Page 24 of The Edge of Never

“Okay. Let me take that off and get it out.”

My eyes popped open. I looked around us. We were far too close to the water. That wasn’t safe.

“No, no here. Have tae… tae move away from the water.”

My teeth chattered as I spoke.

“Okay. What about over there, near those trees?”

Kit pointed towards something in the distance. I blinked in an attempt to focus my eyes on it.

“Aye… but no right under the trees. Dinnae want the… the snow falling from the branches on tae the… on tae the tent.”

Kit nodded before adjusting their hold on me.

“Let’s go. Lean on me as much as you need.”

The walk towards the trees was slow going. I was hard-pressed to keep my footing. Every time I put weight on my bad ankle, I grunted from the pain. I dealt with it. There was no other choice.

When Kit finally drew us to a stop, I was barely holding on. My brain felt fuzzy, and my movements were sluggish.

Kit made me sit in the snow before tugging my pack off my back and dragging it around my front. Then they fiddled with the carabiners that were holding the rope attaching us together. Kit removed the rope from around me, so we were no longer tethered. They slid their own pack off their shoulders as they straightened and pointed to my backpack.

“You need to show me what’s what.”

I could barely move my fingers to pull off the waterproof cover.

Kit shook their head and did it for me before opening up my pack. They dug their hands in and pulled out a long bag.

“Tent?”

I stared at the green bag for a moment, trying to remember what the tent bag looked like before nodding slowly.

Kit stood up and got the contents out. I couldn’t do anything other than watch them struggle in the snowstorm with the tent poles. My body was slowly going numb from the cold. My limbs felt stiff, and my teeth wouldn’t stop clacking together.

My eyes were drooping by the time they got the tent pitched. They used their boots to stamp the pegs into the ground through the snow and got the tent secured, all without my help.

“I’m going to need you to keep your eyes open, Thane. We have to get those clothes off you.”

I nodded again, but I didn’t really register what they’d said or that they were rifling through my pack.

“Okay, I take it this is the sleeping mat and bag.”

They didn’t wait for me to respond, disappearing inside the tent for a while. When they returned, I stared up at them without really seeing them.

“Come on, time to get up.”

Kit pulled at me. I tried to move, but it was a struggle.

“Am I going to have to drag you into the tent?”

“Am… am trying.”

I caught Kit rolling their eyes before they circled me, took hold of my jacket at my shoulders, and tugged me, dragging me through the snow in a circle to spin me around. Then I found myself pulled backwards towards the tent. Pain shot through my ankle, jolting me out of my dazed state.

“Fuck,” I growled, shaking my head to clear my mind.

“Glad to hear you’re still alive.”

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