Drea

Chapter nine: Cold

I watch Thane as he paces back and forwards on the snow running his hands through his thick black locks of hair.
I try to bite back a smile as I watch his reaction to the mess Cyan and I got ourselves into.
I know this is a serious moment and I know I shouldn't smile, but I can't seem to contain my happiness at having company on my three day journey.
I watch Thane as he struggles between going back and trying to help Cyan or carrying on toward town to get help. We both know that even with his extra help, we won't be able to carry Cyan up that cliff.
He stops abruptly and rubs the stubble on his face. "We have to carry on to town." He states this like I don't already know that.
I part my lips to reply, but as I stare at Thanes backpack I'm suddenly overcome by extreme panic. Realisation hits me like a ton of bricks, I have no food, no water, no matches, no sleeping bag, no ammunition. I have nothing but the clothes I'm wearing and a gun with no bullets, and lot of use that is.
Thane follows my panicked stare to his backpack. "It's okay" he says taking a couple steps toward me "I have enough food and water for a couple of days if we eat and drink only when necessary." He says this but he doesn't look convinced. "And we can use this" he says pointing at his rifle leaning on his backpack "to hunt for food on the last day."
I glance behind my shoulder at the wet, snowy bank on the other side of the river. "Maybe we should go get it."
I whisper this to myself but Thane answers anyway. "We can't Drea, it will take forever to walk down to the raft."
The raft was where I was initially heading, but I was pushed well off course while running for my life.
'We're a couple of miles away at least' I think in agitation.
The raft is basically a pile of wood all bunched and nailed together creating a sort of walkway from one side of the river to the other. It's not as safe as a bridge, but it does the job.
"Besides" he says trying to convince me to agree with him "it would be a miracle if we could find your backpack before nightfall. I mean, do you really remember the exact place you dropped it while you were running for your life." I chew on my lip in agitation. He's right and we both know it. My muscles deflate in defeat.
"I'm carrying the gun." I state, leaving no room for argument. A smirk settles across his face and a blush threatens to creep up my neck. I swing the gun strap over my shoulder and speed walk so I'm in front of him. If he saw me blush because of him, he would never let it go.

A sneeze racks my body followed by a shiver.
I can see Thanes concerned expression in the corner of my eye, but he doesn't say anything.
Shadows and beams of soft, orange light play across Thanes features. One second his eyes are so dark, they're almost black and the next second the soft hue of the setting sun highlights the caramel flecks in his brown eyes.
A comfortable silence fills the air between us, only interrupted by my occasional sneeze.
The sun sinks lower by the minute and the temperature drops by the second.
I rub my sleeve against my numb nose, which is no doubt rosy with cold.
A flurry of birds take flight and scatter from a group of trees in the distance. Probably frightened by some sort of animal.
Another sneeze racks my body and Thane pauses. "We should set up camp for the night, it's starting to get cold."
I can see the worry all over his face. "I have some matches for a fire. We should be warm enough." He says wrinkling his nose, thinking about it.
I agree readily at the mention of the warmth of a fire.

Darkness settles upon the forest as we huddle around the fire. We thought about trying to heat our cans of soup on the fire, but in the end we just ate it cold. It's so freezing!
I shuffle in closer to the fire.
"I hope Cyan's warm enough." I whisper into the silence.
Thane snorts "He'll be fine, he works at the shop in the middle of winter with nothing but a shirt on sometimes. I swear, it seems like he doesn't feel the cold at all." He says this with fake confidence, acting like he's not worried about the exact same thing.
Thane unrolls his bright red sleeping bag and coughs awkwardly. "Uh....... we should probably go to sleep if we're gonna get up early tomorrow."
I sit there staring at him in confusion as a blush spreads across his cheeks. 'Why is he blushing?' I think to myself. I glance at his face again, now the same shade as the sleeping bag.
My eyes shoot wide open and my neck grows hot as it clicks in my mind. There's only one sleeping bag.......

Thanes body presses against my back and I try to relax. I can feel his hand on my hip and my skin starts to tingle. Thoughts swirl around in my head, mostly along the lines of:
-This is completely normal, we've been friends for years.
-Thanes not panicking he's probably already asleep.
-We're just trying to stay warm, he probably doesn't even think of me as a girl.
His steady breathing tickles the back of my neck and I struggle not to squirm.
"Are you uncomfortable? I can..."
"It's fine." I cut in quickly.
Awkward silence is thick in the air, but none of us break it. Bit by bit my body starts to relax into his, until finally my eyes flutter closed and I fall into the deep oblivion of sleep.