My Heart

"This is breaking my heart." Micah said. "I know. But I'm not going to risk your life. We'll be okay." He took her in his arms and just held her. "4 days. No more." he said quietly. "4 days. Then this nightmare will be over." Torryn said.

He kissed her forehead. They gave each other one last look and disappeared into the trees. Torryn held back the tears. This would work. They would meet back up in 4 days in a new town, start new lives, and never have to worry about this....thing, again.

***Day 1/Torryn***

Torryn made her way down the dirt path, the sun shining on her face. She almost didn't feel the need to worry. But she knew Micah had chosen the more difficult trail. He refused to let her take that path. It took some convincing of course, but he finally got her to take the less dangerous one. She only hoped he would be alright.

***Day 1/Micah***

Micah was making great time, considering the height gain he was making up the mountain already. He just kept thinking about Torryn and the life they would get to have. Raising their baby......Their baby. He couldn't help but chuckle at the thought. Torryn was convinced she was being so secretive. He knew she was pregnant. Only a few weeks belong, but she was already feeling the affects. Why she hadn't said anything, he didn't know. But he was ecstatic none the less. That's why he was so dead set on her taking the easier trail. She was strong, there was no doubt. But they couldn't risk the life of their baby.

***Day 2/Torryn***

She woke up to the sound of birds outside her shelter. What a beautiful sound. She didn't sit to enjoy it long. She wanted to get out of the mountains as quickly as possible. Once she packed up and ate a very small breakfast, she got on her way. A couple hours later, she began feeling dizzy.

Torryn stopped and leaned on a tree. Up came her breakfast. She puked until she was dry heaving. She took a few steps and collapsed against a different tree. This wasn't good. She couldn't lose daylight. But even worse, she couldn't get dehydrated. She put a hand to her stomach. "Come on, baby. Work with me here. We gotta get to Dad." She took a drink of water, slowly stood, and kept going.

The nausea eventually subsided and it was as if she never felt sick in the first place.

***Day 2/Micah***

It was already midday and Micah's progress was slow. He had made it to the top the day before, and was now trying to make his way down the other side. It was almost sheer rock. He was practically sliding down on his rear end.

He got to a cliff and stopped to take a breath. He looked around to see if there was an easier way. There. Just a few feet away. It was less steep and had a few more trees to grab for support. He looked at it all the way down. He could see the trail down below where he could easily find it once he got there. But the trick would be getting over there. He had to take the risk. This way was taking way too long.

He crawled off the cliff and began to traverse over to his new found trail. Big mistake. His foot that was on the higher end, slipped and knocked his other foot right out from under him. He rolled down the rest of the way, hitting trees and loose rocks. At the bottom, his head met a rock and it was lights out.***

Micah woke up to an animal sniffing his face. He shot up with a yell and it jumped back. He flinched. His whole body ached, but to make matters worse, it was night time. He looked at the animal that had found him. It was a dog. "What the crap?" It came up and licked his head wound. It was a big dog. He scratched its ears and looked at it. This was no dog. It was a wolf! He had only heard about these things in stories. As far as his village was concerned, they only existed in Torryns home country. "Torryn's gonna love hearing about this." Micah said.

***Day 3/Torryn***

Midday on day 3. Torryn was in trouble. She hadn't left her shelter all day except to throw up and keep wood on her fire. She had chills and couldn't even keep water down. She was due to be out tomorrow night. If she couldn't at least make it a couple miles today, she wouldn't make it on time.

She forced herself to get up and put out the fire. She took down the shelter, put on her coat, and trudged on.***

As soon as the sun went down, she had just enough energy to start a fire, but collapsed right next to it. She took her pack off and pulled the blanket out. She wrapped up in it and passed out.

***Day 3/Micah***

Micah sat by his fire with his new companion. The wolf from yesterday followed him all day. When he made camp, the wolf left and came back with a rabbit, which he cooked over the fire and shared with the wolf. "Guess I'm keeping you?" he said. It looked at him and sneezed. He laughed. He looked up at the moon. He only hoped Torryn was having better luck than he did yesterday.

His head still ached and he had a hard time breathing. He was almost positive he had a broken rib or two. He was just lucky he didn't break a leg or an arm. He definitely made up the time he lost yesterday afternoon though. With luck, he would be seeing the most beautiful girl in the world tomorrow evening. ***

That night, Micah and Torryn both dreamed of the day they promised to be with each other forever. And how it was all ruined just a couple days later.

***Day 4/Torryn***

Torryn woke up feeling better than ever. She never would have believed she was sick yesterday if it hadn't happened to her. The only thing on her mind was food, water, and seeing Micah tonight.

She ate quite a bit and drank almost half of her canteen. Torryn packed up camp and quickly left. ***

Torryn got to the top of a hill and saw the valley and village below. Oh it was a beautiful sight. "Torryn!" A voice shouted in her head. "Don't do this! We will find you and we will kill him." "If you could find us, you would have by now. Just give up. You can't keep me from him. You already tried once and you failed." "Torryn-!" She shut it out and kept going. Nothing was going to keep them apart ever again.

***Day 4/Micah***

It was only an hour until sundown. Micah wasn't even close to the village. He stopped to catch his breath. The wolf whimpered up ahead, telling him to hurry. "Oh shut up. You didn't roll down a mountain." Suddenly, he began to cough up blood. He got nauseas and fell to his hands and knees.

The wolf came up to him. He grabbed its scruff. "I don't know if you can understand me, but you've gotta find Torryn." It licked his cheek and ran off up the trail. He just prayed it worked. ***

The sun had gone down and he hadn't made it very far. There had been no sign of his wolf friend or Torryn. He was starting to lose what hope he had left.

***Torryn***

She stood and waited at the edge of the trees. Torryn had made it out just a few minutes ago. There was no sign of Micah. They had promised to meet as the edge of the forest, by the trail sign. She could see the lights of the village behind her. She just wanted to go to them. But she couldn't go without Micah.

She heard a rustle in the leaves. "Micah?!" Two amber eyes appeared and a wolf came out of the thicket. Her breath caught in her throat. She hadn't seen one since she moved from her country. It looked at her, barked, and turned back into the trees. "Micah..." She ran after it. It didn't take long for them to reach Micah. He was collapsed on the ground. He heard the two and looked up. "Good boy." He pet the wolf. It licked his face and tried to nuzzle its head under his arms.

"Micah!" Torryn got him on his feet and carried him out. "Torryn..Torryn wait..." "What?" He looked at her. "I love you." She rolled her eyes. "You idiot tell me that after we get you to a medic." ***

They got to a medic, healed, and started their new life. With a new canine companion and a sweet baby on the way.