A/N Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed! Love you guys!

Ok so I am literally having panic attacks because my BTR meet and greet is in 8 days and I'm hyperventilating. I have a mini panic attack every single day and I can't handle it. It just gets worse, every time it happens! Aggghhhhhhhhh! But their crafts are almost finished and I have my outfit (sparkly pink shirt, black lace cami, beaded wedges, and dark wash blue jeans) is all picked out. I AM READY.

Carlos' health only grew worse as the day went on. By midafternoon, his steps became slower and more deliberate. A look of concentration shone in his feverish, dark eyes and beads of sweat lined his creased forehead despite the cold temperatures.

"James, can we rest?" He finally asked in a pleading voice, his chest rising and falling quickly as he breathed. Right when I was about to agree and ask if he was alright, a coughing fit overcame his tiny body. He doubled over and placed his hands on his knees for support as the coughs racked his sore chest. I rushed over to my friend and placed my hands on his back and chest to hold him up.

"You're sick," I said sadly, remorsefully. There was no doubt about it anymore. He was ill, fighting off an infection that would be impossible to recover from without antibiotics. Carlos looked up at me. I knew what he was going to say before he even opened his mouth to speak. He was about to assure me that none of this was my fault and that he would be ok, but I just shook my head and shushed him. Nothing about this was ok, and nothing would be ok. I was supposed to keep him safe and protected, but things were only getting worse, and there was nothing I could do about it. I felt so helpless. I was the big brother, yet there wasn't a thing I could to do help my sick baby brother.

"It's been three days. Help will come soon," Carlos said, rubbing my back to comfort me. This wasn't right, Carlos wasn't supposed to be the strong one, that was my job. But right now I could hardly keep it together. Tears stung at my eyes, threatening to spill over my wind-nipped cheeks. I was so close to losing it, but I struggled to keep it in for Carlos' sake.

"Please don't cry," Carlos said. "I'm ok. Let's just eat for a little bit and then we can walk again."

I nodded. The only way to save myself from losing my mind was to stay busy, so I made my coat into a pillow for Carlos again and began to fish for our dinner while he napped.

Carlos' health wasn't the only thing that had changed while we walked. The terrain had, too. The cliffs and trees had all disappeared. Now it was flat prairie land. The stream had transitioned into a rushing waterfall, which had spilled into a large lake that was as wide as my eyes could see. The scenery would have been beautiful if it wasn't such an unforgiving nightmare. I could tell the temperatures were colder here, because the lake seemed partly frozen. I had to break ice to catch fish. I didn't trust walking over it, though, because where some parts were more thoroughly frozen, others seemed very fragile.

After I caught a fish for dinner, I set it on a rock in the fire to cook up and looked over at Carlos. He seemed to be very cold and uncomfortable, curled on the ground with his arms crossed around his chest. Every once in a while his dark eyelashes would flutter and a moan would escape his pale lips, which were so chapped and dry that they were beginning to bleed. I ran my thumb gently over the broken skin and frowned, then felt his forehead with the back of my hand.

"James? What're you doing?" Carlos asked me, his eyelids parting halfway to look at me.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up. I was just checking on you," I said apologetically. "Go back to sleep."

"It's ok, I'm up," He said with a yawn, sitting up and scooting closer to the fire in hopes of warming his cold bones. I noticed him studying my face for a couple of seconds. "Why do you look sad?"

I tried my best to seem confused. "What do you mean? I'm not sad, Carlos."

"You were crying," he told me. He wiped a gloved finger over my cheek, smearing a tear underneath my eye that I didn't even know was there.

"Oh," I said. "I'm just… I wish there was something I could do for you to make you feel better. I can't even give you chapstick for your lips and-"

Carlos chuckled at me, amused. But his laugh was so much weaker than it used to be. He used to have such a hearty, strong laugh that would chime like bells. I found myself missing his real laugh. "James, I'm not a little boy. I think I'll live. We'll be home soon so it's ok."

I sighed. "You're staying a lot more positive then I am, Carlitos. I'm freaking out. I want to be home now. I don't even know where we are anymore, or if we're still in Minnesota. So far the stream has only brought us to a lake which is probably so huge it would take forever to get around it. We're so, utterly lost I can't even wrap my mind around it."

"Don't think about it then, James. You just have to keep up your faith. We'll get out of this, like we've gotten through everything else in life. As long as we're together. That's how we've defeated every obstacle and it's not going to fail us now."

