Page 15 of Polar Destiny
Something explodes besides me and Iscream.
"Isla?" A voice calls from faraway.
It's suddenly very cold. Something is running down my cheek. I turn and see the window lying on the floor. What's left of it, anyway. It's broken into a thousand pieces, letting in the snow and the wind. Wood splinters are scattered around it, and one side of the wooden frame is dangling down from theceiling.
"Isla, are you alright?" Torben is climbing up the ladder, a torch in his hand, quickly scanning the room for a threat. A second later, he's by myside.
"You're bleeding. Wait, don't touch it, there may still be a splinter inside." He shines the light of the torch into my face, and I blink. His warm fingers gently probe mycheek.
"It's only a scratch, but we should put some disinfectant on it," he says, his eyes as warm as hisfingers.
He helps me to the ladder, then lets me climb on his back. This being carried around by guys is becoming a habit. I'm not sure I dislike it. Torben is warm, hot almost, and I snuggle against him. When we reach the ground floor, the roof creaks again. It's as if the house is shuddering in the cold. It's groaning inpain.
"We need to get out of this place," Torben says, his voice tinged with worry. Something crashes to the floor above us. He closes his eyes for a moment, concentrating. When he opens them again, there's a flicker of bright blue in them, gone a secondlater.
"Finn will be here in a moment. Let's get you some warmerclothes."
He sits me down by the glowing coals in the living room, leaving his hands on my shoulders for a moment longer than necessary, then turns away and climbs up into the attic again. There's another crashing sound from above, and dust floats down from the ceiling. I can hear Torben swear, and I'm quite glad I can't make out thewords.
A moment later, he's back, his shoulders and back covered in snow. He hands me a hoodie, far too big for me, but better than the thin sweater I'm wearing. It smells like one of the boys... Húnn, Ithink.
"Let's go." Without warning, Torben picks me up and carries me - bridal style - outside. A large golden bear is waiting for us.Finn.
Somehow I expected ridinga bear to be fun. To be exciting, thrilling. But it's nothing of the sort. It's cold, uncomfortable, hard to stay on. My fingers are freezing and I'm having trouble clinging to his fur while he's running through the night. I'm pressing my body against his back to shelter myself from the icy wind, but he is too broad and my thighs are already sore from trying to stay in this position. Torben's polar bear is running in front of us, his white fur disappearing into the snow storm. I don't think I can hold on much longer. When Finn jumps over a root, I almost slip. I yelp, but the sound is swallowed by the storm. Finn must have noticed, because he's increasing his speed, racing against thewind.
When he finally stops, I let go, sliding down to the ground. My muscles are locked in place, and I can no longer feel my fingers and toes. I hate the cold. Why did we leave the warm house and the fire place again? This was a stupid idea. Stupidbears.
Someone warm picks me up and carries me inside. I look around, expecting another house. No such luck, it's a cave. A pretty big one, judging from what I can make out in the dim light the snow reflects from outside. A torch flashes to life on one cave wall, illuminating a naked Finn. Notagain.
Minutes later, I'm sandwiched between two bears. The furry kind, not the naked humans they were a moment ago. Finn has lit a few torches and a small fire. It can't compete with the warmth the two bears are giving me, though. I shiver, and suddenly two massive bears rub against me from both sides. Something in me ignites, and I'm starting to feel almost too hot. Maybe that's from imagining them as humans, snuggling, hugging, touching ... no-go zone, Isla. They're going to leave soon, so don't start depending on them. Which is kind of hard, being caught in the middle of a snow storm. I run my hands through Finn's fur, and he hums in contentment. Torben's muzzle nudges me from behind, and I extend a hand to his fur as well. Torben's fur is thicker, shorter, while Finn has long and almost soft fur. I rub against both of them, reciprocating the motion - stop! What do you think you'redoing?
I send some cold thoughts towards my conscience and she quiets down. I've got a good reason to hug bearstonight.
Suddenly Torben sits up, growling. Finn's ears twitch and he jumps towards the cave entrance, leaving one side of my body in the cold. Torben barks and Finn turns back, lowering his head in deference. I know they're communicating in their minds and I would give anything - well, a lot - to be able to listen to what they'resaying.
With a growl, Torben gets up and races into the night, leaving me with Finn. Watching the polar bear running gracefully off into the dark, I don't even notice Finn shift until I feel a human hand on my shoulder. I look up and - ignore certain bits and try to avoidblushing.
"Ràn's hurt," he whispers hoarsely. "Torben has gone tohelp."
Time passes achingly slow.Finn has changed back into a bear to help keep me warm, but he's promised to shift as soon as the others contact him. I'm clinging to him, trying to ignore the pictures of an injured Ràn racing through my mind. Finn said the brothers had gone to the house, which apparently had almost collapsed by the time they got there. Without even waiting to contact Torben to find out if we were ok, Ràn jumped into the building. That's when it fully collapsed, burying Ràn under it. Stupid, stupidbear.
It's cold.Every few minutes I turn so my body stays warm on all sides. Like a kebab,basically.
After about ten turns, Finn finally shifts. Apparently, he can do it while lying down, impressive. Not so impressive is having him lie against me from behind, skin onskin.
"They got him out of the rubble," he whispers, as if any loud sound would make it worse. "He had to shift for the boys to pull him out, but he's in too much pain to shift back. We heal best in our bear form, and can stand the pain a lot better. Ràn needs to shift, but the pain is stopping him from doing it. Torben is trying to deal with his wounds, but he's no healer, and Ràn is refusing to be touched. The only person he’s letting close is his brother, and only as abear."
"Why?"
"Because... it's not my story to tell. Let's just say that he can't stand the touch of othermen."
"Will he let a woman touchhim?"
"I suppose so... We've never tried. As you'll have noticed, he doesn't talk much. It used to be different, he used to be so much like Húnn that everyone took them for twins, but now... I'm never quite sure what goes on in hishead."
I turn around to look into his sad eyes. The pain in his voice makes me reach out to touch his cheek, wiping away a tear that isn't there. He takes my hand and grips ittightly.
"If we got him to you... do you think you could helphim?"
