like hours. There’s nothing to measure time against except forward motion. Step, shiver, step, rub arms, step, squint against the wind and rain, step.
Over and over. Unending. My thighs throb, my stomach clenches, and I’m huffing each breath. The world is wet and gray. The wind blows harder and harder until now leaves are hitting, lifting off the ground and slapping my face.
I raise an arm to protect my face as a gust blasts us. Debris comes in fast, so I turn my back to it. Urukol steps behind me, placing himself between the assault and my body, protecting me. Tears stream down my face, but the rain hides them. This is awful. We can’t make it, can’t go on like this. I’m sobbing and can’t stop myself.
Urukol wraps his arm around and pulls me against him. The wind whistles past, accented by the sound of debris hitting his back. I thought life was hell before, but this is worse. Impulsively I wrap my arms around him, clinging to his strength. He’s a rock in this storm, the one solid thing.
The wind keeps blowing harder and harder. He’s swaying with the force of it. I keep my eyes squeezed shut as my arms squeeze him tighter with a will of their own.
“Must. Move,” he yells to be heard, and even so, I barely hear his words.
I nod without bothering to speak. He doesn’t let me go, but takes a step to the left. I follow his lead, moving with him. We reach one of the massive trees, and he gets us behind its protection, which doesn’t turn out to be much. The wind seems to have taken the shelter the tree offers as a challenge, blowing harder still.
I’m blasted from side to side as the wind splits around the tree only to slam into me. Urukol keeps a firm grip as he turns us, smashing me between himself and the tree. The wind howls, and it’s a terrifying sound that makes my heart race.
I’m shaking uncontrollably. Cold and fear make a powerful combo, leaving me a quivering mess. We’re never going to escape. This is never going to end. We’re lost, and hope is being blown away along with all the loose debris from the jungle.
“Urukol!” I yell, but the wind whips my words away.
I don’t think he can hear me. He’s clinging to the tree with his one good hand, but the wind is buffeting him and me. We can’t stay here, it’s growing more dangerous by the minute. The trees are shaking violently. Smaller ones fall with silent crashes, the sound drowned out by the roaring wind.
Urukol looks down, our eyes lock for an instant. His brow furrows, frowning he shakes his head. I’d think it impossible, but the wind is stronger. Bigger trees fall around us, slamming to the ground, driving more debris into the air.
I close my eyes tight and cling to Urukol. I’m sure we’re going to die. The wind slams into my left, shifts in the blink of an eye, and slams into my right. Urukol is knocked back and forth. We’re so screwed.
I hope the others are safe.
Without warning we’re tumbling. My stomach rebels, sickness rising in my throat, but I fight it down. Desperate, I cling to Urukol with all the strength I can summon. His one arm is so tight, it feels I’m about to be squeezed in half.
I keep my eyes shut. I don’t want to see what’s next. Urukol slams against something so hard it rattles my bones. We barely slow down with the hit and we’re tumbling again. I hit the ground, and then we roll and fly through the air only to slam to earth again.
The wind blows us across the slick ground. I open my eyes in time to wish I hadn’t seen what’s coming. We’re heading for a drop-off, and as fast as I realize what’s happening, we go over the edge.
My stomach is left far behind. Tumbling in free fall, I’m sure this is it. I’m suffused with a sense of acceptance and I relax. I’ve survived so much, it’s only fitting I end like this. Perhaps this is what my nightmares have been telling me. A warning of what was to come, not a revivification of the past.
It wasn’t my failing to save that unknown lady, it was a sign that I would end the same way. Falling into an endless black. I’m not going to open my eyes, it’s okay. Urukol did