Josh’s POV

Cold. That was the first thing I felt when I opened my eyes.

The cold that bites through bone, that makes every breath ache like broken glass. I was lying half submerged along the riverbank, soaked, bruised, and alive only by stubborn chance.

The current still roared beside me, dragging broken branches and ash downstream. I could taste blood in my mouth, feel mud caked along my skin. The night sky above spun, fractured between patches of cloud. Somewhere in the distance, wolves ...