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That night, the sky is filled with dark clouds that unleash the full wrath of a winter thunderstorm onto us.
Alec and I take shelter underneath a tree with low hanging leaves. The branches do little to protect us from the torrent of freezing rain, however, and we're soaked to the bone and shivering within seconds. I hadn't noticed, but during my distress over Rurrous, my clothing had started to burn away again. Alec covered me in the extra layers of clothing that he'd been wearing. He tried not to, but he was shaking all night. Neither of us got much sleep.
Every flash of lightning and earth-shaking rumble of thunder results in more paranoia. What monster will appear in front of us the next time the forest is illuminated by the lightning? Is the ground rumbling because of the thunder, or are ogres charging us?
In the morning we discover that the map is completely waterlogged and the ink has been smeared. It's completely unreadable.
We use the sun to figure out which direction to walk in, but we still can't be sure that we'll reach Mount Inferno. To make matters worse, Alec's cough has considerably worsened because of the storm last night, and he looks even paler.
It takes everything I have to just put one foot in front of the other.
"We should stop," I tell Alec after he has another fit of coughing. He shakes his head, but he sways a bit and I steady him before he falls. He pulls his arm out of my grip and keeps walking forward, coughing again. His wings are duller, almost the same color they were when he was dead.
The sky is overcast all day. It begins to rain again after we pause to eat, instantly soaking us once more. Alec attempts to grow a grapevine, but after nearly ten minutes, he only manages to create a few green tomatoes. We eat them anyway, despite the bitterness.
By the time night falls, the rain hasn't let up. The sky is quickly becoming darker, signaling that another storm is on the way. Alec has been shivering nonstop and random bouts of coughing and sneezing attack him constantly. The shadows under his eyes have darkened and he can barely stand by himself. Sometimes he even swallows his pride and accepts my offers to help, putting an arm around my shoulders and leaning against me.
We spend the night underneath another tree, this one much worse than the last at keeping water off of us. Before sleeping, Alec tries to grow food, but he can't even grow a single grape. He tells me to wake him up in a few hours so I can rest and then quickly falls asleep. Minutes later, his wings shrivel and shrink into his back, disappearing completely. I decide to let him sleep the whole night.
The sun has been up for a few hours when Alec stirs and, with a little trouble, sits up. He doesn't seem to notice the absence of his wings, or maybe he expected them to disappear.
"Why didn't you wake me?" he asks, holding a hand to his head. His skin has taken on a pale yellow color and he's sweating despite the cold. During the night, I discovered that his fever has worsened.
I don't answer, stifling a yawn. I'm not in the mood to argue. Apparently Alec isn't either, for he forgets he asked the question altogether.
He doesn't attempt to call food from the ground today. He gets to his feet with great difficulty and then stumbles. I steady him, wordlessly putting my arm around his waist and supporting the majority of his body weight. Alec is breathing heavily despite the slow pace that we walk at.
I feel like we get nowhere after walking for hours, but eventually the peaks of huge black mountains come into view in the distance. In the center of the mountain range is a mountain that dwarfs the rest of them. I can only assume it's Mount Inferno.
"We're almost there!" I tell Alec breathlessly. I'm exhausted from practically dragging him for miles, but I'm filled with renewed vigor when I see our destination at last. I take a step forward, but Alec slumps against me. I say his name, shake him, but he's unconscious. His forehead is ice cold. Panic fills me instantly, but I force myself to think straight. He's still breathing. There's still a chance for him to make it.
I pull Alec back to his feet. My arms scream with the effort of holding him up after hours of it already, but I bite my tongue and march forward as quickly as I can.
My body is running on fumes. My legs and my arms are burning. My lungs feel like they're on fire. But on I go, the mountains closer with every step.
Mount Inferno is surrounded by a wide trench of lava, but a narrow strip of rock arches across it, creating a very, very dangerous bridge.
Alec is getting colder by the minute. He doesn't have much time left. So I start toward the bridge.
Something dark I hadn't noticed before is moving across the bridge when we reach it.
"Please help," I beg whoever it is, my vision blurring. My muscles are shaking. I squeeze my eyes shut for a second. When I open them, my vision is clear again. My eyes focus on the dark shape now levitating over the bridge, flying at us at a breakneck speed. A dark fairy. My arms give out and Alec falls to the ground. I scream for help with the remainder of my strength, and then everything fades to black.
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