Enduring Light (The Afterglow Trilogy #3)(28)
Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy

I remembered the yellow fruit that needed to be peeled. “Do they have the fruit I liked at the airport?”

“Bananas? Sure. That’s pretty typical for pancakes. You want those?”

I nodded. “As long as pancakes are as good as you claim.”

“They are.”

A woman came over, and Kevin ordered two coffees and two sets of banana pancakes. I did not voice it, but I wondered if he ordered bananas with his because of me. I liked thinking I may have impacted his decision.

I discovered right away that coffee in the lost world was just like what we had in Energo, only slightly more bitter. Most foods from my home had comparisons in the lost world. I wondered which of Energo’s foods pancakes were like.

Kevin pushed a small container toward me. “You can add cream or sugar.”

“Why would I do that?” I took another small sip.

“I don’t know. You were making a face. Some people like it better that way.”

“I just need to get used to the different taste.”

He smiled. “All right. I was just asking.”

Before long, two heaping plates were placed in front of us. I watched Kevin eat a bite of his first before cutting a piece of mine. The warm, soft dish was perfect. I especially loved the banana. I had expected the fruit on the side. The closest comparison in Energo was a type of pastry we usually reserved for special occasions.

Kevin nodded at my empty plate. “Glad you liked it.”

“I would eat that again.”

“Good to know.”

He paid the bill, and we walked back out to the car.

“This is our last stop before we set out on foot, is it not?”

“Yeah. We need to make up lost time. We’re supposed to meet Charlotte in two days.”

“Then I am glad we had pancakes. It will be good motivation to get out alive.”

“Is that a joke?” He held open my door. I wondered if that was the typical gesture of a man in the lost world. Maybe they were more polite than I assumed.

“Yes.”

“Nice. I like it.”

***

“Well, if we’re going to willingly walk into the Alaskan wilderness, at least we’re wearing the right stuff.” Kevin pulled on the hood of his coat.

“Hopefully, these clothes can really protect us down to twenty degrees below freezing as the tag says.” I was not positive if we measured temperature the same way, but I assumed the word freezing was universal. Twenty degrees below that was cold.

“I was thinking the same thing about the sleeping bags.”

I adjusted the fancy pack on my back. I had never seen such a thing before, but evidently it was also meant for cold weather. “You packed that old map of Monty’s right?”

“Yes. We should be able to locate the gate to Kenset as soon as we find the Onyx.” Kevin took out a length of rope, attaching one end to him and the other to me. He had come a long way with the survival skills since we had first met. “We need to stay together. The storm’s let up, but it’s going to be rough.”

I nodded. “I understand.”

My new boots kept my feet warm and dry as we moved through the snow. The wind picked up the farther we moved from the car, and I was grateful for the surprisingly warm clothing. I had never seen materials that could be so warm even though they were thin.

Kevin took the lead, and I stayed close. We did our best to follow the coordinates, but as the storm picked up again, I did not know how far we could make it. My body ached, and the cold seemed to magnify my exhaustion. I followed Kevin almost blindly as the storm swirled around us.

Hours passed, and I could barely feel my limbs. The cold stung, and even the best clothing could not prevent the deep chill from penetrating my bones. For the first time, I started to doubt our mission. Could we really fight the cold long enough to find the Onyx? What if Kevin’s father was wrong about the location? We could not afford to wander around this terrain. We were already spending too much time in the elements.

My body fell forward, and I stopped just before I reached the edge of a deep crevice. Kevin was already halfway down. The only thing keeping him from falling farther was me, and I was barely able to hold his weight. My heart beat a mile a minute. I summoned every ounce of strength I had and pulled. At first, the effort was useless. Any movement up was followed by him slipping back down, but finally, his head peeked out from the white ground. His expression of pain and fear was all I needed to muster greater strength. I pulled again, and combined with the momentum of his own frantic efforts, we were able to pull the rest of his body up.

“You saved me.” The words spilled through his blue lips, and all I wanted to do was kiss him.

I eyed blood seeping from his pant leg. “Do you need to rest? Can you go on?”

“Yes.” Instead of moving forward, he hugged me.

I hugged him back, knowing that the physical contact said more than his words could.

I used a medic kit from my pack to make a tourniquet, but that only slowed the blood loss. His leg still had to bear his weight. We could barely see a foot ahead of us. We were both frozen.

“We cannot make it much further in this storm. We need to find shelter.”

“Maybe we can find a natural shelter if we head back over to the mountain.” Kevin struggled to speak.

We took off toward the mountain, and I kept my eyes open for an overhang. We needed to find some cover. I tried to get Kevin to put some of his weight on me, but he fought against it. Either he was too proud or too afraid I could not handle it. I assumed it was the former since I had proven my strength to him already. After nearly an hour of searching, I considered just setting up a tent outside. Getting Kevin off his bad leg was important.

Then, I spotted the entrance to a small cave. Each step felt like a mile until we squeezed through the tiny entrance.

“Even covered, it’s going to be cold.” Kevin sat down on the floor of the cave. He grimaced when he tried to stretch out his leg.

I pulled aside his pants leg and examined the cut. The wound wasn’t as deep as I originally thought, but there was significant bruising all around it. Kevin shivered as I replaced his bandage. Even more than the injury, we had to worry about staying warm.

“Body heat. That is the best way to stay warm.”

Kevin winced. “As in, nothing between us body heat?”

“Do you know of a better way to stay warm tonight?”

He shook his head. “You don’t need to twist my arm.”

“Can we both fit in one sleeping bag? Is there a way to connect them?”