Carter’s POV
We didn’t stop moving until Ruby started stumbling every few steps.
It wasn’t dramatic. She didn’t complain or cry or ask for help. But I knew the signs. Her body was past its limit: shaking, slow to react, too quiet even for her. That soft grit she’d been surviving on for days had frayed to the edge.
So when we found the cave nestled beneath the sloped ridge,a pocket of earth mostly hidden by frost-heavy pine branches,I didn’t hesitate.
“This is it,” I said. “We rest here. Tonight at least.”
She didn’t argue.
Didn’t say a word, actually.
She just dropped her pack, leaned against the wall of stone, and slid down until she was sitting in the snow-dusted leaves, one hand curled around her stomach like it was the only thing keeping her grounded.
It wasn’t much.
But it wa
