I quickly secured the bandage with two pieces of tape and then gingerly pulled my bottoms back up before Charlie and I followed Tuck to the tree where we were camping. I lay down next to Charlie and Tuck retook his position against the tree trunk. My wound felt better, but my inner turmoil increased. I scooted closer to Charlie, my brain buzzing with questions of what the next day would bring. And the day after that… The moon shimmered, the hoot of an owl sounded, wind whistled, and eventually, the soft sound of Tuck’s carving lulled me into a restless sleep.

Day Two

The morning dawned clear and crisp, a few snowflakes swirling in the air, but not sticking to the ground. Just like the evening before, Charlie and I trekked behind Tuck, holding our respective baggage.

Unlike the day before, however, we had a goal, a destination, and that gave me a renewed burst of energy. The smoke had been visible again this morning, which meant there was warmth ahead. And electricity. We would use their phone and call for help. I could be in a hotel room basking in a hot bath with a glass of wine in my hand…well, soon. It was going to be the best bath of my entire life.

The forest became dense, but I could still catch glimpses of the sunrise, the sky painted in shades of orange, from deep pumpkin to pale tangerine, all bleeding together. It was magnificent, even under the cover of trees, and made the woods around us glow with this ethereal light.

The woods grew ever thicker, and though the sun was still rising in the sky, the farther we walked into the forest, the dimmer it got. There was no way to track time now without either a working phone or the ability to see the position of the sun. The only measure that we’d walked for hours and hours was the pain of my muscles, and the number of blisters I could feel forming on my feet. And we could no longer see the smoke from this lower ground. “Are you sure we’re going in the right direction?” I whispered to Tuck, not exactly certain why I’d lowered my voice. He’d begun walking much more slowly since the visibility had decreased, so it was easier to keep up with him. I realized how right he’d been about waiting until we had at least a little light to travel through these woods.

“Yeah,” he said. “Pretty sure.”

Pretty sure. “What are you basing that on?” I asked. Because I was all turned around, and it definitely seemed like we’d passed that exact tree an hour before.

“Emily. If you want to head in a different direction, no one’s stopping you.”