22. Come on, get up. I'll carry you.
Mera walks me to the tunnel exit. At the last moment, she presses a small vial into my hand.
"For the headaches," she says simply, but before I can thank her, she's already heading back into the tunnels. "Take care, Communicator," she calls out and disappears.
I take a breath and walk toward him. He's standing between two large trees, arms crossed, watching me.
He's wearing just a dark t-shirt despite the cool morning air.
His expression is unreadable as always. When I stop a few feet away, he uncrosses his arms and looks me over, probably checking if I'm about to collapse again.
"Your head okay?"
"Are you actually worried?"
He stares at me for a moment. "Let's go, Communicator."
"Wait—" I try to stop him, but he's already moving straight into the forest.
When he sees I'm not following, he turns around. "What?"
"I thought I could decide where we're going."
"You can," he says calmly. "But I can tell you have absolutely no idea how to get out of here, and I'm not in the mood to walk around in circles all day." He turns again.
"Wait, why can't we take that bike? The bike was nice."
He laughs without turning around. "There are no bikes here. We have to walk. Normally wolves are a lot faster than humans, but..." He finally turns around and stares at me again. "I think if we move fast, we'll make it in six hours. Human time."
Six hours?
"Six hours? How did I even get here?" I ask loudly, still not moving after him.
"What do you think? I carried you," he replies casually.
Oh.
I start to move behind him. "How long did that take?" I ask, trying to keep up with his pace.
"Not as long as you'd think," he says simply, then falls silent.
I stumble through the forest, watching him navigate the narrow trail with ease.
This reminds me of the first time we met.
He somehow always knows exactly where to step, where to place his feet, where to jump over fallen logs.
I try to follow closely, but just when I start to get into a rhythm, when I can walk without stumbling every few steps, the rain begins.
First, it's just a drizzle. Then it gets serious. Within minutes, I'm soaked.
The forest floor turns into mud, and my shoes slip with every step. Water runs down my face, into my eyes, down my neck, and my head starts pounding again.
"Could we maybe take a break?" I call out, my voice nearly lost in the rain.
He looks back at me, taking in my hunched position, my loud breathing. "Are you tired?"
Stupid question. He can see how I look right now, can't he?
"Yes." I admit.
He sighs for a moment, then walks back to me. Without a word, he turns around in front of me and lowers himself to his knees. His t-shirt is completely soaked, clinging to his back. I stare down at him, surprised.
"Come on, get up. I'll carry you."
I stare at his broad back, rain running down his shoulders. "I'm not getting on your back."
"Yes, you are."
"No, I'm not."
He turns his head slightly. "We'll never make it at this pace, and you're already exhausted."
"I can walk."
"Not for another four hours, you can't." He's still kneeling there, patient and immovable as a rock. "Get on."
The rain is getting heavier, and the pain in my head intensifies. "This is embarrassing."
"More embarrassing than collapsing in the mud?"
He has a point. Reluctantly, I move closer and awkwardly climb onto his back. His hands grip my legs securely as he stands, and I have to wrap my arms around his shoulders to keep from sliding off, and then he's moving.
The difference is immediate. What took me stumbling effort, he covers in smooth, easy strides. The rain doesn't seem to bother him at all. I try to keep my face up but the rain keeps hitting my eyes, so I duck my head behind his, using him as a shield.
My chin is basically on his shoulder now, and I can see a raindrop land on his neck, right where his hairline ends.
I watch it travel down, following the line of his spine until it disappears under his shirt collar.
"How is your head?" he asks without turning.
"Okay." I shift slightly, trying to find a better position.
"Liar."
How does he know?
He adjusts his grip on my legs. "Better now?"
"Yes. Thank you." Another raindrop follows the same path down his neck. I have the weirdest urge to wipe it away but obviously don't. "Don't you get cold?"
"No."
We continue in silence. We walk for what feels like hours, and he never gets out of breath. The rain is steady now, not getting worse but not getting better either.
My arms are getting tired from holding on, muscles burning, but I don't want to complain.
"You can rest your arms," he says, as if reading my mind. "I won't let you fall."
"I'm fine."
"Alara." The way he says my name makes me pause.
Slowly, I relax my grip slightly, letting my arms rest more naturally around his shoulders. He's right—he's holding me securely enough that I won't fall.
"What will you tell them?" I ask after a while. "The humans, I mean. When you show up with me."
"I won't be showing up with you. I'll be staying hidden."
"How's that going to work? You'll just lurk in the shadows everywhere I go?"
"Something like that."
"What if I go somewhere you can't follow? Like... I don't know, a shopping mall?"
"Why would you go to a shopping mall while running for your life?"
"It was just an example."
He doesn't answer.
"Fine. What about my aunt's house? You can't just camp out in her backyard," I try again.
"I'll figure it out."
I sigh. "You're impossible."
"Almost there," he says without reacting to my comment.
"Where's 'there'?"
"Edge of our territory. After that, you decide where we go."The forest is thinning now. I can see more sky between the trees. "You can put me down now," I say when I see what looks like a road through the trees. "I can walk from here."
"You sure?"
"Yes."
He slows to a stop and carefully lowers himself so I can slide off. My head is still dizzy and I stumble a bit, grabbing his arm for balance.
"Okay?"
"Yeah. Just... give me a second."
We stand there for a moment, both soaked and I realize I have no idea what happens next. Where do I go? What do I do? How does any of this work?
"So," I say finally. "I guess this is where I decide."
"Yes."
"Any suggestions?"
"No. We do, whatever you want. You're in charge now."
"Right." I look around at the wet forest, the empty road, the gray sky, unsure were to go first.