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“Is that all your water?”
“Yes, but he could go blind if we don’t get those chemicals out.”
“But he was going to leave you here.”
“I know. Very uncool thing to do, but that’s on him. We all have to answer to our own conscience. Come on, hold his head like this while I pour.”
As they flushed out his eyes, Elias said in a puzzled voice, “At home, everyone says outsiders are the enemy. But you’re not an enemy. And you’re helping someone who was mean to you.”
“Well, I do intend to leave him tied up so he can’t do any more harm. There’s a limit to my helping.” She put the cap back on her bottle, and tucked it into her bag. She had half a bottle left. It would have to be enough to get them to Firelight Ridge. Once they got to the woods, there were plenty of streams, and this close to the glacier they’d probably be safe to drink from.
They climbed back onto the ice and closed the door of the plane. Chilly air rose around them, and she shivered. At least she’d worn warm clothes.
“New problem,” she murmured to Elias as they shut the door of the plane. “He knew where to go. We have no idea.”
Elias turned in a circle, shading his eyes to gaze up at the sun, then scanning the ice in each direction. “I can figure it out. But it might be a long way.”
“A long way to where? Do you mean the ground zero he was talking about? That’s probably near the Ice Falls.”
“Firelight Ridge is that way.” He pointed south, where forested slopes were barely visible. “But Ice Falls is that direction.” He pivoted to point west, then staggered. “I feel dizzy.”
Molly grabbed his arm to keep him from falling. “I think he gave you a sedative when he ‘rescued’ you. And then you rescued me. You’re probably exhausted by now.”
He slumped against the fuselage of the plane and nodded. Yet another worry gripped her. Would she be able to help him across the expanse of glacier to the woods? She couldn’t leave him here all alone.
“We need to get to Firelight Ridge and get help,” Molly said.
Elias nodded, scuffing his boots against the ice. “You can get help. I better stay here with Jimmy. Do you think he’s going to be okay?”
“Yes, but he’s going to need some medical attention.”
“I’m going to stay here with him. I don’t want him to die.” His face fell. “Soraya loves him. She always talks about how he’s going to come back from the Outside and they’ll never be separated again. She says it’s part of the prophecy.”
“The Ice Falls prophecy?”
“I guess so.” His eyelids were dropping again. “I wonder if this is it, the prophecy. Jimmy’s coming back and never has to leave again.”
If that was the case, then she really had to get out of here and get word to Sam.
“Elias,” Molly said sharply. His eyes jerked open. “I don’t think you’re safe here with him. If he wakes up…”
He shook his body to keep himself alert. “I’ll tie him up with those cords before he wakes up. He won’t hurt me. Please.”
The thought of trekking across a vast glacier on her own, without any proper gear—what was the proper gear anyway?—terrified Molly. On the horizon to the south, she saw the jagged rise of the mountains that she’d be trying to reach. They had to be at least two miles away, although distances were hard to judge in the sun glare. Two miles would be nothing to her on a different surface, but a glacier? Who knew?
But the look on Elias’ face scared her even more. Elias had been scarred enough in his life. If he needed to stand guard over the family member he’d injured, so be it. She could stay with them, but who knew how long it would take for someone to find them. And if that someone was another Chilkoot, she could be in even more danger.
She was extra baggage, after all, and that was it.
“All right then. Be careful.”
“You too. Watch your step. There might be crevasses, and some spots might be slippery.”
He showed her what direction to head and instructed her to keep the sun to her left for the next hour, and aim to the right of the triangular peak that he called Fire Peak.
A quick hug, and that was it. Goodbye. Elias climbed back into the plane and set about tying up Jimmy Marsh. He waved at her through the window, and she turned to face the ice.
With nothing more than a bottle of water, some stale peanut butter cookies, a bar of chocolate and her phone stashed in her tote bag, she marched toward that faraway peak. Distance was no problem, she reminded herself. She could walk at this pace as long as it took. The air was cold, mostly from the chill of the ice under her feet. But the sun was warm on her face. The sheer enchanting beauty of this icy world would keep her company.