I watched the fire dance in the winds as I listened to Carlos' wise words. He could be so smart sometimes. He always was the voice of reason whenever you least expect it. "I know. We have each other and that's all we need. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have ranted like that. I hope I didn't scare you."

"It's ok, bro," Carlos told sincerely, flashing me a small smile. "Is dinner ready yet? 'Cause I'm starving."

I smiled and began to prepare our dinner. "Here you go, Carlos. Bacon-wrapped steak, twice baked potatoes, and a huge chocolate sundae with extra whipped cream. "

Carlos stared at the half of fish I handed him and wrinkled his nose. "Maybe if I close my eyes and pretend it's all of that good stuff, it will actually taste like it."

"Worth a try," I said. We closed our eyes and brought the fish to our mouths in unison. Pretending it was Mrs. Knights delicious cooking did not change the taste at all, but we ate it quickly and savored every bite anyway.

After we ate, I figured we would walk some more, but the wind was picking up. Gusts whirled around us, making eerie whistling noises in the sky, and it was hard to even stand up without our weakened bodies nearly toppling over.

"Whoa, James, where did this wind come from?" Carlos asked, clutching onto my arm to keep his balance. I squinted against the heavy gusts and looked up at the sky. It was late afternoon, and usually around this time, the sun was still out. But the sky was quickly turning into a pale gray as dark clouds rolled ominously in front of the sunshine.

"I think a storm is coming," I said, right when a crack of thunder sounded above us, making Carlos and I jump out of our skin. I grabbed Carlos' wrist and squeezed gently. Even at home, he was scared of thunderstorms, and right now he looked petrified.

"What are we going to do, James? We have no shelter!"

I looked around at our surroundings as Carlos clung to my arm tightly. There really was nowhere to hide. The land around us was flat, save for some scattered trees and a giant lake. We were completely exposed to the elements.

"James, it's getting colder," Carlos told me with a shiver. I wrapped an arm around him and pulled him close to my chest as more thunder rumbled.

"Don't worry Carlos," I said, even though my heart was pounding. It was one thing after another out here. Every time I thought we might be safe, something would happen. The wolves, nearly plummeting to my death, Carlos' infection, lack of food and water, the berries, and now this… How could we survive a storm? We were barely making it through the harsh temperatures…

"Carlos, we need to collect as much kindling as we can find," I said, and my voice gained a courageous, confident tone. I wasn't about to let us die out here. "We'll build a big fire and huddle. All we can do is wait it out here."

Carlos nodded and reluctantly let go of me, scouring the ground for anything he could find for kindling. The sky above us became more ominous and darker with every passing moment and the thunder became louder. Once we collected as much kindling as possible, I had him start a big fire while I caught another fish just to be prepared. A few light snowflakes began to fall from the darkened sky. Even though it wasn't quite evening yet, it was as dark as night already.

"I caught us some breakfast for the morning just in case. I have no idea how big this storm is going to be," I said, placing the fish on the ground and sitting next to my small friend, who stood on his knees while tending the fire.

"Fire looks good and warm Carlos," I praised. Carlos peered up at me and gave me a slight nod as he tossed some more kindling in. I noticed he was favoring his shoulder with each movement, his face pale and eyes glassy and filled with pain.

"Is your shoulder ok?" I asked.

"As good as it gets I guess," Carlos said sadly. A gust of wind picked up and whistled threateningly around us.

"Well you can rest now, ok?"

"Ok," Carlos said gratefully, settling down on the ground with his knees pulled to his chest, where he rested his head and stared at the large fire. I brushed the fine, white snowflakes off the top of his short black hair and gave him a smile.

"We'll be ok, right James? Help is coming. Maybe they'll even be here before the storm hits."

"I'm sure they will be," I lied, putting Carlos' hood up and tying it snug around his chin. Then I fixed his scarf, making sure it covered up his little nose and red cheeks. I didn't have the heart to tell him the search would most likely be called off because of the storm.

"James, I can't breathe," he said, pulling the soft, warm fabric off of his mouth.

"You have a fever and you need to stay warm," I said, covering his face back up. Carlos rolled his eyes but didn't say anything else. We sat shoulder to shoulder in silence as the snow continued to fall. I allowed my mind to wander off for a few moments, wondering if we actually would make it through the night. I couldn't stand not knowing what might happen to us or how big the storm was going to be. Our fate was left in the hands of mother-nature now.

A/N Yep things are getting really bad now. Reviews make me a happy piglet.