Sixteenth step

      I felt my teeth rattle in my mouth, the cold numbing my nose and cheekbones. The car was still dead as well as our phones, mine not having signal and Ryder's being uncharged. We were dressed in a couple of sweaters and pants, making use of every cloth we had in our luggage and we were both sitting in the back of the car, trying to warm each other up. The only blanket was the one of snow laying over the car.

        I kept on rubbing my palms up and down my arms, looking at Ryder’s back as he laid his head against the driver’s seat, his body shaking uncontrollably. He kept his legs crossed Turkish style over the chair, stuffing them underneath a large sweater. However, not even this could stop his trembles so I took my jacket off and placed it over his shoulders.

     “What do you think you are doing, Carter? You need this jacket as much as me.”

      “You are shaking worse. Keep it.”