Starfall by Jamie Sedgwick

Author:Jamie Sedgwick [Sedgwick, Jamie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 1727754603
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

Micah kept an eye on the speck in the distance as they hurried across the plains, moving away from the tracks. They were walking at a good pace, even though the wind was blowing against them.

“It’s easier to walk here,” Morgane observed. “The snow isn’t as deep.”

“It’s because of the wind,” Micah said. “It blows the snow away before it can settle. See how it drifts up the hillsides... Look at the tracks.”

Morgane turned back the way they had come. She sucked in a deep breath through her nostrils and shot him a frustrated look. “Micah, we’ve been walking all day in the deepest snow around. We’d have gone twice as far already, if we had just come down here from the very start.”

“I know. I wish I’d realized it sooner. Doesn’t matter now, though. We’d better keep moving.”

As they traveled, the sun sank towards the mountains in the west with disconcerting speed. It would set early, Micah realized. The northern latitude and the height of the mountains meant it would likely be dark by five o’clock. Hopefully, it wouldn’t matter. He was certain now that they had made the right decision in leaving the tracks. He could smell the smoke of fires, and he was sure that when the airship had vanished between the mountains, it had set down right in the area he had predicted.

Unfortunately, this knowledge did little to fill their bellies or give them the energy they would need to finish the journey. As the sun set, they were still in the middle of the plains, just over halfway to their destination. Micah’s empty stomach had gone from rumbling to painful.

“I don’t know how much longer I can go,” Morgane said. She swept up a handful of snow and put it in her mouth.

“Don’t do that,” Micah warned.

“It’s just water.”

“Yes, frozen water. If you keep putting ice in your belly, it’ll cool your body temperature. You’ll freeze from the inside out.”

Judging from the shocked look on Morgane’s face, this had never even occurred to her. She dropped to her knees, tilting her head back to feel the wind on her face. “I can’t go on, Micah. Just go ahead without me. Come back for me when you find the airship. I’ll wait for you here.”

Micah hurried over to her. “No,” he said in a firm tone. “I am not going to leave you here to freeze. Get on your feet.”

“Please,” she begged. “Please, just a few minutes.”

The pained look on her face was more than he could take. “All right. We’ll rest. But when I say it’s time to go, I don’t want any argument.”

“Fine. Just wake me up when you’re ready.” She leaned over, draping her body across the surface of the snow. Micah stared at her with a worried look.

Micah gave Morgane fifteen minutes. By then, the sun had fully set and the wind had begun to pick up. It shifted, coming around at them from the east now. It was bitterly cold, and without the sun to warm them, Micah felt the chill working through his damp clothing.

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