Page 35 of Surviving Her

They sat quietly, the weight of their exhaustion pressing down on them. The cabin was cold. Eliza shivered, wrapping her arms around herself as she listened to River’s steady breathing.

“Why does it feel like everything is hitting me at once?” Eliza whispered, her voice breaking.

River’s gaze softened as she reached out to touch Eliza’s arm. “I’m sorry. You know I didn’t mean to say those things. I’m confused…and totally devastated. I know we’re doing everything we can,” she said gently. “Well, you are. It turns out I’m pretty useless.”

Eliza looked away. “Don’t talk crazy. You got us here. You saved me too.”

After a long silence, River stood up and walked over to the small fireplace in the corner of the cabin. She crouched down and began to stoke the embers, adding a few logs to the dying fire. The flames sputtered to life.

“We should keep him warm,” River said, her voice practical but strained. “The fever is bad, but the cold will only make things worse, right?”

Eliza nodded, still sitting beside Thomas. She reached for the extra blankets folded in the corner of the room and gently draped them over his body, tucking the edges around him to keep the heat in. His skin was clammy, but at least now he wasn’t shivering.

River returned to sit on the floor beside her, the fire’s warmth slowly spreading through the room. “We’ll take turns watching him,” Eliza suggested quietly. “One of us can rest while the other stays awake. We’ll need our strength if things get worse.”

River shook her head. “I don’t want to sleep.”

Eliza gave her a small, sad smile. “I know,” she said softly. “But you’re no good to him if you’re too exhausted to think straight.”

The minutes stretched into hours as they sat in the dim light of the cabin, the fire crackling softly in the hearth. The wind outside had picked up, rattling the windows and howling through the trees like a distant wail. Eliza’s body was stiff and sore and her muscles ached, but she couldn’t bring herself to move.

At some point, River dozed off in the chair by the fire, her body slumped with exhaustion. Eliza didn’t wake her. She knew River needed the rest. Constant fear gnawed at her, keeping her awake, her mind constantly circling back to the question that had been plaguing her since they arrived: would Thomas survive? Would he be able to make sense of the world he woke up in?

Eliza’s eyes burned with exhaustion and her body screamed for rest, but her heart wouldn’t let her leave his side. She reached out, gently brushing her fingers through his hair, her touchfeather-light. His skin was still warm,toowarm, but the fever didn’t seem to have worsened. Not yet.

“Come on, Thomas,” she whispered, her voice cracking with emotion. “You have to fight. Your daughter needs you.”

Her words balanced in the air, unanswered, as the night stretched on. She leaned forward, resting her forehead against the edge of the bed, her fingers still tangled in his hair. She closed her eyes for just a moment.

Suddenly, Thomas stirred.

Eliza’s head snapped up, her heart leaping into her throat as his eyelids fluttered. His lips parted and a low sound escaped him—a sound halfway between a groan and a whisper.

“Thomas?” Eliza’s voice was sharp and panicked as she leaned over him. “Thomas, can you hear me?”

His eyelids opened, revealing a sliver of dark, feverish gaze staring up at her.

“Who the hell are you? Get off my property,” he spat, his fingers curling into a fist as he raised his arm.

13

RIVER

River rushed to stand between her father and Eliza, her palms raised in a gesture of peace. Thomas’s eyes were wild, but she met his gaze head-on.

“She’s here to help, Dad. She’s with me,” River said firmly. “She helped you last night, and she’s going to do it again. You need surgery. She’s a doctor.”

Thomas grunted and clenched the blanket, pulling it taut with an agitated jerk. His posture was rigid. The muscles in his neck tensed as he glared at Eliza, who remained motionless, frozen to the spot. Eliza’s complexion drained of color, and the professional, self-assured demeanor River had first seen in her was nowhere to be seen under the weight of Thomas’s forceful presence. She noticed the subtle quiver in her fingers as she fidgeted with her clothes.

“She’s not the enemy,” River insisted, advancing with deliberate steps. “She’s the reason you’re still here. You’ve endured a lot. You’ve been through total hell, Daddy. I understand it’s hard to trust, but she’s with me. She’s part of me, Dad. You can have faith in her.”

Thomas’s muscles tightened, the anger in his posture softening just a fraction as he leaned back against the pillows. He looked lost and confused, in pain and exhausted.

Eliza took control as she spoke. “Thank you, Thomas. You’ll be fine if you follow my instructions. Riv? I’m going to need something to fight the infection,” she said, her voice seeming to gain confidence and authority as she spoke. “You might know more than me about this, but there are a few wild plants that might work as antibiotics. I think I saw some near the river on our way here—look for willow bark and yarrow. I’d say it was about half a mile back. And if you can find some honey, it’ll help a lot.”

River nodded enthusiastically and grabbed her bag. She knew exactly where to go and what to find. Her survival and outdoor experience were skills that she cherished now more than ever.

As she stepped out of the cabin, she took in the familiar sights of the forest. It had been too long since she’d allowed herself to notice the richness of the world around her—the vibrant greens, the soft rustling of leaves, the earthy smell that grounded her immediately.

---