In the darkness, I could use a little company.

Fire through the Night

Water surged around them, and a mass of icy tendrils clawed at their limbs with unrelenting fury. Mackenzie's muscles screamed in protest, but he propelled himself and Jace through the torrent with sheer willpower.

There! A tree branch loomed within reach. Mackenzie's heart pounded as he calculated the distance, the cold numbing his senses. But he needed a hand free to grab it. Glancing at Sage, her tiny form trembling in his hand, he knew what to do.

He gently shifted Sage, placing her between his lips. Her minuscule clothing was pinched securely, and she dangled precariously like a kitten being carried by its mother.

He extended his now-free arm and clutched the branch, rough bark scraping his skin. With all the remaining strength, Mackenzie dragged himself and Jace toward the bank. Their bodies made a thud against the soft, snowy shore as they collapsed, panting and shivering from the bone-chilling cold.

Mackenzie immediately released Sage from his mouth, cradling her in his large, calloused hands. The tiny girl lay still, save for the faint quiver running through her. Her soaked blond hair clung to her pale face; her brown eyes closed as she shivered violently.

"Hey, little one, stay with me," he urged softly, his breath forming clouds in the freezing air.

Sage sputtered, coughing up water before opening her eyes. "C-cold," she whispered, her voice a fragile thread of sound.

Without hesitation, Mackenzie began rubbing her with his fingertips, generating warmth any way he could, mimicking the care one would show a frozen kitten found in the snow. He cupped her between his palms, bringing her close to his mouth to breathe warm air onto her tiny body.

Sage wrinkled her nose, a feeble reaction to the unpleasant scent of his breath, but she didn't pull away. The hot gusts caressed her, breathing life back into her chilled frame.

Beside him, Jace hunched over, her body wracked with uncontrollable shivers. The temperature change had fogged her glasses, and she pushed them up with a trembling hand.

"We need to get a fire going," Mackenzie said, not taking his eyes off Sage. "Can't let hypothermia set in."

"I wasn't expecting that," Jace managed through chattering teeth, struggling to maintain consciousness as the cold leached into her bones.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time. Mackenzie replied, keeping his tone light. "Hey, stay awake, I'll get a fire going!" Mackenzie snapped. He shifted Sage to one hand and firmly reached out, grasping Jace's shoulder. "You fall asleep now; you might not wake up. You hear me?"

Jace nodded weakly, her usually keen intellect dulled by the relentless cold. "You know, Mathis....... he'll just come after us, he'll never stop."

"Hey, don't worry about that right now," Mackenzie replied. He kept rubbing Sage with his fingers, his motions rhythmic and focused, all while blowing more hot air onto her. The tiny girl seemed to respond, her shivering subsiding just a fraction under his ministrations. But time was a luxury they didn't have, and Mackenzie knew it.

"Can't... can't feel my fingers," Jace mumbled, her eyelids drooping as she succumbed to the cold's lullaby.

Mackenzie lifted the tiny borrower to his mouth with a mumbled curse under his breath. He placed Sage once again between his lips, her tiny form secured by the gentle pressure of his mouth. The damp and fragile fabric of her clothing was held fast. Sage, nestled close to the warmth of his breath, slipped in and out of consciousness, too weary to protest her unconventional perch. Every exhalation from Mackenzie's nose cascaded over her like a waterfall, offering respite against the penetrating chill.

Mackenzie then bent down and scooped Jace into his arms, carrying her bridal style, her body shivering uncontrollably.

*****

After much searching, Mackenzie spots a small cave-like opening between some boulders. It would serve perfectly as shelter; he could make a fire there, and it would help keep the wind out.

*****

The crackle of fire soon broke the silent oppression of the winter night as flames took to the wood with ravenous hunger.

The night stretched before him, daunting in its silence and darkness. Mackenzie huddled close to Jace, his body pressed against hers in a shared battle against hypothermia. He kept Sage cradled in one hand.

Occasionally, he reached out with his free hand, tossing wood onto the fire. He had a small stockpile but would need to leave the warm cave and gather more soon.

His own shivers were persistent, violent tremors that he fought to suppress, knowing that their survival depended on his strength and alertness. The fire required constant vigilance, the flames demanding fuel.

Mackenzie's fingers worked tirelessly, massaging the borrower's icy limbs.

Mackenzie's focus remained unwavering as he maintained the delicate balance of keeping the fire alive, ensuring Jace did not slip away into eternal slumber, and preserving the fragile spark of life that was Sage.