storm hit, their feeble lighting would be of little help.
Before he turned to lead the way, Cade gave Isaiah one long shake of his head. Isaiah hoped Cade could see the regret in his eyes, but he was sure it wouldn’t matter. This wasn’t the first time Cade had given him that disappointed look lately, but at least this time Isaiah knew the reason for it. Now wasn’t the time to try to figure out what had been bothering his friend, especially since he likely already knew the answer to that. He tried to shove the unwelcome thoughts out of the way.
They would have to work together as a team in a way they never had before. This would require all their energy and focus and trust.
Trust. Why had this particular search and rescue scenario hit them when the trust between the three of them was at an all-time low?
Let it go, man. You don’t have time to worry about that now.
Carrying the heavy packs and gear, everything they’d need to survive, the group trudged behind Cade as he led the way off the saddle, careful to stay out of the path of the avalanche that could spill from the cornice above at any moment.
Zach hiked next to Isaiah, pulling up the back, and pointing his gun at Isaiah for fun. “Don’t forget that I have guns. Will kill.”
“Well, Zach, I’m intimidated by you, sure,” Isaiah said. This guy felt big and strong with the weapons he didn’t handle all that well. “But facing off with nature in this part of the world scares me more. If you’re not scared yet, you will be.”
Heidi struggled to keep up with Cade. With his big strides, he covered the ground quickly, even in the snow-covered saddle. None of the SAR team members had removed their crampons yet, and they hadn’t tasked the climbers to wear them or snowshoes until required. The snow wasn’t loose enough that they sank into it here, but the terrain indicated that they were approaching a sharp drop.
That was only one problem they would eventually face. Added to that, they’d have to be sure this group knew how to use an ice ax for self-rescue, or a technical ice ax if required. Argh. Did they even have all the equipment they would need? She doubted it. Heidi’s breathing hitched. She wanted to pull her hair out. This wasn’t going to work.
Straight ahead, on the other side of the peak across from them, she could see the silhouette of Devil’s Paw, the highest point on the Juneau Icefield, which marked the border between southeast Alaska and British Columbia. And just below that, though she couldn’t see it, Michael’s Sword thrust upward from the ice field, like its namesake blade.
Even if Heidi couldn’t see much through the night vision goggles, she knew they were about to face their first taste of terror. Cade knew that, too, and likely feared how much worse it would be if they didn’t make good time and find a place to hunker down in their tents. All because they had to please the madman who’d called them in to rescue him.
Clouds crept forward, the edges reminding her of pointed fingers, creeping toward the moon. With the summit looming above them to the north, Heidi wished she had her camera to capture this amazing image. But even if she did, she couldn’t fathom stopping to enjoy her hobby.
Once the moon finally died a silent death behind the sword-clouds, Heidi would lose sight of Cade without her night vision goggles. Zach’s gang had been instructed to wait to use their headlamps until absolutely necessary to save the batteries.
Heidi felt as if she was in a space suit again, her clothing thick, her movements slow—only she’d never wanted to be an astronaut. Never wanted to go to the moon. This might be exactly how it felt to be there, except, of course, her steps would cause her to bounce instead of sink.
Snow swirled as the wind picked up. Oh, no. Were they walking right into the screaming wind tunnel again? Or worse, was the storm on them already? She thought her space suit might be running out of oxygen. Though her breaths came fast and hard, dragging in the frigid air, she still couldn’t get enough of it.
Oh, Lord. Not here. Not now.
Breathe in, breathe out. Her lungs screamed. An iceberg of pressure weighed on her chest. And her head.
Heidi stopped and ripped off the helmet and goggles, grabbing her head. Would it explode?
Cade had always been there for her, but no—he trudged ahead as if he was the only one who mattered. Isaiah’s face filled her vision. He’d removed his goggles and helmet, revealing his thick brown hat-hair, the moonlight caressing enough of his face that she could see the undeniable concern in his eyes.
He gripped her upper arms. “Heidi, what’s wrong?”
“I—” she gasped for breath. “I—”
“Slowly.” Isaiah pressed his gloved hands to the sides of her head. “You have to breathe slowly.”
How did he know? Heidi focused on his gaze and the emotions she couldn’t read swirling there. She had the sense that he was barely holding back a torrent of them. She calmed a little, her breathing easing, but the reason for her panic hadn’t dissipated. Everyone stood around her, watching her as if she was some kind of mental case. What if Zach decided to kill her because of it?
“Are we really going to do this?” she asked. “Are we really going to hike down with inexperienced climbers in the dark and—”
“Shh.” He pressed a finger against her lip, and it was surprisingly warm. When had he removed his gloves? “This is a search and rescue mission just like any other. You’ve trained for this, you can do it.”
Zach pulled Isaiah away from Heidi. She hated him for it. Isaiah, whatever happened to us?
Oh, no, here it comes. He’s going to kill me now. She and Isaiah never even had their chance, or rather, a second chance.
“You know I like you, sweetheart, but if you’re not careful you might outlive your usefulness. Let’s get moving.”
Heidi saw Cade ahead of them watching her, but then he turned around and hiked forward at breakneck speed. Isaiah gave her a reassuring nod and tugged his helmet and goggles back on. She followed his example and hiked next to him, drawing strength and confidence from him. She had strength, too. She just had to dig down deep and find where it had hidden and pull it out. This is a search and rescue mission just like any other. She could do this. And as for anything else, like escaping? As long as Zach, Jason and Liam, and possibly Rhea, carried weapons, there wasn’t much else they could do except follow orders.
Wait and pray.
A new team would be sent to search for them at some point when they didn’t show up. But Heidi dreaded how long that would take. SAR volunteers were already stretched thin due to two ongoing rescue operations before Cade, Heidi and Isaiah had been delivered to the drop point near the summit.
How long before David began to worry? How long before they could even send a team to search for them? And if they did, she’d bet David and Adam would both be on that team. But the farther they trekked into the deep mountain wilderness, the less chance they had of being found, especially with a man like Zach, who would do everything within his power to keep their whereabouts hidden.
No. She couldn’t count on being rescued. They
