sorry.â
Maggie didnât know what to say, so she didnât say anything. Standing hunched over, she spread her fatherâs bedroll close to the fire. She untied her flannel shirts and draped them over a bough near the fire to dry. Then she sat down.
âTake your boots off and make sure they get dry tonight,â Maggie told Hadyn. He nodded and she untied her own shoes, tilting them up at the edge of the fire with a thick stone placed beneath the heels. She took off her socks and hung them on some twigs sheâd shoved into the heat-softened ground close to the fire. Hadyn watched, then copied her. After a few minutes, Maggie stood up to go get more firewood. The snow was coming down even harder.
âHadyn.â
He could hear Maggie, but he didnât want to answer her.
âHadyn?â
He rolled away from the sound of her voice. He curled up, wincing at the soreness in his muscles. For a few minutes there was blessed silence, and he drifted back toward sleep.
âHadyn!â
This time her voice was too loud to ignore, but still he tried. His whole body was weary. He didnât want to open his eyes. He didnât want to move. In spite of the fire, he had been cold during the night; he hadnât slept much.
âHadyn!â Now she was shaking him gently. âHadyn, are you all right?â
He gave up and opened his eyes. âWhat?â
âYou have to get up. We canât stay here.â
âWhy not?â Hadyn sat up slowly in the bedroll. It hurt to move, and he winced again. Maggie had built a little fire. He could see the snow still falling beyond the shelter of the krummholz branches. More than anything, he wanted to lie back down, cover his face, and go back to sleep.
âIâve been thinking,â Maggie began. âIf we head straight east, I think thereâs a good chanceââ
âLeave me alone.â Hadyn lay back down. If they were going to die in these cursed mountains, whatdifference did it make whether they moved on or stayed where they were? At least here they were a little warmer. He heard Maggie get up and he opened his eyes. She looked pale and weary, and she was scowling at him.
âYouâve caused enough trouble, Hadyn.â
He shook his head angrily. âI already apologized to you. Iâm sorry your father got hurt, but it wasnât my fault. I didnât want to come here. Iââ
âIâm going to get back home,â Maggie interrupted him. âI am not going to carry you, or stay here and freeze with you, or even spend the rest of the morning talking you into coming with me.â
Hadyn stared at her as she opened her knapsack. She pulled out a flour sack and reached inside it. âIâll leave you some food, but Iâm going to eat before I go.â She glanced up at him as she lifted a hunk of dark red meat from the bag. She pushed the slim, sharply broken end of a pine branch into the meat and propped it over the fire.
Hadyn felt his stomach cramp and his mouth flooded with saliva. He sat up again, gasping at the sharp pain in his muscles.
Maggie was watching him. âSore? It gets betteronce youâre up and moving. Here.â She handed him the canteen. âThe coffee is gone, but I melted some snow for water.â
Hadyn drank. There was still the faint taste of coffee. The water was delicious, and once he started drinking it was hard for him to stop.
âSlow down or youâre just going to get sick,â Maggie cautioned. Hadyn lowered the canteen. She reached out and took it back. âI donât know what youâre going to do for water, but I canât leave this. You might be able to keep the fire going and find a dish-shaped rock to melt more snow.â
Hadyn stared at Maggie. âYou canât just abandon me here.â
She looked up. âIâll leave you the bedroll. If I can find your bag on the way down, Iâll use your clothes
Sharon Kleve, Jennifer Conner, Danica Winters, Casey Dawes