To the Well-Organized Mind

Chapter Twenty-Nine

[Nia]

Always remember the Rule of Three: you can survive for...

-three minutes without air or in icy water

-three hours without shelter in bad environment

-three days without water (if sheltered)

-three weeks without food (if you have water and shelter)

-from Jaden's survival training class

***

Being alone in the wilds has never felt this lonely. I chalk it up to the fact that our situation ended things too abruptly: Fen and I were fleeing together, and suddenly, we were separated and I now have no idea how he and Jessi are faring.

For several minutes, I pace on my side of the shore, just in case Fen and Jessi come running back to the river, having found something worse on that side of the river. As I walk, I try to picture the journey from Asis we took yesterday. Had I pointed out enough landmarks for Fen to watch for so he'd remember the way back on his own?

The scratches on my side make themselves known after I've been pacing for a few minutes—long enough for my adrenaline to fade and the pain to resurface. I dig out the first-aid kit from my pack, then pull up the left side of my shirt to expose my side. Seeing the wounds actually relieve me rather than make the pain worse. Only two shallow puncture marks pattern my skin. The rest of the teeth merely reddened my skin from the force of the blow.

I wet a small wedge of soap in the river, then bathe my wound. I pour a little water from my bottle over it all after I've determined it's been washed enough. The marks are hardly bleeding, but I find a gauze and douse it with some of the ancient ointment from Jaden's cabinet, then bandage it over the top. Hopefully no infection will set in.

I've heard no further screams or growls or barks, but lingering on the riverside feels dangerous. After I've waited about fifteen minutes without anyone reappearing across the water, I head downriver. Upriver was the direction of the screams. But perhaps I'll find a narrower crossing or a different way across going downriver.

Only after I've been walking a good thirty minutes do I realize that I am intending to return to Asis. I never once considered just heading over to find Ridge by myself, the way I've been wanting to. Skipping Asis would mean no arguments, no endless discussions, no betrayed faces to turn my back on. Have I become Fen's shadow now?

I shake my head in response to my own question. No, of course not. I simply need to make sure Fen and Jessi made it to Asis. Once I can verify they are safely within the walls, then I can resume my life's purpose. Solo. I nod. Yes, that's exactly what I'll do.

But first I need to find a way across this river. After walking downriver all this time, I haven't found anywhere better to cross. The river is still at least thirty feet across, probably longer, and rushing with all the fury of whitewater. I stare at its swirling depths, wondering if I should just attempt swimming.

"I must be losing my mind," I say aloud. I can't even blame feralism for this one: ferals avoid the water; I don't think they know how to swim.

I don't travel during the rainy month for a reason. And when the sprinkle begins an hour or so later, it is another rude reminder why I do not.

Despite the weather not being chill, the rain brings my temperature down enough that I have goosebumps. Risk of hypothermia rises with exposure to rain and hypothermia leads to bad decisions. Jaden's voice echoes in my ears. Having to listen to her training for years has effectively led to hearing her dulcet tones as my survivalist conscience. Get your ass to shelter.