Snowbound (11 page)

After she’d left the chapel she found it was hard going because the snow wasn’t hard packed. This run wasn’t used as often since the groomers didn’t come down the back run. According to the brochure this allowed for those who wanted a more natural skiing experience.
More natural experience my ass.
Looking back, she could still see the roof of the chapel so she knew she hadn’t gone very far. “Argh,” she yelled out at the world.

With every step she’d taken her boot had sunk in to at least a foot of powder, sometimes more, sometimes less. She’d decided to walk closer to the tree line thinking she might be able to find a long branch or two to use as poles to poke ahead as she stepped to help her make her footing. Unfortunately, shortly after she neared the tree line her step had sunk her knee deep, jerking her entire body forward at an angle that caused her to twist and land oddly against a tree. The right half of her body was against the tree with her right leg stuck about half a foot back. Her left foot was flipped over the top of the right and planted another foot from that. She felt like she was playing a bad game of twister and tried to maneuver herself upright. She’d been able to free her left foot, but her right boot seemed to be caught on something under the snow.
This is ridiculous.
She shivered.

It was colder along the tree line, where the sun didn’t penetrate the tall stand of trees. As she looked toward the run she could tell that the sun was dipping ever lower. It would soon be dark back here where there were no lights marking the area. Ever more frustrated, she tried to push off of the tree to get closer to where her foot was stuck. Maybe she could dig herself out. She succeeded only in burying the foot deeper. The movement caused a greater shot of pain to run up her leg. Not wanting to make it worse, she stopped struggling. Why didn’t she just stand Rick up? She could be getting ready for dinner with Daniel now. Sweet, wonderful Daniel, who would never dream of abandoning her without skis at the top of a mountain. The tears she had held back the whole time she dealt with Rick, and again at the top of the run, now came out in a flood of hiccups and sobs.

The sobs tapered away quickly to some self-pitying sniffs as she watched the sky go darker. Every once in a while she would tug on her leg to see if it would become magically unstuck. Each time the pain would shoot up her leg and remind her why she shouldn’t do that. She could no longer feel her toes and her fingers and face were going numb as well. She was dressed for spring skiing, not for long contact with the snow. Therefore the cold was penetrating right through her suit. She knew she had to figure out a way to get out of here or she might freeze to death. Racking her brain, she tried to recall anything about cold weather or snow survival, but little came to mind.

A loud bang startled her. She looked around in panic when the bang was followed by a rumbling noise.
What the heck is that?
The noise petered out and she relaxed. When she heard another bang with a rumbling noise she became aware that it had actually been happening most of the time she’d been stuck here. She’d been so busy worrying about everything else she hadn’t figured it out. They’re doing avalanche control—it’s no big deal—they only do that on closed areas.
I’m sure it’s not close to here, even though it sounds like it.
The rumbling carried on longer this time and it definitely sounded closer.
That’s it, I have to dig myself out of here. I cannot sit here all night and worry about all the sounds I’m hearing.
Though her fingers were stiff and cold Cassidy desperately dug around her foot. She had to see if she could move the snow enough to find out what her boot was stuck on.

“I found her. I’ll let you know when we’re on our way down.”

The voice sounded like Daniel’s. It was so close, yet she couldn’t see him in the fading light. She heard him ski in closer before she finally saw him. She’d never been so glad to see anyone and tried to launch herself at him, as much as she could with her foot stuck. “Oh Daniel. Thank God. Thank you.”

Daniel pulled back and said, “What are you doing? Do you have an affinity for risking yourselves and others?”

“What? No. I’m stuck. My foot is stuck. I’ve been trying forever to get it out.” Cassidy puzzled at the tone she heard in Daniel’s voice. He sounded distant and cold. Then she heard the rumbling again and, this time, it wasn’t her imagination that it was closer. He reached down through the snow and unbuckled her boot, yanking her foot out despite her cries of pain.

“Are you nuts? My ankle could be broken!”

“Better a broken ankle than being buried alive in an avalanche.” Daniel’s walkie-talkie squawked to life and he stopped to listen to the message. She watched him look around, up the hill and back down. She wasn’t sure what he was looking for.
How can he even see in this light?
There were no lights back here to reflect off the snow and it wasn’t late enough for the moon to be up. He squinted up the hill once again and then spoke into the walkie-talkie. “We’ll have to take cover in the chapel. She’s injured and we won’t make it down. I’m not sure anywhere else is stable. Keep looking for Rick.” He looked at her. “You’ll have to get on the rescue board. We have to get to the chapel. Without a boot, and with that ankle, you won’t make it on foot.”

