I staggered, planting my feet wider, as the frozen rain cut into my face.

  The worms beneath my skin pulled tight, forming a barrier against the cold, but it wasn't enough. The temperature had dropped so fast my breath came out in white clouds that the wind tore away before they could form.

  "Stay close!" I shouted over the howl.

  Zo moved up beside me, her shoulders hunched against the wind. Sadie sat atop the troll, one hand gripping its shoulder, the other pressed against its skull to keep herself steady.

  The troll didn't seem bothered. It stood there like a monument, ice already forming on its shoulders and arms.

  I sent the worms out again, pushing them through the storm. They moved slower now, fighting against the wind, but they still reached far enough to taste what was coming.

  And it was bad.

  The murmur I'd heard before had become a roar. Something massive was moving through the storm from the north. I couldn't see it yet, but I could feel it. The pressure of it, like a weight pushing down on the air itself.

  "We need to move!" I turned and started walking, my head down, one arm raised to shield my face.

  Zo fell in behind me. The troll followed, its footsteps heavy, each one sinking deep into the snow.

  The cave disappeared behind us in seconds, swallowed by the storm.

  I'd thought the Long Dark was bad. This was worse. The wind attacked us from every angle. It came in waves, each one harder than the last, trying to push me off my feet. The frozen rain turned to sleet, then ice, pelting down in sharp chunks that bounced off my shoulders and skull.

  The worms worked beneath my skin, reinforcing muscle and bone, but I could feel them straining. This wasn't a fight they could win.

  "Fish!" Zo's voice cut through the wind. "I can't see you!"

  I stopped and turned. She was three feet behind me, her face pale, ice already forming in her blue hair.

  "Grab my shoulder!" I shouted.

  She did, her grip tight enough to bruise.

  "Don't let go!"

  She didn't respond, but her hand stayed locked on my shoulder.

  I started walking again.

  The ground beneath my feet was uneven, hidden beneath the snow. I stumbled twice in the first minute, caught myself both times, but the second one nearly took Zo down with me.

  I let the worms extend down through my legs, spreading out beneath my boots, reading the terrain before I put my weight down. My steps became smoother, more confident, even as the storm tried to tear me off my feet.

  It helped. Not much, but it was enough.

  We walked for what felt like an hour. Maybe it was less.

  The roar from the north grew louder.

  I risked a glance back. The troll was still there, Sadie still on its shoulders. She had both arms wrapped around its head now, her face buried against its skull to keep the ice out of her eyes.

  The troll's eyes glowed brighter, cutting through the storm like searchlights.

  The wind shifted. It came from the side now, then from behind, then from the front again. The storm was circling us, it felt like it was trying to box us in.

  I could make out a shape in the distance, darker than the storm. Too big to be anything natural. It moved across the tundra like a wall, consuming everything in its path.

  I looked around. The tundra stretched out in every direction, flat and featureless. No shelter. No cover. Just snow, ice, and that thing coming for us.

  I pushed the worms harder, letting them reinforce my body. My muscles burned, but I started to run.

  Zo kept pace beside me, she was stronger than I was… and the wind didn't seem to bother her as much. The troll moved behind us, each step covering three of mine.

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  The storm closed in.

  It was a massive wall of wind, ice, and darkness that stretched from the ground to the sky. It moved fast, and the sound it made was like the world screaming.

  "Over there," Mabel extended from my neck and pointed ahead.

  She was pointing towards a ridge, maybe a hundred feet high, rising out of the tundra. The rock face was steep, but there were ledges, cracks, and handholds.

  It was climbable.

  Maybe…

  "That's our safe haven?" Zo said.

  "It's better than here," Sadie said.

  I didn't argue. I just ran.

  The ground beneath my feet changed as we got closer to the ridge. The snow gave way to ice, then to bare rock. My boots slipped, but the worms compensated, gripping the stone like claws.

  We reached the base of the ridge as the storm wall hit.

  The wind slammed into me from behind, and I went down. My knees hit the rock, and pain shot through my legs. Zo grabbed my arm and hauled me up.

  "Climb!" she shouted.

  I looked up. The ridge stretched far above us, dark and jagged. Ice clung to the rock face, making it slick and treacherous.

  But we didn't have a choice.

  I grabbed the first handhold I could find and pulled myself up.

  The rock was so cold it burned to the touch. My fingers went numb almost instantly, but the worms surged into my hands, generating heat, keeping the muscles working.

