Page 34 of Marked

The air was crisp and sharp with the bite of late autumn, carrying the scent of pine and damp earth. The Montana sky stretched wide and endless above us, a deep navy canvas speckled with stars, the full moon hanging like a silver lantern. I took a deep breath, letting the cool mountain air fill my lungs, the sounds of the forest humming all around me.

This place was nothing like the worlds I had once known—the dirty streets of New York, the white desert of Ghengra. Here there was nothing but space, freedom, color, and the untamed beauty of nature stretching for miles. It had taken time to adjust to a life so far from everyone else, but now? Now, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.