Page 125 of Grim and Oro
He shakes his head. “North. There are more resources there.”
He packs up both of our things, hauls his pack onto his back, and continues on without another look in my direction.
What is he playing at?
I don’t believe for a second he doesn’t want me dead. But there are few options out here. All I can do is follow for miles, as we hike through the snow.
Calder was right. Without sleep, my strength against the cold is quickly waning. Chill seeps through my clothes and skin. My legs turn to blocks that I drag, forcing myself to continue.
It isn’t long before we reach the first body. And that’s when I realize why Calder insisted on us staying back.
There was a storm. A blizzard.
A fresh coat of snow covers everything, across the mountains we now climb.
And our classmates ... they’re everywhere. We pass the boy and girl who’d taken bets on how long I would last. Their eyes are glassy and lifeless as they stare up at the sky, their bodies frozen over. Snow slides across their blue skin. They might as well be pieces of ice.
They will remain here for centuries, I realize. Their families will never get to bury their bodies. It would be too risky to travel here and claim them.
I think of those mothers, like mine, waiting for their children to return.
It seems unnatural for a Moonling to die of cold, but the untrained still can, if they haven’t found their power center. If the cold does not fuel them, it can eat them from the inside out.
Sunlings are even more at risk in these temperatures. This would have been me, I think, without my partner.
“How—how did you know?” I ask, once we’ve stumbled across the sixth classmate.
Calder shrugs. “I could sense it coming.”
I just blink at his back. I open my mouth. Close it.
“Up,” he says, starting toward the tallest mountain around. “We need to go up.”
This time, I do not question his instruction. I just follow.
My chest is ice—every breath burns the lining of my lungs. I move slowly, through the path Calder carves, feeling like every step might be my last. Every few seconds, I try to find my fire, try to find the flames within, but they have been completely blotted out, just like the sun. The wind howls around us. Calder takes the brunt of it, shielding me from direct gusts, but it still stings my nose.
My mind narrows to one purpose. Survival.
Step. After step. After step. Small steps forward are the only way to ascend any mountain. The only way to overcome any challenge.
Finally, Calder stops, and I collapse, my strength spent.
From the ground, I open my eyes and see we’ve reached the peak. It’s smooth. Calmer. And there is a forest just ahead, full of trees white as snow, their branches curved like beckoning fingers.
We’re too high up. The air is thinner, the cold is harsher, but I watch the snow shift down the mountain, tumbling. Storms are worse below, I realize.
“Another blizzard is coming,” Calder says, shuffling beside me, and it takes every inch of my willpower to get to my feet again. “We need to build.”
I am again grateful to be paired with Calder once we start cutting down trees with the curved blade he has in his pack.
“How did you know to bring that?” I finally ask.
He shrugs. “I bring it everywhere.” I remember how he had myblanket and pillow inside. Was he ... was he going to bring it down to me in the morning? Did he know about Cleo’s punishment?
No. Of course not.
He’s going to kill me. He’s just waiting for the right moment.
