Toby Neighbors: Crying Havoc

It took over an hour, and the shadows were so deep that she could hardly see when her hand finally felt something other than snow. She renewed her furious digging and uncovered one of their packs. It had food inside, but no wine. She was thirsty and tired, but she kept digging. It took only a few more minutes to locate the other pack. Then she had to find their canteens and the bottle of wine. It was completely dark by the time she had all their supplies. The stars twinkled in the night sky but cast almost no light in the dark canyon. She had to make her way back slowly, following the trail of broken snow she had made earlier mostly by feel. She only hoped that she wasn’t too late to help Zollin.

* * *

Zollin lay on the snow and tried not to think about the pain in his upper body or the absence of pain in his legs. He was frightened and felt absolutely helpless. Even raising his head brought a searing pain to his neck and shoulders that made his vision go dim. He knew that if he could work his magic he could heal his body, but he felt so weak and tired that all he wanted to do was sleep. The fact that he couldn’t feel his magic scared him more than anything. He knew that without it he would die. There was simply no way that Brianna could carry him back over the mountains. A healthy man would spend a month, perhaps even longer, traversing the jagged cliffs and treacherous canyons that Zollin had levitated them over using his power. If that power was gone, he would die.

He had faced death before, but never in such a helpless state. In most cases, he hadn’t had time to think about what he was doing or how close to death he really was. Even when he had gone down into the cave, which had been frightening, he was at least armed with his magic. Now he was completely helpless, and with every minute the snow towering over him looked more like the walls of a grave.

He fought sleep, knowing that if Brianna returned and he was unconscious, there was nothing she could do to save him. She had to get back with food, and he had to be awake when she got there. As darkness began to fall a new fear gripped him. What if Brianna didn’t return? What if she had abandoned him or gotten hurt herself? The dragon may have returned and devoured her. If so, he would die all alone.

He was shivering uncontrollably as the stars came out. One by one they lit the night sky, twinkling far above him. He focused on the stars as he struggled to keep his eyes open. He tried to see patterns in the stars but it was too difficult. His mind seemed to be in a fog, and just forming coherent thoughts was difficult. He wanted to sleep so badly he was on the verge giving in when he heard Brianna calling his name.

“Zollin?” she said. “I’m coming! Can you hear me?”

She had been calling for a while, hoping that he might answer and help her find him in the dark.

“I hear you,” he said, but his voice was soft and slurred. She didn’t hear him.

“Zollin!” she called out again.

“I’m here,” he said as loudly as he could.

* * *

Brianna finally reached the hole and was at least relieved that it seemed darker than the landscape around her. She had been afraid that she would fall into the hole and make their predicament worse.

“Oh, Zollin, I can’t believe I found you,” she said. “It’s so dark I could hardly see anything.”

“You did good,” he said, but his voice was so weak she could hardly make out the words.

She had the strap from the wine bottle around her neck, and she made sure she had one canteen and as much food as she could get in one of the packs. The extra weight made the harrowing decent into the dark hole even more frightening, but she was careful, and even though it took several more minutes, she climbed safely down to Zollin.

“You stay with me!” she told him. “I’ve got food and wine.”

There was no room in the hole to stand or sit so that she wasn’t on top of Zollin, but she couldn’t help that now. She uncorked the wine and raised his head slightly. Zollin grimaced in pain. She let the wine, cold and sharply flavored, run slowly into his mouth. He swallowed like a baby bird and then opened his mouth for more.

She spent the next half hour feeding him. He grew stronger, the pain less severe, but his magic didn’t return.

“I still don’t feel anything,” Zollin said. “I can’t even feel your weight.”

“What about your magic? Can you do anything?”

He concentrated on kindling a flame. It was one of the most simple spells he knew, a trick he had done since he had first discovered his magical abilities, but nothing happened. It was like trying to raise his leg. The effort seemed familiar, but there was absolutely no movement.

“I can’t,” he said, panting from exertion. “It’s no use. I’m going to die in this hole.”

“Don’t say that,” Brianna said.

“We’ll freeze,” Zollin said.

“No, I’ll keep you warm.”

She laid down on top of him, adjusting her weight so that he could breath easily. The snow was cold around them, but it also acted to insulate their meager body heat. Zollin closed his eyes and fell asleep almost immediately. His mind was troubled, but he was too weak to resist the frightening dreams. He saw dragons and terrible wizards. There was lightning and thunder, billowing flames, and the hideous screams of people he could not save.

When the sun rose, casting a dull gray light into the mountains, Brianna found Zollin fast asleep. His skin was bluish and his eyes were darting back and forth under his thin eyelids. She sat up, her body aching and sore. Then she woke Zollin up. His eyes fluttered open.

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

“Like I fell off a cliff,” he said in a whispery voice.

“Can you feel your magic?”

“No,” he said after searching for it. He was numb all over. Brianna had put the empty pack under his head and covered them with blankets, but he was laying on the snow and the cold was slowly taking over his body. He couldn’t feel the hypothermia, but it was only a matter of time before the freezing temperatures ruined the skin and the tissue in his back and legs.

“Well, we need a plan,” Brianna said. “We can’t stay here.”

“You should go,” he told her. “Just leave me here. There’s no way I can make it out of the mountains now.”

“I’m not leaving you,” she said.

“I’m dying, Brianna. .” he paused as the reality of his admission sank in. He was dying; he had finally admitted it. Now, fear gave way to relief. There would be no more fighting the inevitable. “We both know it. If you stay, it will hurt your chances of getting out of the mountains alive.”

Brianna laughed. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Zollin seemed invincible. He had fought mercenaries, assassins, wizards, and a dragon. But now he was giving up, and for some reason Brianna found that funny.

“What are you laughing at?” Zollin asked.

“You think I can survive in the mountains without you?” she said. “I don’t have any way to make a fire. We’re almost out of rations. I lost my bow so I can’t hunt, even if I could somehow get lucky enough to find game without you. Even if I had food and could build a fire, I know there is simply no way I can climb back through the mountains alone. Do you hear what I’m saying, Zollin? If you give up, we’ll both die.”

Anger, fear and resentment crowded Zollin’s mind, each struggling to hold his attention. He had been all right thinking only about his own death, but he hadn’t realized what going back alone really meant for Brianna.

“I can’t help you,” Zollin said in an exasperated tone. “I can’t even move.”

“You can think, though, so think of something.”