  Zo climbed beside me, her movements quick and efficient. She'd done this before. I could tell by the way she tested each hold before putting her weight on it, the way she moved her body to minimize the strain.

  The troll started climbing behind us.

  Sadie clung to its shoulders, her face pressed against its back.

  The wind tried to peel us off the ridge. It came in gusts now, each one stronger than the last, slamming into us from every direction. My grip slipped.

  I caught myself, but barely. My fingers scraped against the rock, and one of my boots lost its footing. For a second I hung there, suspended by one hand and one foot, the storm pulling at me like it wanted to drag me back down.

  The worms extended from my free hand, digging into the rock, forming new holds. I pulled myself up and kept climbing.

  My hands were bleeding. The worms had stopped the cold from freezing my fingers solid, but they couldn't stop the rock from tearing my skin. Blood ran down my palms, mixing with ice, making the holds even more slippery.

  I kept climbing.

  Zo had reached a ledge, maybe three feet wide, and braced herself against it. Then she looked down at me.

  "Move your ass, Fish!"

  The worms extended from my fingers again, digging deeper into the rock. They found cracks I couldn't see, gaps too small for my hands to fit into, and they anchored me there. I pulled myself up another foot, then another.

  The troll’s massive hands found holds that should have crumbled under its weight, but the rock held. Sadie was still on its shoulders, her eyes closed, her face white.

  The storm wall hit the ridge, a wave of wind and ice that tried to rip us off the rock face. My vision went white. I couldn't see Zo. Couldn't see the troll. Couldn't see anything except the storm.

  I pressed myself against the rock and held on.

  The wind screamed. Hail the size of my fist hammered down, bouncing off my shoulders, my back, my skull. One hit my hand, and I felt the bones crack. The worms surged into the break, knitting it back together.

  Then, just as fast, the wind shifted.

  It came from below now, pushing up instead of down. It caught me like a sail, lifting me off the rock, and for a second I was weightless.

  The wind changed once more, causing me to hit the rock hard enough to knock the air out of my lungs.

  "Fish!" Zo's voice, barely audible over the storm.

  I looked up. She was still on the ledge, one arm extended down toward me.

  I reached for her hand.

  The wind slammed into me again, and I lost my grip. My feet slipped, my hands scraped against stone, and I started to fall.

  The worms extended from both arms, shooting out like ropes, and pierced into the rock. They dug in, holding me there, suspended in mid-air while the storm tried to tear me apart.

  I pulled myself up, hand over hand, the worms retracting as I climbed. My arms burned. My shoulders felt like they were going to rip out of their sockets.

  But I kept going.

  Zo grabbed my wrist when I got close enough and hauled me up onto the ledge. I collapsed beside her, gasping, my body shaking from the strain.

  "You good?" she shouted.

  I nodded. I didn't have the breath to speak.

  The troll reached the ledge a few seconds later. It pulled itself up with one arm, Sadie still clinging to its shoulders, and crouched there like a statue.

  Sadie slid off its back and dropped onto the ledge beside me. She didn't say anything. Just sat there, staring out into the storm.

  The wind was worse up here. It came in waves, each one trying to push us off the ledge. The rock beneath us was slick with ice, and the ledge itself was barely wide enough for the four of us.

  The climb got harder. The handholds were smaller, farther apart, and the ice made everything worse. My hands slipped more than they held, and every time I pulled myself up, I felt something tear in my shoulders.

  The worms did most of the work now. They extended from my hands and feet, anchoring me to the rock while I moved. It was like climbing with four extra limbs, and it kept me alive.

  The storm was getting worse. The wind came in bursts now that felt like I was being punched repeatedly by a heavyweight fighter, and the hail had turned to solid chunks of ice that left dents in the rock.

  My hands were shaking. The worms were compensating, but even they had limits. I could feel them weakening.

  They were tired.

  I was tired.

  But I kept climbing.

  The ledge appeared without warning. One second I was pulling myself up another few inches, and the next my hand touched flat rock.

  I dragged myself onto the ledge and lay there, face down, breathing hard.

  Zo was already there, sitting with her back against the rock wall. Her face was pale, her lips blue, but she was smiling.

  "We actually fucking made it," she said.

  The troll hauled itself onto the ledge a minute later, Sadie still on its shoulders. It set her down gently, then crouched at the edge, staring out into the storm.

  Sadie sat next to me. She didn't say anything. Just sat there, her breathing slow and controlled.

  I forced myself to sit up.

  My arms felt like they were made of lead, and my shoulders screamed in protest, but I managed it.