Page 37 of A Billionaire for Christmas
Molly pressed the button on her unit. ‘Copy that. Over.’
Toby frowned. ‘Damn it. You’re quitting, aren’t you? Over.’
‘Afraid so. Over,’ Molly admitted gloomily.
He let out a puff of air, immediately visible in the cold. ‘Well, take good care, Molly Johnson.’ Toby shoved the walkie-talkie in his ski trouser pocket and gave her a brief hug. ‘Good luck with everything. Hope it all works out.’
Molly swung her leg over the snowmobile and gunned the engine. The soft snow sprayed out to the sides like a pair of giant wings and the snowmobile slid a couple of times before she could get full control of it. With a final glance, she saw Toby standing waving her off and, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Levi watching her from the doorway, his hands in his pockets, a serious expression on his face. A heaviness swept through her as she revved the machine harder and drove away along the icy track. If she couldn’t get the restaurant back, then maybe it was fate telling her it was time to give up this fantasy life and return to the real world. The biggest hurdle would be trying to forget all about Levi LeRoux. Molly wasn’t sure it would even be possible.
Snow sprayed onto her goggles and with the natural light fading, it was difficult to see the track clearly. Up ahead loomed a forested area which, on arrival, had seemed magical and wondrous in the morning light, and now looked dark and threatening. Molly sped up. She did not want to get lost or stuck among those trees. She braced herself against the snowstorm and continued in what she hoped was the right direction.
She slowed at the entrance to the forest. Something didn’t feel right. It was then that she heard a loud cracking sound. Instinctively she knew it was not thunder. She stopped the snowmobile and twisted round in her seat. She recognised the distinctive ridge of snow collapsing and sliding away from the top of the nearby mountain. Remembering her avalanche training, she yanked the transceiver from her pocket, pressed the button and yelled, ‘Avalanche! Mayday! Avalanche! Toby, do you copy? Over.’
She felt immediately overwhelmed with a sensation of dread as the avalanche took hold, growing in size and pace with each second. The rumbling sound was equally terrifying. And it looked as though it was heading towards the lodge. The transceiver crackled. She tried again. ‘Mayday. Mayday! Toby, come in. Do you copy? Over.’
A distant voice replied. ‘Please repeat. Over.’
‘Avalanche!’ she yelled. ‘There’s an avalanche heading for the lodge! Over.’
‘Copy that. Molly…’ The device crackled. She lost signal and couldn’t catch what Toby was saying.
‘Molly. What’s your precise location? Over.’
Feeling dizzy at the sight before her, panic seized her ability to think straight. ‘I’m not sure. There’s snow everywhere. The avalanche is getting bigger and bigger. I don’t know what to do! Over.’
‘Molly. Stay calm. What do you see? Over.’ It was Levi.
The air was filling with snow dust, clogging her throat. She wiped her goggles. ‘I’m at the edge of the forest. Over.’
Adrenaline was shooting through her system, causing her to fixate on the worst-case scenario.
‘Are you in the direct path? Over.’
Her eyes darted to the snow cascading downwards. ‘Yes. I think so. Over.’
‘Listen carefully. If you can, turn the snowmobile round and move to the side of the avalanche. The side of it. Over.’ Levi was barking down the walkie-talkie. ‘Can you make it back here to the lodge? Do you copy? Over.’
‘I’ll try. Over.’ Molly gunned the engine so hard that it dug in deeper. Powdered snow billowed from the back and out to the sides, creating a pit. Another loud cracking sound alerted her to yet more snow dislodging higher up the mountain. She needed to move, and fast. With all her might she tried the engine one more time only to find that it made things worse.
‘I’m stuck! The snowmobile is stuck! Over.’
The transceiver crackled but no response came. She tried again but it made no sound. She gulped in the freezing cold air trying not to hyperventilate.Think, think. What do you do in this situation?It was getting too dark to set off on foot. There was no way she could outrun the avalanche, and she’d freeze before she even made it back to the lodge. Her only option was to get the snowmobile moving. She leapt off the machine. She could barely see for the snow coming down thick and harsh. She uncoupled the trailer. A few steps in and she was trudging through snow up to her knees. She climbed onto the snowmobile and restarted the engine. It refused to move against the snow drift that was rapidly accumulating.
Molly leapt back off and retraced her steps, her long hair whipping against her face, her fingers frozen despite her gloves, her body rapidly becoming a block of ice.
Think. Think.
She yanked her heavy suitcases from the back of the trailer. She threw one of them under the back of the machine, kicking at it until it wedged underneath. She grabbed the handles and yanked the machine from side to side. The deafening roar of the avalanche sounded ever closer. She was running out of time. Once the machine was loose and the front facing slightly upward, Molly risked leaping back on and tried again, this time much more slowly.
‘Don’t panic,’ she repeated over and over. She tried to use the motor’s momentum to push off the ground. The machine bucked and, on the third try, jolted free of the pit. With seconds to spare, Molly swung the snowmobile around and away from the avalanche hurtling towards her.
13
I FACE MY FEARS WITH COURAGE AND CONFIDENCE (EXCEPT WHILE BEING BURIED ALIVE)
Toby was already tearing through the snow towards her as the lodge came into view. She could just make out the lights of his snowmobile up ahead, still quite some distance away. Toby swung his machine around in front of her, waving his arm for her to follow him. He veered off the track through a small copse of pines. Molly followed, weaving in and out of the trees for what seemed like only seconds before he swerved to a stop in front of a wooden hut. Molly did the same. Toby leapt from his snowmobile and ran to her, grabbing her hand. She couldn’t hear what he was yelling for the snow whipping around them. They raced into the hut, and he slammed the door shut behind them, plunging them into darkness. A horrifying roar shook the ground as the hut became enveloped in snow, whacking off the walls, making the whole thing shudder.
Molly stood still, petrified.
