*
The landscape had changed remarkably since leaving the forest, becoming more sloped and hilly. In the distance, a range of snow-capped mountains lay directly in their path: a natural obstacle between them and Kingston’s medicine. Kingston’s original route had skirted the mountains entirely, but they did not have the time to find a way around.
Instead, they had decided to take the most direct route possible, which meant scaling the peak and looking for a pass through the mountains. Up there, amongst the wind and the snow, anything could happen. Even the slightest tremor could send an avalanche of ice and frost careening towards them, while the extreme cold could easily cause hypothermia. It was far from ideal, but they had only two choices: weather the mountain and its dangers, or let Kingston die… and that was no choice at all.
“How are you feeling m’boy?” Kingston asked suddenly, as they crested what seemed like their hundredth hill.
“Good, a little bit of pain, but nothing serious,” Barsch replied, knowing how worried the old man had been about him travelling.
“That’s good. And your chest? How is your breathing?”
Only then did it hit Barsch. The feeling, or rather, the lack of the feeling that had been almost constant since he had first awoken. While travelling to the Station, every breath had been hard and laboured, but at that moment, Barsch was breathing easier than ever.
“Great, actually,” he said, after breathing in deeply, “Whatever is in that medicine seems to really have done the trick.”
At the mention of the medicine Kingston’s eyes dropped to the floor. “I’m sorry, for deceiving you like that. But I only did it because I thought that you would have refused otherwise. Can you ever forgive me?”
Even before the question came, Barsch knew that he would forgive the old man. After all, he would have done the same thing if their positions had been reversed, and he could not blame Kingston for saving his life.
“Kingston, I forgive you,” he said, placing his hand on Kingston’s shoulder. A heartbeat later, Kingston returned to normal, smiling and looking ahead.
Awakening Page 30