationing them, our fish supply ran out more than a week ago. The only other thing we have left that could be called half-edible is one small stick of beef jerky from Claire’s bag, but we’d agreed we’d only eat that as a last resort if we couldn’t move any further for some reason, or if we were starving to death.

“It’s at least a three-week walk to the finish line at our current pace,” I finally say to Thorun, wiping her wet cheeks on my sleeve before her tears freeze to her face, “and you and I both know we don’t have the energy to do it. As it is, we’re walking like old women.”

“We need food,” she nods, “and the snow starting last night means we also need to build a more substantial shelter. Claire’s tent won’t do even with the double layer from our tarpaulin. My toes are already feeling the signs of frostbite after walking all day.”

“Then I guess we need to stop. We’ll need to get to work on a shelter straight away.”

“You start on that,” she says quietly, “you know best how to build something that won’t fall down around our ears. It has to be strong enough to withstand heavy snowfall. I’ll hunt us something. At this point, even though I hate to say it, I’ll even eat a squirrel.”

“I’d literally inhale a squirrel right now,” I smirk, “but you said you saw Moose signs. Can you imagine a roast right now? God! How do you catch a Moose?”

“Moose can be dangerous; it’s not easy. We’d have to dig a pit along a regularly used trail, like the ones we crossed on the way here. Then line the pit with sharp stakes, camouflage it, and just hope a big, old stupid moose falls into it.”

“That’ll take a lot of time and energy,” I sigh, “and this isn’t a safe place to separate while you hunt. Another competitor could be behind us; they’ll reach this drop zone sooner or later.”

“I can’t go further, Cat. If Cherry claimed Silke’s death, then she’s probably way ahead. I’ll bet she’s the one who raided this site.”