Amber Silverblood: Silverpack

Chapter Eighteen

Take a step, I thought You can do it. Now another. Now another.

The road was rising in a steady incline, but I could see the lights of town just over the next hill. I had almost made it.

A powerful wind ripped through the forest, shaking the trees and nearly throwing me off my feet. I paused for a few seconds to shield my face from the blast of frozen air, but it didn't do much good. My hands, feet, and face were all numb. My coat may have been thick, but it could only do so much in these conditions.

I had been hiking for more than three hours, according to my watch, although it was getting a little hard to read it through the layer of ice that had formed over it. Three hours of hiking through snow that came up past my knees, with the wind doing its best to blow me straight to Oz. Fresh snow wasn't falling, but the way the wind kicked it up made it feel like I was in the middle of a blizzard. Was this still Majestic's doing? I was going to tear Ed's face off next time I saw him. Or Dex's, or Victor's. I wasn't feeling particularly picky right then.

All I felt was really, really freaking cold.

The wind blew again, making the trees on my left shake, and I flinched at the sound and spun to look. Nothing. I took a few calming breaths, and continued on my way. Since the moment I stepped out the door, I'd been jumping at shadows and flinching at any sound louder than my own breathing. I wanted to tell myself I was being paranoid, but how could I after what had happened the other night? Stark had promised me that Becky wouldn't do anything if I stayed on the road, but what if he was wrong? She could be in any of those shadows, waiting, biding her time, getting ready to pounce...

No! I scolded myself. I couldn't let my fear get the best of me. I was almost to town. It was too late to turn back now. If I could just get to those lights, I'd be in the clear. Alone or not, that oversized hyena wouldn't dare try anything where people might see her. Just keep putting one foot... in front of... the other...

My head began to spin, and in my dizziness I almost fell face first in the snow.

"Oh no," I groaned. "Not again."

I knew I should stop and wait for the dizzy spell to pass, but I forced myself to keep going. I hadn't been lying when I'd told Mom and Stark that I was feeling better, but the longer I hiked and the more the weather took its toll, the more obvious it was getting that my fever hadn't gone away completely. Leaving the house had been a mistake, but it wasn't like I'd had a choice. Kimberly might have turned into a giant monster wolf and tried to kill me, but I wasn't about to let her waste away in bed for it.

With a gasp, I came to the top of the hill and fell to my knees on the snow covered sidewalk. I stayed there for a few minutes, trying to catch my breath, until the dizziness finally subsided. I was pushing myself too hard, but I wasn't done yet. I'd finally gotten to town. Now I just had to reach Dr. Munse's office. I stood up on jellylike legs, having to lean on the wall next to me, and set off again. As luck would have it, Dr. Munse's office was located on the opposite end of town from the road that led to Stark's cabin. That by itself could take me another two hours of walking. The roads and sidewalks around the buildings had been cleared of snow, but the wind was hard at work blowing it all back where it came from, so my boots still sank down to my ankles with every step.