“As long as it’s better.” I stuffed my SED in my pocket. “What next? Do we keep walking? Try to sleep? They have the tent.”
And the roc was right there. I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I could hear it, though exhaustion nipped at the back of my thoughts.
“Keep walking. We’ll head away from the roc; that way it doesn’t draw anything else’s attention. As long as we stay in the woods, it won’t be able to reach us. Then we’ll meet up with the others when the way is clear.”
My SED chirped, and reading the message, I let out a soft chuckle. “Stef just sent those exact thoughts. They’re not hurt.”
“I’m glad.”
I readjusted my belongings and made sure there were no holes or scratches in my clothes. “I’m ready.” The sooner we left the roc behind, the better. Everyone had said leaving Range was dangerous, but I hadn’t realized danger appeared as soon as one left. Menehem’s lab was just beyond the edges of Range, close enough that there were still traps and the occasional drone patrol, so wiser creatures would stay away.
But already we’d walked down a troll path and been attacked by a roc. No wonder everyone stayed in Heart.
No wonder they’d all been so afraid of death when Janan offered them reincarnation.
We began walking, this time mindful of the brush and snow and ice. We were far enough away from the roc now that we didn’t need to rush, and it would be foolish to risk getting injured out here. Rin’s medical training hadn’t been that thorough, and we’d only brought a few supplies.
Sounds of the roc’s thrashing faded behind us, and mice and shrews began moving about the forest again. Probably heading back to their dens. Light touched the horizon, a dull red glow that was barely visible through the trees.
“They have the tent,” I said again, when Sam yawned.
He kept his voice level as we hiked up a small hill. “We’ll simply have to huddle in the same sleeping bag. For warmth. And so I don’t accidentally lose you to the wilderness.”
“You come up with the best plans.”
He smiled, and we kept walking. The roc was either far behind us now, or had given up trying to force its way through the woods. The trees were still thick, so it wouldn’t descend on us again, but I kept a wary eye on the sky as light bled between the trees and birds began singing to the dawn.
We walked parallel to the path, east and into the wilds outside Range. Small animals scurried through the forest, hiding as we passed, and everywhere there was evidence of larger mammals: tufts of fur on branches, fallen twigs, and piles of dung, which we managed to avoid, thanks to Sam’s caution.
Ice shone on every surface, hoarfrost and glittering icicles, the forest’s jewelry. I brushed my mittened fingers across ice crystals, listening to a few clink as they broke off. Winter, and talking about music with Sam, distracted me from my exhaustion for a while, but by midmorning, I couldn’t ignore it anymore. We sent a message to Stef and told her we were taking a break. Hopefully we’d meet up again soon.
Sam and I settled near a fast-moving stream. I rinsed blood and dirt off my face and arms, then scrubbed my skin dry before crawling into Sam’s sleeping bag with him.
The bag was warm relief after the frigid night and day. Sam had positioned the bag inside a shallow hollow among tree roots—an abandoned animal den, perhaps—so we were concealed on three sides. And Sam, being Sam, made sure he was between the exit and me, which meant that when he curled his body around mine, our burrow was deep and dark. His breathing was warmth on the back of my neck, and his hand rested on my hip.
“Are you comfortable?” he whispered.
“Yeah.” My feet were squished against our backpacks, and we were using the other sleeping bag as an awkward pillow. And though the cloth was thick and soft, a root dug at my shoulder. I shifted toward Sam, and his breath hitched. “Very. Aren’t you?”
His hand trailed up my side. “I wish we were at home.”
“Me too.” My hand slipped to my SED. “And I wish we had music, but I want to be able to hear in case anything happens.” Who knew what else might appear on us, now that we were beyond the safety of Range?
“You can listen if you want.” Sam kissed the back of my neck, making me shiver. It was amazing how he could make me want this huge and unnameable thing no matter where we were, and no matter the circumstances. “Listen if you want,” he said again. “I’ll let you know if anything happens outside. Just relax.”
Relaxing seemed unlikely, but when I pulled out my SED and earpieces and closed my eyes, there was only music.
Warm sounds of the piano pulsed through me. Heavy. Familiar. And with Sam’s presence behind me, soothing me, I drifted into dreamless sleep.
I jerked awake, darkness all around as the earth trembled.
Sam wasn’t behind me. I flailed inside the sleeping bag, discovering that one of the backpacks was gone and night had fallen.
“Sam!” I scrambled outside as the earth shuddered again and dirt rained into the hollow. My SED continued playing an old sonata, even as I ripped the earpieces away from me and shoved the whole thing into my pocket.
The forest was dark, quiet except for the thumping in the ground. It wasn’t like an earthquake—not this time—so it must have been something large moving nearby.
And I’d shouted.
I hunched, making myself smaller as I squinted in the darkness. Faint moonlight found its way through the forest canopy, but everything was still in shadows, and I couldn’t detect any movement.
The ground shuddered under my knees, under my palms when I touched the dirt. The movement was long and sustained, not like a troll plodding down the path. This was something else, maybe vehicles rumbling nearby. Our friends should have been far away, so if the shudder in the earth was vehicles, was it drones or people?
Either way, they wouldn’t be friendly.
I snatched the sleeping bags from the hollow and quickly rolled them up to fit over my backpack. There was no chance I’d find this tree again on my own.
But before I took off, I needed to find Sam. I called his SED, and he answered immediately. “What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong?” I shook my head and peered through the dark forest. “You’re not here. That’s what’s wrong. Where are you?”
“I couldn’t sleep, so I went to check on the path. The roc is gone. Flown off, I guess. I’m on my way back now. We can meet up with Stef and Whit soon.”
The rumble in the earth was fading. “Did you see anything? I heard something. Like thunder, but—”
“I heard it.” Sam paused, seeming to focus on something else—walking or climbing, probably—and dragged in a long breath. “I heard it, but I don’t know what it was.”
“Okay. Raise your flashlight in my direction. Maybe I can see it and start walking to you.”
“Just a second.”
While he was quiet, I peered through the forest. Faint light glimmered in the north. I secured my backpack and the sleeping bags and began picking my way around trees.
“Did you see it?” he asked.
“Yep.” I ducked around trees and crumbling boulders and clicked off so I could use my SED as a flashlight; mine was in my backpack, and I didn’t want to stop and remove it. Not with something out there. Frozen pine needles rustled and twigs snapped as we approached each other. “Next time,” I said, huffing, “wake me up to tell me you’re leaving. As far as I knew, something came by and ate you.”
“Sorry.” Sam hugged me and kissed my cheek. “Let’s head this way. There’s a pond not far off. Stef and Whit are waiting for us there.”
I nodded and crept through the woods with him. Being outside Range made me jumpy. It seemed like anything could happen. There were no traps in these woods, meant to capture or deter other dominant species, and no drone patrols. This place was strange and wild, though hauntingly similar to the forests of Range.