Another Dawn
that cave. "You may not know my name, but you must know yours."   She made a halfhearted effort to smile as she placed her hand in his and met his gaze.
           His breaths came in rapid succession, filling the air around them with white vapor. "Father Salazar," he finally said in a strained voice. Thunder rumbled overhead as if to punctuate his introduction, then the sky burst open with a deluge. Without another word, he started up the rocky incline, dragging her along.  
           She struggled to keep pace, stumbling several times before they reached the top. The wind drove the rain harder now, whipping it into their faces.
           "How much farther?" she shouted into the wind.
           He paused, and she saw the dark shape of his head through the rain as he turned to look down at her. His expression was blurred by the watery curtain, but she figured he probably didn't appreciate her stopping at this point, even for a moment.  
           Without bothering to answer her question, he picked his way along, never releasing her hand. The sky darkened even more and the storm worsened, shrouding Father Salazar's dark shape–so close, yet so far. She clung to his wet hand, praying his status as a priest would grant them a miracle.
           Like sand, the raindrops stung her icy cheeks until they felt like raw meat. Her feet had long since turned numb, as had the tip of her nose. Only her hands still had feeling–one tucked trustingly into Father Salazar's and the other shoved deep into the pocket of her dirty white blazer.
           Their pace slowed and Sofie's fear mounted. With visibility practically zero, they could be moving farther away from the town, rather than toward it. God, they were going to die and she couldn't even remember her name. Did she have a family? Would anyone miss her?
           Scalding tears pricked her eyelids, but she blinked them away. The last thing she needed now was any more water on her skin.
           Weariness pressed down on her and her head felt as if it would explode. Explode.. . Then she remembered the loud, thundering noises in the cave where she'd been injured. What was that place, and why had she been there?
           A wave of dizziness gripped her and she lost her savior's hand. What little she could see turned to blackness and she felt herself falling. She slid down a slope and hard gravel ground into her already raw face, but she was too weak to struggle. No more. She couldn't take another step.
           This was the end. She would die up here in the wilderness without even knowing her name.

           Luke felt her hand slip from his grasp and he stopped to look back. Rain fell so hard he could barely see his own hand, let alone Sofie. She could have tumbled down the mountainside without his knowing, the sound of her cries muffled by the raging storm.
           And why should he care? Why should he continue to risk his own life for hers?
           "Damn."   Why didn't matter, because he couldn't leave her out here in this. No one deserved to be left alone to die in the wilderness.
           Or in the electric chair.
           Luke swallowed. Hard. It didn't help. Despite the frigid rain, the heat of electrocution flashed through him again. He shivered as hot and cold swept through him intermittently.  
           His breath came in rapid bursts as he stared back through the rain, hoping for yet fearing a glimpse of Sofie. The thought of her name brought a pang of regret and he closed his eyes. He couldn't leave her here. She was almost as much a victim in this mess as he.
           And she cried for me.
           "Shit."   He lowered his chin to his chest and forced his eyes open. Wimp . Gritting his teeth, he dropped to the ground and felt his way back a few feet. At first, the rain had stung his raw scalp and face like fire, but all he felt now were the flames of remorse in his
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