Chapter 2 - The Burden of Breathing
The wind on County Road B did not blow in gusts; it slammed like solid timber. The moment Caleb stepped away from the half-buried sedan, the cold clawed through his threadbare jacket, searching for skin with the hunger of a living thing. On his back, wrapped tight in the red and gray acrylic scarf, Maisie felt impossibly small—a light, shivering pulse pressed against his spine. Her small hands were tucked inside his armpits, her breath coming in ragged, tiny puffs against the nape of his neck.
“Caleb?” her voice was barely audible above the roar of the gale, thin as paper. “Are we going to my mommy?”
“We’re moving, Maisie,” Caleb choked out, his tongue heavy in his mouth. “Just hold on. Keep talking to me. Don’t close your eyes.”
His scavenged boots, two sizes too large and stuffed with damp newspaper, crunched into the fresh drift. Within ten paces, the car behind them was swallowed whole by the swirling white void. There were no trees to mark the edge of the asphalt, no fence lines, no streetlights. There was only the blinding, screaming curtain of ice.
The first fall came without warning. Caleb’s right boot caught on a hidden snowbank beneath the surface, sending him plunging sideways into a ditch. He twisted his body mid-air, throwing his right shoulder down to shield Maisie from taking the impact. The frozen crust of snow shattered against his chest, driving the air from his lungs in a sharp, agonized gasp.
For three terrifying seconds, he lay buried, his vision spotting with dark sparks.
“Caleb!” Maisie whimpered, her tiny fingers tightening in his hair.
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“I’m here,” he forced out, his throat burning. He planted his elbows into the drift, his raw knuckles scraping against buried gravel. “I’m up. I’m up.”
He dragged himself to his knees, his limbs trembling violently. The cold was already seeping deeper, turning his wet socks into blocks of ice. He pushed off the ground, standing tall once more, his heart hammering a frantic rhythm against his ribs. One fall. Only one. He set his sight on the absolute darkness ahead and took another step.
