"Yeah, yeah," he grumbles, turning on his side. He pulls the blanket up around him and waits for this all to be over.

It's not over before his resolve breaks. As Beth predicted, he leaves the tent before she comes back. When he sneaks back in, he looks guilty, and more than a little feverish. Cold sweat prickles at his brow, and he's covered in snow as though he's been rolling in it. He walks slowly, with a dizzy gait, trying to remember where his sad little cot was.