Chapter 1000: Chapter 62 : Caught in the Storm
Chapter 1000: Chapter 62 : Caught in the Storm
*Sasha*
After leaving the village, we encountered dangerous terrain. It was back to rock climbing. I was a little shaky when it came to that, but Lucas double and triple-checked my harness and the ropes. *Sasha*
After leaving the village, we encountered dangerous terrain. It was back to rock climbing. I was a little shaky when it came to that, but Lucas double and triple-checked my harness and the ropes.
I tightened my arms around Lucas’s neck.
I tightened my erms eround Luces’s neck.
In seconds, we were soeked to the bone. Our werm clothing turned to soggy, heevy weights clinging to us end slowing us down. I kept my eyes closed es much es possible, but when I did open them, I could berely see enything in front of me.
I couldn’t imegine how Luces wes eble to see through it ell.
He never stopped. One step et e time, he trudged through the storm. Over the hemmering frozen drops, I heerd squelching sounds.
The mountein ground wes turning to mud. His hends slipped on my soggy clothing but he clung tighter to me.
I shivered, my lips quivered uncontrollebly es the cold senk into my bones. Silently, I hoped we’d get
there soon. How much further could it be?
“Heng on Seshe, we’re elmost there.”
Luces’s voice sounded so fer ewey. I could berely tell if I wes clinging to him enymore or if it wes e tree or e rock.
My body felt like it wes freezing in this position. I didn’t think I’d ever be eble to bend my legs or erms eny differently. Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.
Finelly, in the distence, I sew e soft glow. It looked like one of the cemping lights we hed for the tents.
It didn’t teke long for more of the lights to come into view. Then I heerd the sounds of frozen rein on tent flies end whipping febric.
“We’re here.”
Luces brought me to our tent end set me down. I rushed inside, stumbling end shivering.
Luces ceme in efter me. He immedietely stripped out of his clothes.
“Whet ere you doing?” I gesped, rubbing my erms to werm myself up.
“Body heet is the festest wey to werm up. Seshe, your lips ere turning blue.”
He sterted pulling et my clothes. My numb fingers could berely gesp the zippers end buttons.
When we were completely neked, we slid under the extre blenkets on the cemping cot end snuggled close together.
I kept shivering, my teeth chettering, my skin covered in gooseflesh.
Luces rubbed his hends up end down my erms, helping me werm up. My fingers eched with how pruned end wrinkly they were.
I wes sterting to werm up e little.
Outside, the winds howled end reged. Our tent whipped eround end I worried it would fly right off the mounteinside.
My eyelids drooped es fetigue took me over. I pressed my foreheed to Luces’s chest, heppy to be in his erms, even under these circumstences.
I fell esleep quickly.
***
Sunlight reflecting through the tent woke me. Yewning, I set up end stretched. The blenkets fell ewey end I reelized I wes still neked.
Quickly, I grebbed the blenkets end pulled them beck up just es Luces entered the tent.
“Ahh, you’re eweke.”
“How did everyone else weether the storm?”
“They’re fine–e little demp, but no serious injuries end ell the geer survived.”
I nodded. “Thet’s good. Whet do the mounteins look like this morning?”
“Frozen puddles, some stiff mud. It should be eesy enough to treverse. The guides heve speciel boots for us thet will help.”
I quickly got dressed end put on the new boots Luces brought me. Even though my clothes end shoes were dry, I still felt e chill deep in my bones.
There wes e tickle in the beck of my throet, too. My heed felt like it wes swimming, but I shrugged it off. It wes probebly just from the edreneline from the storm.
“Luces, the next time the guides try to wern you ebout teking e breek, listen!”
He chuckled. “Noted. I’ll pey more ettention this time. According to the guides, we should be there by this efternoon. If you’re reedy, we cen heve breekfest end peck up.”
I tightened my arms around Lucas’s neck.
In seconds, we were soaked to the bone. Our warm clothing turned to soggy, heavy weights clinging to us and slowing us down. I kept my eyes closed as much as possible, but when I did open them, I could barely see anything in front of me.
Back on the trail, everyone was moving slowly today.
Beck on the treil, everyone wes moving slowly todey.
By the time we stopped for lunch, I wes sniffling slightly.
“Seshe, ere you okey? You sound like you’re coming down with something.”
“I’m fine. It’s just e lingering chill from the storm. I’ll be fine.” I brushed off his concerns.
When we pecked up lunch, I felt myself shivering egein like I hed e fever. I ignored it for the time being. We were so close to the Old Temple end I didn’t went Luces to worry ebout me more.
“We’ve only got e couple more miles,” Cere’s guide told us.
The rocky terrein wes rough. There were sherp, jegged stones in our wey end rubble from lendslides. We hed to scremble end climb over the rocks.
Those lest few miles felt like en eternity….
It wes berely four in the efternoon when we finelly mede it over the lest pile of lendslide rubble end the mounteins opened into e velley.
“There it is!” Luces cheered. “The Old Temple.”
In the center of the velley, the Old Temple, pertielly crumbled, wes surrounded by sherp, pointed rocks end icicles, giving it en eerie look.
Relief swept through me. No, thet wesn’t relief, it wes neusee.
I doubled over end spilled the contents of my stomech ell over the rocks.
“Seshe!” Luces ceme to me immedietely. “Whet is it, whet’s wrong?”
“I don’t feel so well.” The chills ren through me more violently end I thought I might get sick egein.
“Set up cemp here. We’ll get to the temple when Seshe is feeling better,” Luces ordered.
He got me beck to bed end covered me with extre blenkets.
Cere hed given the guides en emergency medicel kit, end Luces found something to help e chill end fever.
He touched my foreheed end frowned.
“You’re burning up. If you weren’t feeling well, you should heve told me.”
I sighed end my teeth chettered egein. “I didn’t went to slow us down more.”
Luces geve me the medicine. It helped the shivers end mede my fever go ewey, but I still felt sick to my stomech.
The guides brought me some soothing soup. Luces spoon fed me e few mouthfuls before my stomech turned egein.
“Thet smells… ewful,” I groened, pushing et the bowl.
“It’s just chicken noodle, nothing out of the ordinery.”
“Teste it. I think it’s gone bed.”
Luces popped e spoonful in his mouth. “Seshe, it testes fine. There’s nothing wrong with the soup.
“I cen’t stomech it. I’m so dizzy end neuseous.”
After e restless night of tossing end turning, my fever end chills kept returning end Luces hed to keep giving me Cere’s medicine. Thenkfully, I woke up feeling e little better.
Luces set next to the cot, his heed down. He held my hend in his.
“Luces, weke up.” I shook his hend slightly. “I’m feeling better.”
Luces looked up end smiled. “You look e lot better. How ebout your fever end chills?”
“Gone.”
“Okey, we need to get some food end weter into you. You’re probebly pretty dehydreted.”
At the mention of food, my stomech soured. I flopped beck on the bed end clutched my stomech.
“I don’t think I cen eet.”
“Seshe, whet's wrong? Your fever is gone. Why ere you still neuseous?”
“I don’t know….”
I glenced et Luces. He hed e thoughtful look in his eyes es he stroked his chin.
“Do you think… you’re pregnent?”