Chapter 10 – A Place to Breathe
They didn't stop. Not properly. Even after the smoke thinned out and the air stopped burning their lungs, they just… kept going. Slower now, yeah, steps dragging more than running, but neither of them said anything about stopping. It was like if they stood still for too long, that thing would just show up again.
Neel didn't even notice when his pace started falling apart. One step normal, the next off, breath getting rougher, chest tight. Then his foot slipped slightly on packed snow and he had to grab a tree to keep himself from going down.
"Wait—just…" he exhaled, voice rough, trying to steady himself. "Give me a second…"
His arm shook under his own weight. That annoyed him more than it should've.
The girl stopped a few steps ahead. She didn't rush over or anything. Just stood there, breathing hard, watching him like she was deciding whether he was about to collapse or not.
Neel kept his eyes down. Snow, bark, anything but her face.
"…I think we lost it," he said after a few seconds, still catching his breath.
"Think?" she replied.
"Yeah," he shrugged a little. "Unless it's quietly stalking us right now and we're just too tired to notice."
She didn't laugh.
The silence after that wasn't comfortable, but it wasn't as suffocating as before either. Just… quiet. Wind moving through branches, their breathing slowly evening out.
"We need shelter," she said eventually.
Neel nodded. "Yeah."
Obvious problem. Not-so-obvious solution.
They started walking again, slower this time, more careful. The forest didn't make it easy—snow covering dips and uneven ground, branches catching on clothes, hitting their arms, their faces. Neel almost slipped twice and had to correct himself last second, which only made him more irritated.
Time dragged. Every spot that looked promising turned out to be nothing. A shadow. A dip in the ground. Just more trees.
"…This is bad," Neel muttered at one point.
"No shit," she replied.
Then she stopped suddenly. "Wait."
Neel looked up. "What?"
She pointed.
At first, he didn't see anything. Then… yeah. Something darker than the rest, slightly off.
They moved closer, slower now.
A cave.
Small. Nothing impressive. But it had walls, and right now that was enough.
Neel didn't step in. "Wait."
She was already raising her hand. A faint glow formed behind her—weak, unstable. One orb barely held together, flickering like it might disappear any second.
She sent it inside.
It lit the cave for a moment, then popped against the wall.
They waited.
Nothing.
Still, neither of them moved right away. Just in case.
"…Looks clear," she said.
"Yeah."
They stepped in.
It wasn't warm. Not even close. But the wind stopped cutting straight through them, and that alone felt like a win.
Neel didn't even think before sliding down against the wall. His body just gave up on him.
"…Fuck," he breathed out, staring at the ground.
For a while, they didn't talk. Just sat there, trying to exist without falling apart.
Then Neel made the mistake of looking up.
Just for a second.
Yeah. Bad idea.
He looked away almost immediately, rubbing the back of his neck like he'd touched something he wasn't supposed to.
"…Right," he muttered under his breath.
Now that nothing was actively trying to kill them, his brain had time to notice things it really didn't need to.
She was… yeah.
Annoyingly good-looking.
Not in a loud way. Nothing flashy. Just… everything fit. Pale skin from the cold, a bit flushed at the cheeks, sharp eyes that didn't miss much. The kind that looked like they were always thinking, always calculating.
Her hair was long, black, messy right now, but even like that it just… worked. Fell naturally, like it didn't care.
Neel pressed his lips together and looked back at the ground.
Don't.
"…We need a plan," she said, leaning back against the wall.
"Yeah," he answered quickly. A bit too quickly.
Anything else would've been better than whatever his brain was trying to do.
He focused on his hand instead.
The crystal had spread further now, covering it completely. It didn't look like healing. More like… containment. Holding things together so they didn't fall apart.
Still, no blood. Pain was less.
"…It's getting better," he said quietly. "Slow… but yeah."
She glanced at it. "Can you move it?" then immediately added, "Never mind, dumb question."
"Not really," Neel said, trying to flex his fingers. They barely responded.
"How long?"
He let out a small breath. "Months, maybe."
She didn't react much. Just nodded. "Then don't depend on it."
"Wasn't planning to."
Silence settled again.
Not awkward.
Just… tired.
Then she spoke again. "We need food. Water. Something to not die from something stupid."
Neel nodded. "Water first. Snow's everywhere, but we need to melt it… and store it somehow."
"And food?"
"…Yeah," he huffed quietly. "That's a problem." He rubbed his face. "If every beast here is like that thing… hunting's not even an option."
She looked at him, then toward the cave entrance. "…What about fru—"
"Sure," Neel cut in without even looking up. "If you want to die of poisoning, go ahead."
She went quiet.
When he finally glanced up, she looked a little embarrassed, like she hadn't thought it through.
Neel exhaled through his nose.
"…Not saying it's impossible," he added, tone a bit less sharp. "Just… we don't know what's safe. This isn't Earth. Could eat something and just drop dead."
"…Right," she said.
Silence again.
Neel leaned his head back against the wall, eyes half-lidded, staring at nothing in particular.
"…We'll
figure it out," he muttered after a bit. "One thing at a time."
Didn't sound confident.
Didn't feel confident either.
But it was better than saying nothing.