Chapter 235 Zachary Learns to Bark
The path was narrow to begin with, and it became crowded as more people gathered. Winona was being led by Zachary, following the flashlight of the person in front, as they hurried down the mountain. Unless absolutely necessary, they couldn't use their own phones for light. If the batteries died, they wouldn't even be able to call for help in case of an emergency.
They thought this way, and so did the others. After squatting for the whole afternoon, the battery levels on their phones were running low. Suddenly, Winona felt a heavy bump on her right shoulder. The person behind her was impatient to move forward. The mountain path was already treacherous, and they had been walking cautiously. With this bump, she tumbled toward the nearby woods.
Fortunately, Zachary had been holding onto her tightly. Despite the sudden turn of events, he instinctively tightened his grip the moment she started to fall. She didn't hit the ground, but she twisted her ankle, and it was quite painful to move.
While they were delayed, the group of people had already run far ahead. The mountain path was pitch black, and the rain had turned into a torrential downpour, soaking their thin clothes.
Winona leaned against a nearby tree, her voice trembling from the cold. "Go down the mountain and find help. I'll wait here for you." It was the only option they had at the moment.
The road ahead was dark, and they had to use the flashlight. Zachary didn't know how much battery life was left in his phone, but he was certain it wouldn't last an hour. If they tried to go down the mountain together, with her injured, they both wouldn't make it. He had just been trying to call Samuel, hoping they would come up quickly and prevent themselves from freezing to death.
Zachary turned on the flashlight and looked around. The dim light in the rainy night forest barely illuminated the path ahead. Winona pushed him, "Hurry up, don't waste the battery." If he hadn't thrown away his own phone, they could have lasted a little longer. Instead of exploring the vacation resort, he insisted on coming here to see the lunar eclipse, which they now missed, and ended up getting trapped.
Zachary turned off the flashlight and sent a message to Samuel. The signal in the forest was weak, and it was hard to hear on the phone. After sending the message, he crouched down. "Get on my back, I'll carry you."
Winona was infuriated. "If you don't carry me, there might still be a chance for me to be saved. If you do, we won't even make it to the bottom of the mountain."
It had taken them over an hour to get here, and that was under normal circumstances, not in this situation where visibility was almost zero and the path was treacherous.
Zachary said, "Samuel is bringing people up. We'll go back to the observation deck." They had only been walking downhill for about ten minutes. Compared to the risks of going further down and staying where they were, the observation deck was the safest option.
The mountain path had become slippery from the rain, and Winona was already injured. They didn't know how long the rain would last, and if they lost their footing or encountered a landslide, it would be difficult to survive. Searching the mountain in the rain would require professional equipment and personnel, and just assembling them would take time. They were soaked and couldn't make a fire, unable to hold on for much longer.
If they went that route, they wouldn't even be able to pinpoint their location accurately. They also didn't know how long the phone's battery would last. It was better to find an easily locatable place and wait. Zachary handed the phone to Winona, then he placed his hands behind his back, supporting her waist and lifting her onto his back. His voice was firm. "Winona, there's no way I would leave you to go down the mountain alone. Don't even think about trying to persuade me."
Even if she obediently stood here and waited for him to bring help, without her phone and with the unpredictable forest, how could he possibly leave her here? Zachary was wearing leather shoes, which, although slip-resistant, couldn't compare to professional hiking boots. The rain had made the mountain path as slippery as stones covered with moss underwater. As soon as he lifted Winona onto his back, his feet slipped, but he quickly grabbed onto a nearby tree.
After stabilizing himself, Zachary freed one hand and held onto her legs. "Clamp your legs around my waist and use some force, okay?" His words carried a coaxing and reassuring tone, with a hint of ambiguity that added a touch of embarrassment and excitement.
However, at a time like this, nobody's mind was focused on such matters. Winona obediently wrapped her legs around his lean waist and her hands around his neck.
Due to the cold, her face, which had turned blue from the cold, instinctively buried itself in the back of his neck. "Okay." Zachary carried her up, one hand holding onto a tree, and when his footing was secure, he slowly moved his hand to the trunk of the tree in front. This made their already slow pace even slower. Winona dared not keep the flashlight on all the time. She would turn it on briefly, then turn it off once Zachary had seen the path ahead.
Zachary's voice was filled with heavy breathing. "I'm sorry." Climbing a mountain with a person weighing over a hundred pounds, especially in such harsh conditions, would exhaust anyone. If he hadn't impulsively brought her up the mountain without any preparation, they wouldn't have encountered this situation.
Winona's upper and lower teeth chattered uncontrollably, "Hmm." She was so numb from the cold that her mind was not very clear.
Her wet clothes clung to her body, intensifying the chill. He frowned and felt the person on his back. "Winona, say something."
Winona was on the verge of falling asleep, and he had to wake her up. She struggled to open her eyes. "What do you want me to say?"
Zachary thought for a moment and deliberately provoked her. "Do you still like me deep down, since you're willing to accompany me to see the lunar eclipse?"
Winona was indeed provoked and annoyed. She kicked his leg with her heel, but in her current position, it didn't have much force, similar to tickling.
"I just hope you won't bother me anymore. So, considering the trouble you've caused me, if we can safely get down the mountain this time, please avoid me if you ever see me again."
Despite being cold and hungry, her anger had little impact. Her voice was soft, almost like a cat's coquettishness, which made people's hearts tingle.
But after the softness, there was pain, a sharp and penetrating pain that went deep into the bones. Even if she was on the verge of losing her sanity due to the cold, she was determined to draw a clear boundary between them.
Zachary's palms were covered with rough scratches from the tree trunks, big and small. With each exertion, a faint red liquid would trickle down the trunk. Winona suspected that she was hallucinating from the cold. Otherwise, how could she hear Zachary imitating a dog's bark?
It must be a hallucination. Zachary imitating a dog's bark was too surreal. Winona pushed him and asked, "Did you hear a dog barking? Did one of the resort's dogs come into the woods?"
"I said before, anyone who brings up reconciliation is a dog," Zachary said through gritted teeth. "So, Winona, I've become a dog. If you don't promise to remarry me, I'll keep pestering you."
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