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Chapter 39

We hike for the rest of the day. I feel terrible, leaving behind all those people behind the gap. Me and Stone searched for something-anything, to span the space, but there was nothing. Stone had had to pull me away from the abyss, convincing me the best way to help them was getting to the rebels. Then, maybe, they could send down some flying craft to rescue them.
For dinner, we recook the leftover hare, but this time we don't use any cheese. We've still got three or more days of hiking to do. We're up so high that troops below wouldn't be able to see our fire, even in the dark, so we decide to keep it on all night.
It's cold. Very cold. When I tuck myself down my sleeping roll, I do the same as before, doubling up my blankets over top of me, and curling into a little ball. I wrap my slender, curling brown cat tail around my hands, threading it through my fingers, but they still feel numb.
I find myself wishing Stone had pressed his sleeping bag closer to mine, maybe to be a wind-block, from the inconsistent gusts that are billowing by every now and then. I can hear his breathing in the night air, strong and steady, broken by the gentle crackling of dimmed fire that I've pressed myself close to. It's warmth radiates across my face, but my back in left to the chill wind that's beginning to pick up, whipping through the thin blankets.
I barely sleep at all. When I wake up in the morning, I'm deeply troubled. I dreamt again of the lone archer.
"You sleep good?" Stone says from across the fire from me. I stare at him blankly, and he takes me in, my eyes drooping in exhaustion.
"Me neither."
At breakfast we each have a slice of bread and another slice of cheese, though my stomach growls for more. I feel like there's an empty cavern inside me, slowly gnawing it's way from the inside out, and I need to fill it.
"Your brand's showing," Stone says absently as he flings his pack onto his shoulder, and we begin the increasingly treacherous hike on our fifth day. I put my hand to the left side of my neck without thinking, before realizing I wouldn't be able to feel the absence of the skin colored powder I had covered it with.
I shrug. "Doesn't matter. Everyone's trapped... Back there..." I still feel horrible for leaving behind all those people, but I know deep down there's nothing I could have done.
"Your brand's showing." I reply suddenly. Stone reacts without a moment's hesitation, instantly clamping his right hand over the left side of his neck, fumbling with the scarf, and making sure it's secure. Then he lowers his hand and glares at me.
"Very funny."
"It was." I laugh, but there's no joy behind my smile. Stone's expression darkens, his eyes hardening, and he leaps over a small gap in the path.
What did I mean, 'I need you'? It's crazy that I ever even said that. How can you rely on someone without first trusting them? And, obviously, he doesn't trust me, because he's still keeping secrets from me. I know he lied when he said he didn't have a blood number. Why else would he freak out when I said that, and what else would the scarf be for?
"A brand isn't the only permanent thing the Order can do to you..."
That's what he said when he told me to cover up my brand. But what does it all mean? I swear, if I make it out of all this alive, I'm going to learn how to mind read and end all this confusion right there!
Suddenly, there's a huge crack. My blood runs cold, and I think the path has caved in again. But, no, the enormous boom came from above, not ahead.
I squint, looking upwards into the sky, and suddenly the world lurches into shadow, as huge black storm clouds smother the light of the sun.
"Snowstorm." Stone says grimly, pulling me along.
"No..." I argue, quite legitimately, because at that moment, a waterfall of rain slams into us.