Micah makes the call, and we prepare the hikers for movement. They're scared but cooperative, following instructions precisely. We've just started our descent when I hear it: the deep, resonant crack that every mountain rescuer dreads.
"Move!" Micah's command cuts through the air as the snow above us shifts.
Time compresses. I grab the nearest hiker, a young woman barely out of her teens, and haul her toward the ravine's protection. The others scramble behind us, Micah bringing up the rear. Snow thunders down the slope we just vacated, missing us by yards.
"Everyone accounted for?" Micah's voice, calm despite the near miss.
Five affirmative responses. The avalanche has changed our route, but not our objective. We continue downward, moving more cautiously now, hyperaware of every shift in the snow beneath our feet.
By the time we reach the base of North Ridge, darkness has fallen. The temperature drops rapidly, and I check my watch. Nearly eight hours since I left Judith alone on the mountain. The thought sits uneasily in my chest.
"Dario." Micah appears at my side as we load the rescued hikers into emergency vehicles. "We've got another problem."
I follow his gaze to the western sky, where heavy clouds are gathering, black against the darkening blue. The next storm system seems to be arriving earlier than predicted.
"How long?"
"Two hours, maybe less." He studies the clouds with the expertise of someone who's lived in these mountains his entire life. "No way we're getting back up to your place tonight."
The knowledge settles like a stone in my gut. Judith, alone in the cabin during her first mountain storm, now facing a second one without warning. She has supplies, instructions, the satellite phone. She'll be fine.
But the memory of her face when I explained the power outages tugs at me. The brief flash of vulnerability before her composed mask slipped back into place.
"I need to make a call." I pull out the satellite phone, stepping away for privacy.
She answers on the third ring. "Dario?"
"Judith." Just the sound of her voice eases something tight in my chest. "Situation update. I won't make it back tonight."
A pause. "The rescue?"
"Successful. But there's another storm coming. Roads to the mountain will be impassable within hours."
"Oh." Her voice remains steady, but I catch the slight hesitation. "When will you be back?"
"Tomorrow at the earliest. Depends on the storm's severity." I scan the darkening sky. "Everything okay there?"
"Fine. The generator's running. Fire's still going." A beat of silence. "I found some books to keep me occupied."
I wonder if she's thinking about what else she found. If the contents of my playroom are still burning in her mind the way they're burning in mine.
"Good. Remember the manual is in the kitchen drawer if anything fails."
"I know. You mentioned that before you left."
Silence stretches again.
"Dario, about what happened earlier?—"
"We'll discuss it when I get back." I cut her off, not wanting to have that conversation over the phone with others potentially within earshot.
"Right." Is that disappointment in her tone? "Stay safe."
"You too."
I end the call, turning to find Micah watching me with thinly veiled amusement.
"Trouble in paradise already?"
