Page 55 (1/2)

Soht He was back in the desert at night, at the side of the ee coat around hi Then Neil hoisted hied farther and farther down that ehts to appear in the darkness To any arainst a chest He opened his eyes dully when he realized it was harder to breathe with his faceheavy, and a sense of suffocationechoed through the air, and he squinted through burning eyes to see over a shoulder The door Soht him to the other side of the door

Hands stripped off his soaked shirt, the strangling tie, a voice shouting about a "war blanket" Other words floated back, and, "We’re in theblanket in the entire building? How about a bathtub? How far away are the staff quarters, then? No, too far Give , and he was hauled back against soled around hiin to ean in his face, in his nose, then spread into his ears, his lips They grew sharper and sharper Painful So painful He tried tohi coat, heavy arms

His eyes hurt, and when he squinted down he could see his hairy legs, quivering like live wires He couldn’t feel theers white like porcelain, and so the eyes shut

"No, leave his hands, Ashwan," a voice said froht next to his ear

"What about frostbite?"

"He can survive losing fingers He can’t survive cardiac arrest if you dilate peripheral blood vessels and shoot cold blood into his chest"

Toers? But his brain couldn’t hold on to the thought

It took hiain, and he azing Tonize him It took Tom a moment to pull the name up "V-V-Vi?" His voice came out slurred, his throat like sandpaper, his teeth chattering

"Hi, To to stay here, make yourself useful," rumbled a voice from behind Tom "Get a wet compress for his eyes"

Vik shuffled off

To the coat around hirip around hi into his back The electrical prickle in his toes and ears and nose grew into a tor everywhere He tried to say so, but the words didn’t co he was supposed to be doing Wasn’t there? He had to do so bad had happened He wasn’t sure what, but he started pulling at the heavy weight keeping hi to break away

"Calainst the overpowering bands around hi, so he needed to get up, he needed to do soripped him Fear clutched his throat He raised his head as far as he could, agitated He neededHe needed

Fingers threaded through his hair and eased his head back, then a palainst his forehead "You’re okay, Toot you You’re safe"

"Dad?"