it's cold in this cave.
i see my breath in every shuttering exhalation i force
my throat is closing
i see icicles on the cave ceiling
she's shivering too
what used to be rosey cheeks full of life
now look like death.
i see little color.
even her blue eyes look frozen. gray.
her brown hair is riddled with specs of snow and ice.
this is our shelter for the night.
we share a gaze that we both know speaks 'i hope we make it through the night.'
outside is a roaring blizzard.
and not the tasty kind that you hold upside down before you eat it.
eugghh.
even as hungry as i was, the thought of eating that frozen treat sent a violent shiver up my spine, resulting in a loud chattering of my teeth.
im not sure how we ended up in this situation.
i try to rack my brain to find the steps we took to land ourselves in this damp, frosty cave, but my brain must be freezing, too, because i cant picture anything but what i see in front of me.

we remained in silence for what seemed an hour. the only sounds were our rough breathing and the occasional shiver and chatter of teeth
she was losing motor function…she had been rubbing her arms for warmth and it slowly ceased.
she laid against the cave wall in a slump, her head resting awkwardly sideways, and her arms lumped at her sides.

i went to speak, but i only mouthed my words.
i coughed to clear my throat and only a pathetic whine came out.
so i stood up.
her eyes followed me, but her body still laid lifeless and heavy.

i tried to speak again, but only heard rough whisper.
i grabbed an icicle with a wrapped hand and begun writing into the snow in front of her.

it read 'need to move. or we die for sure, right here.'

it took her great pain to maneuver her head to read my script.
she nodded weakly.

i stood quickly and offered my hand, which she took with limp wrist.
this poor girl.
i don't even know her name, and i may be the last person she'll ever see. and vice versa.

as soon as our hands made contact, i saw a flash of me, running across a white, snowy field.
there were large black circles on the ground, smoking.
i was carrying something. i remember a sharp pain in my side, but i knew i would not put what i was holding down, no matter what.

i lifted my shirt, was immideatly bitten by the frosty atmosphere.
ooh. i exhaled in shock from the sudden exposure to the cold.

on my side, i saw a grouping of multiple gashes, still ******, but crusted over by now.
my eyes widened.
Tabatha.
I was carrying a little girl. she had a large piece of glass sticking into her shoe, and couldn't walk on it. the glass had reached her bone.
but she was brave, i remembered that.
she did not cry. she was strong for me. and i was for her.
i held her close, her foot bouncing at my side as i ran for our safety.
i could feel every cut and ****. every tear of my skin. and it hurt terribly.
but i did not put her down.
we ran atleast a mile. the little girl who i did not even know, clinging to me. her only chance of survival.