Chapter 11-
(Catarina)
We are trapped by the stream where they used to dispose of bodies. Shan tried to jump across to the other side but he falls in. He clings to a rock and I scream. The vampaneze and Kurda come in. A vampaneze almost stabs me until Kurda tells him not to. "The girl is open minded. She will be of use to us if we plan to-"
"You traitor!" Shan yells at him. Kurda bends down and extends his hand.
"Take my hand Darren. Let's talk."
"Never!" He lets go of the rock and falls under the fast flowing stream of water. I run without a single thought and Kurda tries to stop me but it's too late.
"Catarina no!"
I jump into the icy water and am swept away with the current. Water spills into my lungs and I try to fight to the surface but it is no use. Every time I reach it and get a gasp of air I am submerged again. I claw at the water, kicking and trying to get to the top but I cannot. I accept that this is the way I am going to die and hope the vampire Gods will take pity on me.
(Shan's POV)
In the midst of my own trying to survive I notice that Catarina has not emerged from the water again. Why did she jump in? She's so stupid sometimes!
I duck down and reach blindly for her. I fail and resurface for another breath before plunging down and reaching out my arms. I grab the sleeve of her torn red tunic and pull her to me. She is heavy and I am in no shape for swimming. I wrap my arms around her and keep her head above the water. It might be too late for her but I can not abandon her. No matter what she has not abandoned me. She is a loyal friend.
I keep my arms around her and hold her to me tightly. We float for a while in the fast current then fall under the water again. She is heavy and I have no strength. I kick my legs desperately and finally get to the surface again. My hand is still gripping her sleeve but she is below the surface. I tug but it is no use.
And then a miracle happens. We are outside the mountain. We are free. The water has washed us out. I grab with my free hand for the shore and attempt to climb up. I fail. Catarina is too heavy. I get myself up first then reach in to grab her. I submerge half my body and almost fall in again but I get her by her shirt and pull. This time I succeed and I use any last bit of strength I have to pull her onto shore with me. I pant from the effort then feel for a pulse. There is none. She is not breathing and her pale skin is turning blue. I remember in school swim class I learned CPR. I feel frozen and weak and I can barely breathe myself but I cannot let her die. I press on her chest repeatedly then tilt her head back, pinch her nose, and breathe air into her mouth. Her lips are cold like ice. I do it again and again until my arms give out and I collapse in the snow.
She gasps and sits up, choking and coughing. She spits out a bunch of water then takes deep fast breaths of air. "Shan," she says and turns.
"We have to go. We're safe but we have to get moving. We'll freeze to death."
She doesn't move. She looks horrible. I stand up and pull on her. Finally she stands up on her feet and stumbles along, one hand on me. I keep shivering and so is she. Suddenly I remember what Mr. Crepsley taught me. "Catarina, you're going to freeze to death. We have to take off our wet clothes."
She shakes her head.
"Catarina you're going to die," I say. She sits down in the snow and shivers. I pull off her tunic and she lifts her arms weakly so I can take it off over her head. I drop it then tug on her wet leggings. It takes some work but I finally get them off, leaving her in only a bra and underwear. I hurry to take off my clothes, stripping down to boxers. I would be extremely embarrassed if I wasn't about to die.
I help her up and we walk together towards the forest. She keeps falling down and I have no energy. Finally I just collapse beside her and we both lie there. That's when an animal emerges and I am ready once again to greet death. But it is a wolf. It's Rudi. "Catarina, it's Rudi..." I shiver. "He's the wolf that walked with me here." He is bigger than last time I saw him. He licks me and tries to warm me but I grab Catarina's arm. She is barely conscious and she is shivering constantly. "Rudi, this is my friend Catarina. You have to help her. Forget about me. She has to live. Please..." I beg.
He barks and the bigger male Streak walks over. He lies on top of me and keeps me warm. Rudi lays on Catarina because she is smaller than I am. She sleeps peacefully and stops shivering. I sleep too. When I awake I don't feel like I can go on but the wolves force me to. "Catarina," I say, waking her.
"Shan..." she mumbles pathetically.
"C'mon Catarina. We have to move."
She nods and gets up. Every time one of slows down the wolves push us on and try to warm us. At one point I am holding onto Streak's fur and he is literally dragging me along. I don't know why they are even bothering but I am glad they are. Catarina looks like a zombie. She stumbles a lot but keeps moving. Rudi stays by her side, nudging her along.
Finally we reached a place full of wolves. There had to be at least 30. At first they were suspicious but Streak growled at them and told them we were okay. They welcomed us then. Streak pushed me over to where a she-wolf was feeding her cubs. I realized what he wanted me to do and I refused but he pushed me to do it anyway. I knew I needed it. The milk tasted gross but it helped. Catarina refused tiredly for a very long time. Eventually she was too weak to protest anymore.
The she-wolf treated us as one of her own three cubs. She made sure we had enough to eat and kept us warm. Above all, I made sure that Catarina was taken care of. For days I spent the time recovering. Catarina slept most of the time. I kept watch on her when I could and when I couldn't I made sure the wolves did. I made sure they saw how much I cared for her and how important she was. They never left her side.
Finally I began to regain a bit of strength. I could stand and walk a short distance. Rudi brought me small animals and berries to eat. I drank the blood of the animals that I could then I got Catarina. I knew she needed blood or she would remain weak as she is. She can't even stand. "Catarina, drink. You need blood."
She grabbed the animal in a weak grasp and I helped her. Then she cut it and drank the red liquid.
It seemed to help because the next day she finally started to look more awake and alert. "Shan?"
"It's alright. I'm here."
"What happened?"
"You don't remember?"
She thought about it then said "Oh..."
"Are you in any pain?"
"I think I'm okay. A lot of bruises but nothing serious," she mumbled tiredly.
"You need rest."
"I'm sorry about Kurda...I trusted him...He was my good friend and he betrayed me..."
"Don't be sorry. Don't worry about it. We're safe. Just focus on getting better."
"You saved my life."
"I know."
She closed her eyes and rested against me. "I love you," she whispers then is asleep.
The pack moves several miles away to a new base camp. It is a rough journey but Catarina makes it and so do I. She is more awake now and can walk without too much difficulty. She doesn't refuse the wolf milk and the she-wolf is treating us her cubs exactly. She is especially protective of Catarina which is good.
I began to hunt for the wolves and I fit in just like family with one exception. Two wolves got into a fight. It was Streak and the dark wolf that didn't like me from the start. Finally Streak won and the dark wolf retreated. Everything was fine by the next morning.