Forsake My Broken Hart

Chapter 14

The tent and our surrounding were now covered in about a foot of snow. The fog had lifted with the morning sun, but the deep snow posed a bigger problem. Not only would it make our climb harder, but it would also make it harder to find the entrance.

"Unfortunately, we may have to ditch the snowshoes." Azrael admitted with a frown.

"Why?" I was alarmed at the prospect. We would tire that much faster having to constantly pull our legs out of the snow.

"Because we will probably have to do some actual rock climbing." It was Rowan who answered. His words only served to remind me just how high up we were. My stomach did a somersault, attempting to eject the food I had just eaten.

"Let's wear them until we get to a part we will have to scale. It will take us the same amount of time fighting the snow until we reach a part to climb as it will changing out into climbing boots." Kaito's logic was sound and quickly agreed upon.

My anxiety was only slightly relieved, still not looking forward to being back on the narrow path with the cliff side only feet away from me.

Chogan hugged me in an attempt to calm my nerves. I let myself relax in his embrace. It didn't last long before Rowan was ushering us to move out. His face was lined with worry and exhaustion.

"I want to switch up the line up. Ryder will now be behind Kaito. Hart, you're behind him and I'm front of me." Before anyone could say anything, Rowan had already started unhooking Ryder's clip.

"Why?" Chogan finally asked for the rest of us.

"I just have a feeling, okay?" His motions were jerky and frantic as yanked me back towards him and placed Ryder in front of me. Only then did the tension set into his shoulders disappear. He let out a huge breath and nodded. "We need to get going."

After packing up the tent into Azrael's bag, we set off again. More stops were made along the way with Chogan conferring with Rowan. Rowan was no help, as something was interfering with his precognition on whether we were going the right way.

About an hour into the hike, and the trail became steeper, with all six of us using our hands and feet to climb upwards. Fortunately, we weren't climbing a cliff face, but the steepness was alarming. The snow made it both easier and difficult.

My gloves were soaked, hands cold and numb. I was punching my fingers through the snow, allowing me to steady myself before taking another step. It was slow going, taxing, and freezing.

I hissed as snow fell inside my glove. At this rate, it wouldn't matter if my fingers developed frostbite. They were so numb. It was getting harder to use them. I had already taken off my snowshoes and wrapped chains around them for a better grip. My feet were less likely to slide.

I focused on putting one hand in front of the other. One foot a step higher. The labored breaths from all of us filled the air. We dared not speak or make too much noise in fear of starting an avalanche. I had been so hyper-focused on remaining plastered to the side of the mountain, I hadn't realized the others had stopped until I was level with Ryder.

The fog had come back, now even thicker than the previous day. I couldn't even see Azrael and Chogan leading the line. Kaito's figure was only barely visible. Rowan kept climbing until he too was level with us.

Keeping my voice low, I whispered, "Does anyone know what's going on?"

"No. I only stopped because Kaito did." Ryder shrugged. The three of us were crouched on our hands and knees, leaning awkwardly at an angle.

"Kaito won't be able to tell us what he knows, either." Rowan muttered. "He can't use his hands. Hart, do you think you could link with him and find out? Either Kaito or Azrael."