Page 105 of The Heart of Winter

For fuck’s sake!

Stop it, Sariel.Just stop thinking about it. It’s just stress, this is all just stress and disorientation from what happened.

Heat wouldn’t be cruel enough to hit me on some lost volcanic patch of land at the ends of the earth, right?

So I decided to will it out of my system, to shut down the early signs for the time being, hoping—silly as it seemed—that it would be enough.

***

I felt like I had drifted into a light sleep for a while because I woke up feeling Winter’s hand on my shoulder.

"Sariel?"

"Winter? What’s going on?"

For a moment, I hoped it was just a bad dream, that I wasn’t really in this cave, stranded God knows where, after a plane crash. But, of course, that was sadly the reality.

Winter’s flushed face hovered over me. "How are you feeling?"

I focused inwardly on my body. I didn’t feel that bad, aside from the dull pain in my leg and the increasing moisture in my hole. The painkiller was still working, obviously.

The problem was, I really wanted Winter’s hand to stay on my shoulder longer, but he pulled back and sat down near my legs on the other mattress.

"I was close to the caldera of the volcano."

"Oh? And what did you find?"

He frowned slightly.

"Bad news. We’re on an island, and it’s basically a cone. The volcano seems quite… active. I didn’t go into the caldera itself, but I could see signs of recent lava flows on the slopes. There’s steam rising from the crater’s edge. This is probably why this stream is warm; volcanic activity is still ongoing here."

"So the island isn’t big?"

"No, it’s basically one volcano and maybe two or three miles of meadows stretching out from one side of the peak. I couldn’t see everything because part of it was blocked by a rocky ridge that slopes down to the water. There are a few small groves of stunted trees, which makes me think this might be one of the Kuril Islands. I don’t think the Aleutians have these kinds of thickets."

"Good thing there are any patches of forest at all. We’ll need the wood."

"Yeah, there are also some logs and trunks washed up on the beach. But for now, I gathered branches from the nearest grove and some dry ferns or cattails for kindling."

He turned and pointed to the entrance of the cave, where he’d piled up the branches.

"This is good news because we shouldn’t be drinking untreated water. My uncle Victor always emphasized this. I thought we could boil some water in these cans." He tapped his fingers over one of them.

"Yes, but there are only a few groves nearby. There's no way we can build a big fire. Maybe we should even limit it to just when we're boiling water."

I watched him for a moment. Something in his face made me ask.

"Wait… Are you mentally preparing for a longer stay?"

He seemed flustered, clearly not wanting it to sound that way.

"No, I’m just being cautious. I think in a situation like ours, we should be ready for any possible scenario."

"So, one where no one shows up? The peanuts and snacks run out, the mineral water runs out, what will we eat then, Winter?"

He stared at me for a moment with a slightly absent look, as if he were deeply thinking about something.

"That’s the darkest scenario, Sariel. But… yeah, we need to think about it too. I didn’t see anything useful on the beach, no clams, no shrimp. I don’t even know if they exist in these waters. Fishing without equipment, especially in January, might not be easy."

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