My heartbeat quickens.
“What are you?” I reach out to touch his cheek, but there’s nothing there but water. He’s gone. Or I imagined him.
I walk back to the temporary camp with the bowls and then take the empty water bottles to the hole in the ice, filling them. I shake the water off my hands as I walk back. The fire is now lit and the snow is already melting.
Ava wants the water boiled where possible, and to save the purification tablets for if the water looks bad and we have no other choice. I’d have rather used them up first, but she’s right. And she’s in charge. But she’s acting like we’re going to be here for a long time, not a few days. Does she know something about this world that the rest of us don’t?
“I’m thirsty enough to drink that,” Harding says.
“I don’t recommend it.” I set the bottles in the fire, lid off so the water can boil, and sit down. I soon become too hot, so edge back. The guys huddle like they’re freezing now they’ve stopped walking.
Calloor stares at me. “You’ve got some frost or something on you face.” He reaches out and his fingers brush my cheek. His touch is scalding, so I draw back.
The water in the bowls boils, but it needs another few minutes to be safe.
I touch my cheek. There is a small patch of rough skin. I’m tempted to pick at it, but open wounds in a place like this are dangerous. I don’t even have a mirror to check it. Was I bitten by something during the night?
Ava and Wraight return. They didn’t find a place to make camp. We drink, then refill and boil the water before starting off again. We stay with the river, walking along the shore. This time I’m aware of the giggling of the water and the way the light shines on the ice, and every so often I think I see Eskar’s face.
My ass cheek throbs where I fell over and I rub at it. Thinking of him heats my blood. I shouldn’t be getting aroused and yet…
What is wrong with me? Am I still mentally competent to give Ava medical advice?
Did I make up and name the alien man, or is he real and he told me his name?
Maybe imagining aliens is a coping mechanism. A way to hold on to hope that we’re not really alone here. That there’s a whole alien civilization here waiting to be discovered and they’ll take us in, and everything will be fine.
I realize that’s exactly what I’ve been hoping for. Every time we turn a corner, I’m holding my breath and looking for buildings or signs of life. And every time there is nothing there, disappointment swells.
I don’t like this feeling of neediness that’s rising. I don’t want to be that person again because once people figure out that you need them, they take that need and abuse it. The sun arcs downward, and we haven’t found a place to stop. I’m thinking Calloor was right and we should’ve stayed where we were and searched for a better cave in the mountains.
We need more than a cave. We need clothes, food…things that are easy to take for granted when living on ships. I study the plants as we walk, trying to figure out if any of them are edible. The shiny red berries look tempting, but I bet that’s a trick.
The river chatter becomes more excited and I glance at the ice. Then I see it, on the other side of the river, half hidden by moss and gray like the rocks. The remains of a ship.
Chapter 5
“A ship!”I point and squeal with a little too much excitement. Everyone stops and looks up at sky. “No, on the other side of the river.”
The river is frozen enough that we can cross it. I’m sure. I step onto the ice, eager to explore. Heart tight in my chest.
“Leah, wait,” Ava calls.
I turn, still on the ice, my footing firm. “What? We can stay there the night? It’s shelter.”
More than that, the ship has given me hope. We aren’t the only ones to have crashed here. People must have survived. They can tell us how they did it. Unless they were rescued…
The water seems to whispercome.
“I’ll take a look.” I take another step toward the ship.
“No.” Ava steps forward.
Oh, so it’s okay for her to check things out, but I have to stay in the group? I fall through the ice once, and they all think I’m a hazard. “It’s fine.”
“The ice might break.” She reaches out her hand, but her eyebrows are pinched together.
It won’t break under me. I’m certain. I can feel its sighs beneath my feet.