“But...” She protested, and then heard the rumbling again.

“Get on the board, Cassidy. Now!” He lifted her up and strapped her on.

She didn’t say anything. She couldn’t. She was mortified that he had lifted her and was now trying to haul her across and up a ski slope. How was he going to get back to the chapel? It was uphill and, although it wasn’t that far, she was certainly no light weight. She could hear him grunt with effort as he side stepped up while pulling her behind him. This was ridiculous. Surely they could get to the bottom much more quickly than this? She tried to peer around Daniel and was surprised to see the chapel only ten feet away. It amazed her that he was that strong.

“If you would stop moving this would be easier,” he grunted. A few small waves of snow went by them, then trickled to a stop. Daniel dropped the board, unstrapped her, hoisted her over his shoulder and all but ran the last few feet into the chapel, kicking the door shut behind him. “Get under the table.”

Cassidy didn’t argue. She did what she was told. The chapel shook before she heard the noise. The sound of cracking and rumbling became urgent. Cassidy knew that the avalanche was upon them. Choked with fear, she felt it hit the chapel, heard glass break, the entire building shaken to its core. It felt as if it would come loose from the side of the mountain. The noise was so intense that it sounded like she was trapped inside her own private wave at the ocean. The wall of sound flooded her senses, distracting her. She could feel Daniel tucked in beside her, his arm around her as if to protect her. As the rumbling continued, she tried to think happy, positive thoughts. She felt warmth for Daniel fill her heart. Once again he had saved her. Comparing him to Rick would be like comparing apples and oranges. She wondered if they were even the same species.

Chapter
Twelve

The noise stopped. It was eerily silent. The building stopped shuddering, although it was still creaking, which worried her. Daniel crept out from under the table. “Just stay here. I want to check and see if we’re stable.”

While she knew she should stay put, her eyes narrowed and she contemplated arguing with him just for the heck of it. He was being pretty demanding and rude. She’d definitely had enough of that for one day.

“Well… there’s broken glass and flowers everywhere, as well as snow that came through the windows, but for the most part I think the inside is secure so you can come out,” Daniel said, reaching down to help her.

Ignoring his outstretched hand, Cassidy crawled out from under the table as best she could with her wounded ankle. She hobbled over to one of the chairs, turned it back upright and sat down.

Daniel continued to walk around the chapel. “Our problem is that we are surrounded by snow and I don’t have anything in here to dig us out. On the plus side, I told the rescue team we were coming here so I’m sure they will arrive as soon as they can to get us out.”

Putting her head in her hands, she was immediately overcome by cold and hunger, which warred with the pulse of pain beating from her ankle. She wearily looked around the room. It sure looked different than it had only a few hours ago. The snow had left a path of destruction, which overshadowed the damage already done by Rick. The fire had died, the candles knocked all over the place. The warmth had completely left the room in more ways than one. Daniel was still talking to her in strange, clipped tones. He seemed very impersonal, as if she was a stranger.

“I’m going to get a fire lit. We have to keep warm. The fire will help melt the snow and, hopefully, dry it out in here but there’s only so much firewood inside. I don’t know how long it will last.” Daniel pulled some matches out of his ski pack, which had been wrapped around his waist. Shivering, she watched him as he placed logs and kindling into the fireplace and set it alight—she hoped it would warm up soon.

“Let’s get a look at your foot. I have my smaller first-aid kit with me, but I think there is a tensor bandage in there.” He peeled back her sock, pressing gently on her ankle and foot in various spots. “As far as I can tell, it is just sprained. The cold is helping to keep the swelling down a bit which is good for now. I’m going to wrap it, but I don’t want to put the sock back on until it dries off. I’ll put it near the fire, which is where you need to be too. Do you need me to carry you or can you make it?”

