Chapter 11

• Zain looked down to make sure he still had feet. He hadn’t felt them in the last hour. Come to think of it, he couldn’t feel his face either. The next time he was running for his life, he hoped it was in the summer, or at least when there was no snow. Each step now took hard focus to make sure he was lifting his foot high enough and not trying to step with the other before the first one touched the ground again. “I’m taking a vacation somewhere on a hot sunny beach.” He mumbled.
• He looked up and pulled the hood away from his eyes. The wind blew a gust of snow up into his face as soon as he uncovered it. “Nice. Thanks.” He blinked and looked around. He could see the outline of what he hoped was the next town. If he were able to jog at all, he would have, but without feeling in his feet, he was going to have to walk it. He hoped he was wrong, but it may be an hour or more before he’d be there. He closed his eyes and stood there for a second. A hot bath. Just think of the hot bath. Opening them, he pulled the hood forward again and started walking.
• By the time he stepped across the invisible line that the sign indicated was the town marker, he was ready to lie down in the snowbank and take a nap. Now, all he had to do was find the street the house was on. The Alliance didn’t have a lot of places in little towns. The local people were too likely to notice strangers. Right now, he was grateful that they had one here. He wouldn’t have made it any further. He was also thankful it was a small town, so finding the street would be easier that way.