Midnight Fever

Dry pine twigs snapped in my numb hands as I tossed them into the small circle of stones. The mountain wind whistled through the high canopy, driving the temperature down past freezing. Across the sputtering embers, Lucius leaned his back against the rough bark of an oak. His breathing came rough and ragged, each exhale a harsh rasp against the silence of the woods. Sweat glistened across his bare