Jade watched with horror as Vas collapsed. Had he lost too much blood?

She ran to his side with Alex and Joust close behind her.

Jade turned Vas over and touched her forehead to his. She waited for a moment and felt his breath on her cheek.

Good.

“Is he okay?” Alex looked terrified.

“I think he will be.” Jade infused a confidence she didn’t feel into her words.

What could they do? Without Vas they weren’t even really a squad. Just a few people lost in the woods.

“Stop trying to kiss him and help me get him on my back,” Joust exclaimed. Joust took off the three packs he’d been carrying.

“Wait. We shouldn’t move him!”

Joust shook his head. “We’re all dead if we don’t move him.”

Alex nodded and Jade eventually agreed.

They helped wrap Vas’s arms around Joust’s neck and then helped Joust stand up.

Joust shook his head. “This won’t work.”

They eventually got Vas’s body onto Joust’s shoulders so the man could carry Vas’s distributed weight.

Jade picked up her pack and Alex picked up the other two.

Jade grabbed Vas’s compass off the ground.

“Let’s go east.”

----------------------------------------

Vas opened his eyes to see a purple sky. Only, he saw it sideways.

After a moment of orientation, he realized he was on Joust’s shoulders.

“What happened,” Vas murmured, blinking rapidly to clear his vision.

Joust huffed, “You fell over so I carried you.”

“Welcome back, Vas.” Jade’s voice was excited. She’d been worried.

“I think I can walk if you set me down.” Vas wanted to get back on his feet.

Joust complied and set Vas down.

Vas slowly stood and took a tentative step forward.

“Didn’t faint that time,” he grunted.

Joust laughed. “That’s good, I don’t think I could carry you for two more hours. I was already preparing to drop you.”

Two hours. If Vas assumed an average pace, they’d probably made it a fourth of the way to the lake.

“We’ve been walking east for about two hours.” Jade was bringing him up to speed. “No Risen, no signs they’re following.”

“We’ve seen a few squirrels though!”

Jade held out the compass Vas had been using earlier. He took it. “Thanks.”

Alex sniffed loudly, “you’d do the same for us.”

“If we keep up a good pace, we should reach the lake before dawn. We’ll use the ice to lose them.”

He hoped.

There was a lot of hoping in Vas’s plans recently.

He hated leaving things to chance.

Two hours later, it was so dark that Vas could barely see. The group’s single-file line had become a human train. Jade had apparently left her halberd where Vas had collapsed, so both of

Jade’s hands held Vas’s shoulders, Alex held onto Jade’s shoulders, and Joust held onto Alex’s shoulders.

Vas had heard a few wolves howling in the distance, but they’d seemed to get farther away. Vas could only hope the wolves would attack the Risen to earn a few more minutes for his group.

On second thought, it probably wouldn’t earn him any time at all. There were just too many Risen.

In some areas, even Vas was unable to see in front of him. He’d walk into brush, scratch himself on tree branches.

Whenever moonlight peeked through the trees, Vas stole a glance at his compass.

Making sure you were going the right direction was an important priority in the woods.

Especially in the dark.

“Vas,” Jade whispered into Vas’s ear.

Vas got goosebumps and almost jumped. He hated being surprised.

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“Thanks for helping Alex and I. When we fell behind.”

“Alex and me,” Alex corrected quietly, “And I actually did fall.”

Vas just shook his head.

He never seemed to know what words to say at times like this.

Maybe someone wiser than him could have given the right answer.

If he were Joust or Fem he’d turn it into something funny.

If he were Tare he’d have known a quote to fit the situation.

If he were Alex he could tell the story in a ridiculous manner and make himself sound like a hero.

He wasn’t a hero. He was a person.

He hadn’t run back to save Alex and Jade.

He’d seen the Risen closing on them and panicked.

“What did you do the first time you faced terror?” He asked the question bitterly.

“What?” Vas shook his head again. “I think the first time a person encounters terror, they do one of two things: freeze or run. I ran.” He kept his voice low.

Vas was angry now. At himself.

Why was he talking about this?

Jade’s grip on his shoulders changed. “I cried. I let them do what they wanted. I guess I froze. I just wanted to live.”

Jade’s response reminded him, like she always did.

He wasn’t alone. They’d all dealt with terrible situations.

He nodded slowly.

“I’ll never run away again.”

The others didn’t say anything else.

They didn’t have to.

They’d all made the same choice.

Hours of silent marching passed by.

Vas occasionally reached to his shoulder and gave Jade’s gloved hand a squeeze.

He could feel her growing tired from the amount she leaned on him. Without having to pick her own path, she’d let her head drop and was letting Vas lead her.

He wouldn’t be surprised if she fell asleep like that.

The others had done the same thing.

The cold air was probably the only thing keeping them awake. And the walking.

Vas was able to pick out details now.

He could see the bushes, he could see the branches.

He narrowly avoided a rock.

The sun would be coming up soon.

That meant they had to be close to the lake, right?

What if he’d been wrong about the lake’s location?

The glow of the sun about to rise made it so Vas could see ahead of him perfectly now.

The trees seemed to thin out ahead.

Jade let go of Vas’s shoulders and came to walk beside him.

“Give me your hand,” she commanded.

Vas did as he was told. Jade examined the makeshift bandage and shrugged.

“I think you'll make it.”

“You think?” She gave him a devious smile.

Vas smiled back.

They finally reached a clearing, which Vas assumed was the bank of the lake. He stepped carefully and found packed ice beneath a small layer of snow.

“We walk out a few dozen paces onto the lake, then head south.”

The others followed him wordlessly.

After walking further onto the lake Vas turned them south.

Their tracks seemed far less obvious on the ice.

Vas could see a hill in the distance.

If they could make it to the hill before the Risen emerged from the forest, they might escape.

“We need to run.”

He didn’t wait for a response before he started jogging.

The others followed.

They must be even more exhausted than he was.

Then a miracle happened. It started to snow.

Vas smiled. He couldn’t have planned it any better.

After ten minutes of running, the group reached the hill. The hill was surrounded by another forested area through which Vas and his group could escape.

Vas stopped after cresting the hill and waited for the others to catch up.

“Lie down and rest. We need to know if we lost them.”

Joust was the first to comply. He was asleep moments after hitting the ground. Alex followed.

Jade went prone next to Vas. She hugged him. She didn’t stop.

Vas tore his gaze from the lake and glanced at her. She’d fallen asleep.