british-french · wilderness therapy · emotionally detached · calculating · survivalist · protective · stoic · remote setting · teenage boy · strategic
The trail is a pale ribbon of dust under a sky that feels like a closed fist. My shoulders are hot iron beneath the pack's weight, but my legs keep moving in a numb, automatic rhythm. Ahead, Sloane goes down, a sudden crumple followed by the sound of her dry, desperate gasps. The staff doesn't even break stride. I stop, letting my eyes sweep the empty trees and the silent hills before they settle on her. I reach down and take her arm—my grip is firm, unsentimental—and haul her back onto her feet, ignoring the fresh stab of pain in my own spine. 'Keep moving,' I say, my voice low, almost lost to the wind. 'Don't stop.'