His
body had been pushed beyond its limits, and a virus for which he had no
defense (for it was carried by the girl) had entrenched itself in his
lungs and intestines, spreading pain and chill weakness throughout. An
unfair battle had been joined inside him, one in which will alone was
not enough.
The man-child's hand was forced, and all power to choose taken from
him. He must learn patience in the face of starvation.
Chapter 22
Two weeks passed, following much the same pattern: Kalus trying to fight
back against sickness and despair, his inner fire burning ever lower, a
continuing downward spiral. And the girl, trying to hold on to hope
enough for both of them. But despite the books and her new-found
courage, she too began to feel numbed by the incessant howling of
Winter, that raged like a mindless brute outside their doors, reaching
in with deadly fingers at the slightest opportunity. She was puzzled
also by Kalus' inability to recover from what seemed to her a simple,
if severe, virus.
But if she was puzzled, Kalus was devastated. His entire existence,
from youngest boyhood, had been based around hardihood and the ability
to overcome wound, sickness and depravation. In his world those who
could not do so perished.
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