Natalia
By the time we finally stopped for the evening, I was completely exhausted. Not physically, because we spent most of the day sitting in the car, but emotionally—from watching Max grow paler and more still with each passing hour.
Around sunset, we found a small clearing surrounded by dense pine trees, far enough from the main road that we hopefully wouldn’t attract any unwanted attention. Damon and Andrei worked together to set up camp while Grace helped me transfer Max from the truck to a makeshift bed made of blankets and camping mats in one of the tents.
“His temperature is still climbing,” Grace said quietly as she checked his vitals. “But that’s to be expected. His body is fighting hard.”
Max hadn’t opened his eyes once during the entire drive. Hadn’t made a sound. If it wa
