Page 55 of The Mountain
“Guys,” I shout, my voice raspy with emotion. “Guys, he’s here. Guys. Help me.”
I don’t stop digging, don’t even pause to look up. My phone vibrates again, but I ignore it. I can’t stop digging, not now. I dig, and dig, and dig.
“Easy.” Liam’s voice is low and calming, close enough that his helmet knocks against my own as he drops to his knees across from me. “Deep breaths, mate. Deep breaths.”
That’s when I realize I’m nearly hyperventilating, my rasping gasps sounding almost like hiccups, my lungs burning in an effort to take in more oxygen. I force my breathing to slow, drawing in a long, shuddering breath, then letting it out slowly.
“That’s it.” There’s warm approval in Liam’s voice, and his hands join my own, red and gloveless as he digs in the snow alongside me. “We’re at ten thousand feet altitude, remember? Can’t have you passing out.”
I open my mouth to answer, to agree or apologize, but then my glove brushes against fabric, that soft rasp at once the sweetestand most terrifying sound I’ve ever heard. Liam notices too and falls silent, the two of us digging with renewed desperation.
Vaguely, I’m aware of the sound of a helicopter, of Eddie shouting and Matty saying something in reply. My phone vibrates again. My fingertips are burning, a cold heat that tells me my already worn gloves have probably given way. I don’t stop.
And then he moves, the guy we’ve been digging free, exploding out of the snow like a loaded spring. Liam and I both fall back, watching in stunned disbelief as he frantically claws ice and snow from a bearded face, his chest heaving and eyes bloodshot as he looks between the two of us.
“James!” The guy Matty miraculously dug up calls out, trying to rise to his feet, then falling back to a seated position, his face gray with pain. “James!”
Farther down the hill, Eddie and Matty are pulling someone from the snow. The sound of helicopter blades grows louder, a deafening roar sending snow and ice flying up at my back. The guy we pulled free—James—lets out a sob. It’s a raw sound, honest and painful to hear. Liam gives me a look of panic, then quickly averts his gaze, as if he’d rather look anywhere but at this stranger crying next to him. As if tears are the most terrifying thing he’s faced all day.
I smile. Tears… tears I can do.
“You’re okay.” I shuffle closer to him, carefully resting one hand on his shoulder—gently, in case he’s injured—then bring my face in line with his own. “You’re going to be okay, James.” I keep my voice even—the same voice I’d use to calm the twins when they’d get upset—and tilt my head toward the helicopter, towhere the ski patrollers are climbing out with shovels and packs, expressions sharp and assessing. “You’re safe. Ski patrol is here. Everything’s going to be fine.”
Ski patrol digsout the last two guys within minutes.
“It’s lucky you guys were here,” I hear one of them tell Matty as we wait for the helicopter to return. Two of the guys have already been airlifted out, taken straight to the hospital in Salt Lake City with suspected broken legs and ribs, and almost certainly concussions.
“Survival rate drops significantly after about twenty minutes,” he continues, tucking his thumbs under the straps of his pack, squinting against the glaring sun. “If you hadn’t got here when you did, chances are these guys wouldn’t be alive right now…”
Matty’s throat bobs, expression shuttering as his blue eyes drop to the snow. I don’t know much about what he’s been through, but I can tell this morning has been hard on him. Hell, it’s been hard on all of us.
Instinctively, I step closer to him, pressing my shoulder against his own. Matty turns to give me a tremulous smile.
Eddie shoots the ski patroller a hard look, but manages to keep his tone polite as he says: “Do you guys need us for anything else? Or are we good to go?”
My phone buzzes in my pocket, startling me and I strip off my now tattered gloves in an effort to pull it out.
“You guys can go,” the ski patroller frowns, reluctance clear in his voice. “But I’m gonna need some names and contact details. Just in case there are any questions about anything. You know, for insurance.”
Eddie snorts, his signature scowl curling his lips. “Of course,” he deadpans. “Can’t even save some lives in this country without risking getting sued, right?”
Liam comes up beside him, giving him a silencing look and a sharp elbow to the side. Eddie just rolls his eyes, then starts rattling off his phone number.
I pull my phone free from my pocket, dismay and panic shooting through me when I see I’ve missed Lily’s call. Fifteen missed calls in the past half hour. All from Lily.
The ski patroller asks me something, but I ignore him, pressing the call button and holding the phone to my ear.
She answers on the first ring.
“Seth?” Her voice is muffled and raspy, as if she’s been crying. The sound of it has my chest tightening, just as relief surges through me.She’s okay. Lily is okay. “Seth, is that you?”
“Lily.” I can barely make out her name around the lump in my throat. “Honey. Yeah, it’s me.”
There’s a strangled cry at the other end, static followed by a muffled sob, like maybe she’s covering the phone with her hand or pressing it to her shoulder, hoping I won’t hear her. My anxiety spikes, mind racing as I try to make out any words, any distinguishable sounds.Did someone hurt her? Did Tom come back?
“You’re okay? You’re really okay?” