Where the Hurricane Meets a Blizzard

Chapter 9

          I jolt forward with a start the following morning when someone shoves me awake. As soon as I see that it’s Jack, I narrow my eyes. At the same moment I glare at him, I become aware of the throbbing pain in my head and the sick feeling that seems to linger in my whole body and groan. My nose feels full, my throat aches, and the thought of trying to stomach any food makes me nauseous.

          “Opal, you’re burning up,” Jack says with a frown, worry lines etched into his forehead. “You need to take some layers off.”

          I shiver, feeling even more freezing now than I did before. “No,” I protest weakly. “It’s too c-c-cold.”

          He sighs and peels the sleeping bag off of me, instantly leaving me exposed to the frigid air around us. I moan in displeasure. “I’m sorry, but I have to do this.” He looks at me apologetically before unzipping the zipper on my coat and pulling it off of me. My body tenses as the icy air clings to it and I begin shivering even more. He goes to pull off my sweatshirt, but I stop him.

          “No! I’m so f-f-freezing, don’t take any more off.”

          “Listen,” he says, “I understand that you’re freezing, but your fever is so high that you’re beginning to sweat, and moisture plus cold results in hypothermia. And we need to bring your fever down, okay? Trust me on this one.”

          I groan as he tugs at my sweatshirt but don’t put up a fight, partly because he has me really freaked out about this whole fever thing, and partly because I’m too weak to try. Once I’m left in only a long sleeve shirt, my teeth start chattering.

          “Do you have anything under your snow pants?” Jack queries.

          “Um,” I say. “No?”

          He shoots me a flat look. “I’m serious, Opal.”

          Finally, I cave. “Maybe! But it’s too cold to take any more layers off, Jack! I’m done.”

          The corners of his mouth droop and it’s evident that he feels bad about making me do this, but we both know that there is no other option. “You have to. Take those off and then I’ll let you snuggle against me for body heat to make you feel a little better, okay? But you need to bring the fever down if you want to get better. You’re really, really sick, Opal.”

          “Gee, thanks,” I mutter dryly, blinking hard at the ground. He smiles the tiniest bit at this, shaking his head.

          “I don’t mean it like that, dummy,” he teases. “But snow pants off, now.”

          I clench my jaw and shake my head as I do as told, muttering the whole while about how he’s probably only making me do this so he has an excuse to cuddle with me. Soon, I’m left in socks, gloves, leggings, and a long sleeve shirt, with nothing else over top. And the cold hits me like a thousand pinpricks, sending tingles down my body. I climb between Jack’s outspread legs without further instruction and close my eyes as he rubs his arms up and down along my own arms, making the cold only marginally less unbearable.

          “Am I really that sick?” I ask, voice cracking. My eyes glaze out of focus as I stare idly at a portion of snow that constructs the wall of the igloo.

          “Don’t freak out, okay? I promise I’ll do what I can to get you back in time.”

          I freeze. “In time for what . . .?”

          “I said not to freak out. Stop freaking out,” he says. “You’ll be fine. I promise.”

          I frown but say nothing, instead nuzzling into Jack’s arms while he attempts to make me feel less cold. Watching his hands as they brush my arms, I realize that they’re significantly larger than my own tiny hands. Slowly and hesitantly, I recline back until I’m leaning against his surprisingly solid torso, resting my head against his chest, and close my eyes.