Cassidy almost stayed silent. She wasn’t sure she’d been able to say one word since he’d rescued her. She felt as if he’d just talk right over her anyway. The petulant little girl side of her wanted to give him the silent treatment just because she was cranky and he was being weird. But she wasn’t really up to playing games so she thought better of it. “I can make it.” With her ankle wrapped she felt better able to put pressure on it, so she limped closer to the fire and sat down. The chairs up in the front of the chapel hadn’t overturned with the avalanche. She dragged another chair over to face the one she was sitting on and put her foot up. “How long do you think we’ll be here?”

Daniel was busy unpacking his ski pack and didn’t look up as he said, “I’m not sure. Hopefully by tomorrow. It all depends on how much damage was done elsewhere, how deep we really are in here. It depends on a number of things. My walkie-talkie is just giving me static right now, so I don’t know much of anything. They know we’re here and that’s the important thing.”

“But, what if...?” She didn’t know what she was going to ask. She felt anxious and the events of the day finally caught up with her, leaving her exhausted.

“It’ll be all right. We have a fire, an emergency blanket which will help with warmth, and some rations. It’s not much, but I think we’ll be ok.” Finally his voice held some warmth. Some concern. He came over and sat down beside her. “The most important thing is we’ll have to keep warm. Even with your bum foot, I’m going to want you to get up and move around every once in a while. At night, we’re going to have to sleep close.”

She smiled. She had no problem with that and was about to tell him when he went on, “It’s purely a survival thing. You don’t have to worry about me at all.”

What is that supposed to mean?

“Do you have any idea where Rick might have been when the avalanche hit?” he asked.

“Oh my God. Rick. No—he—I mean...” She was stunned. What if Rick had been caught in that avalanche? No matter what, she wouldn’t wish him harm. What a mess this day had become. She felt the tear sliding down her cheek, before she even realized she was crying again.

“It’s ok. They’ll find him,” Daniel reassured her.

* * *

Daniel didn’t know what to do with Cassidy crying. He wasn’t good with tears. He probably shouldn’t have mentioned Rick, but he did find it odd that he wasn’t close to where he’d found Cassidy. Maybe he’d gone down the mountain to get help. He couldn’t imagine why else he would have left her on her own, trapped in a tree root, but then who knew what Rick would do. He hadn’t exactly proven himself reliable in the past. He just hoped the idiot wasn’t stuck somewhere himself, badly hurt. Poor Cassidy. What a wedding day. He gave himself a mental shake.
Lighten up, buddy. She blew you off without any warning. It’s not like she didn’t know what she was running back to.
Yeah, ok, but an avalanche wasn’t really part of the plan. She was still sniffling so he found some tissue and handed it to her.

“Are you warming up? How’s your ankle feeling?” He thought that changing the subject would get her mind off things.

“I’m fine, thank you.”

When she looked up at him her nose and eyes were all red from crying. Even still, she had the most beautiful eyes he’d ever seen. The colour of grey was like no other. Molten steel. Well, actually right now they looked like cold steel as she was giving him a dirty look.
What’d I do? Except save her ass again.
He first clued into the fact she was talking to him, right after he realized he was staring at her. “What? Sorry. What did you say?”

“I said, I’m hungry.”

“Oh, right. Well we need to be careful with these so we don’t run out, but you do need to eat.” He went over to the rations and grabbed a bag of trail mix. “When did you last eat?”

“At lunch, with you.”

“Whoa, that was almost eight hours ago. Didn’t Rick have this shindig catered? Sheesh. Ok, here have this. It’s got a good mix of nuts and dried fruit. Just try to eat it slowly. It will help keep your energy up.” He handed her the bag.

“Shindig? It wasn’t a shindig,” she said. At least he thought that’s what she said, although he wasn’t quite sure since it came muffled through a mouthful of food.

“Sorry. Whatever. Anyway, I’m going to set up some kind of sleeping area. If we’re directly on the floor, the cold will seep right through our bones.” He really had no idea what to use since there was obviously not going to be any bedding around. He was going to give Cassidy the emergency blanket, but they were going to need more than that. Finding some newspapers beside the firewood, he knew he could use those to insulate the floor. He took the small pile and laid it out a safe distance from the fire, but still close enough that it would warm them. Placing the emergency blanket near the newspaper bed, he then took off his jacket and sweater. He was sweating with them on and, once the temperature dropped, that could make him become even colder. His t-shirt would be fine. “You should take your jacket off. We can put them on top of the emergency blanket for extra insulation. You can use my sweater as a pillow if you need to.”