With a place to stay, Felicia helped Stephan sit down and gather more dry branches. After all, the mountains were full of them.
He wasn’t idle either. Though he didn’t have a lighter, he had a small folding knife. She watched as his slender, deft fingers struck the blade a few times, producing sparks. She handed him a bundle of fluffy grass. A few tries later, the sparks caught, and a small flame began to grow.
Felicia smiled. “I’ll leave this to you and go get more branches.”
It was still hours until dawn, and their small pile of branches wouldn’t last nearly that long.
Stephan stopped her. “No need. You keep the fire going; I’ll gather more.”
But she didn’t listen, replying as she walked out, “You’re injured, so rest. I’ll gather some more, then I’ll check your wounds.”
Though he hadn’t said a word of complaint, she could tell he was badly hurt.
She went back and forth several times, shivering as the cold night air hit her wet clothes, which clung to her even tighter. She sneezed a few times, her head feeling a bit dizzy. Thankfully, the branches she brought back were enough to keep the fire going for a while.
She placed the branches beside the fire, closed the hut’s door, and sat across from Stephan. On this bitterly cold night, only the fire offered any warmth.
But now there was a new problem-how would they dry their clothes?
They couldn’t wear their clothes until they dried up, could they?
Felicia blushed a little. Stephan seemed to have the same thought, turning away from her with a tone as cool as ever. “You change first.”
In other words, it meant he had no interest in her.
Under normal circumstances, she
would probably have teased him, but right now, she was too cold to joke She figured he felt the same. The fire provided minimal warmth, and she needed to dry herself quickly so he could warm up.
Hurriedly, she took off her damp clothes, wrung them out, and placed them near the fire. Wisps of steam rose as the fabric dried.
After a few flips, the clothes were
et vel.
mostly dry. She put them back on relieved that he hadn’t turned
around. He stayed still, with his back to her.
She sighed. “Okay, it’s your turn to warm up.”
But he didn’t move.
“Mr. Russell?”
There was still no response.
A bad feeling crept up on Felicia. She stepped forward and nudged him, but he slumped into her arms.
“Stephan!”
Felicia caught him, but exhausted and weak, she couldn’t hold him up and ended up falling backward with him on top of her. He lay motionless.
She reached out to touch his
forehead-it was burning up! And on his back, fresh blood stained his
clothes. Her eyes widened, and with
difficulty, she pushed him off and kneeled beside him to check his condition.