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I looked at her with a full heart. My face was completely chilled, and the last of the light was fading quickly.
Without another word, the woman started walking away. No more kind names, no more advice. She had to survive, too.
Suddenly alone, I looked at the snow, the lessons from Antonio still running through my mind. If I ate snow, I would get more dehydrated. I scooped up a bit in my bare hand, and it burned my skin. It barely melted at all. When I tossed off the crystals that were still solid and tried to tip the rest into my mouth, it tasted of dirt and sweat. It did little to quench my thirst. So… no water. For now. But I could survive another day without it, likely.
Food... well. I felt better now, and I knew I could last a few days without eating.
Discipline, I told myself.
Grabbing the jacket and wrapping it around my head and face to ward off frost bite, I started walking. I knew better than most that barely surviving was still surviving.
I hoped that the cover of nightfall would help me avoid detection, and I hurried on, trying to make up for lost time. As I walked, it was almost as if I could feel the Canciller’s gaze upon me. I was too dangerous to be left alone. I ignored the prickling sensation on my neck, sure that I would hear my murderers when they came for me.
My feet pounded the ground, and I gripped myself to preserve any warmth possible as everything faded to an inky black.
While it wasn’t snowing, there was wind. It blew up the powdery flakes and blew them into my face over and over again to the point of excruciating pain. After pulling the coat around my face so only my eyes were visible, I bit down on my tongue to keep from screaming.
While the Doña had warned me against walking at night, I was determined to reach the city before morning because more time would only mean a greater chance of detection. Another night out here decreased my chances of successfully escaping on a boat.
It hadn’t worked well the last time… but maybe it would be different now. Maybe I wouldn’t be thrown into the ocean, like my brother who drowned to death.
Swiftly, I moved through the trees even though my body roared at me with every step.
"Y-you've grown soft," I said to myself. Somehow, speaking aloud made me feel warmer.Even though I wanted it more than anything, I couldn’t continue. I needed to rest.
Not sleep,I told myself.
Sleeping while it was snowing was dangerous, even with the thermal material and thick boots. Maybe it was good that I had spent so much time sleeping during the day. Right now, I was sure that the temperature would keep plummeting, and I could freeze to death before I ever opened my eyes. A tree or a huddle of bushes would do nothing to protect me from the elements.
Walking also kept me warm. My ears were sensitive to the lightest sounds because the snap of a branch or the crunch of snow could alert me of danger.
The city was a glowing beacon in the distance. At once, it was both too close and too far away. A surge of panic shot up my body. What if I died before I made it there?
Then, my ears caught onto the sound of a rumble in the distance.
It grew louder, signaling its rapid approach.
My stomach dropped straight into my ass. It was one of the trucks the Guardias drove.
With locked limbs and a shallow pant, I looked around, searching for the road I must have been converging onto if the truck was so close, but the sound continued to roar through the silence. A flock of grouse, the stupid birds who stubbornly refused to migrate in winter, took flight into the dark air. Their gray bodies filled the empty space like a cloud of smoke that disappeared as it climbed in altitude.
They must’ve been truly frightened to fly away during the night.
I wished I could join them.
With little time to think, I ducked behind one of the nearby trees. The trunk was frozen to the touch. I pressed my back against it and fought to control my breathing. I wished I weren't so damn tall.
Crimson red and green lights joined the ugly sound, and I squeezed my eyes shut.
My heart was pounding in my chest, and my mind raced in a million directions while fighting to find solutions. There were few moments in a person’s life that could be pointed at for defining moments. In the last four months, there were too many for me to count.
I had been discovered, and if they caught me, any onlooker would point to this moment as the beginning of the end of my life.
The roar of the engine echoed throughout the woods, and all other small animals vacated the premises. Humans were interesting folk, so unlike the mythical species from stories who seemed to exist within the boundaries of our world without destroying it.
If they had existed once, perhaps the reason for their extinction or hiding had come from the indomitable will of my own kind and our talent for ruination. Wreckage was easy. It could happen quickly, and, in many cases, the effects would last forever. Nurturing was more difficult.
I held my breath and shivered. My heart raced, and I held a hand over my mouth to keep from making any noise.
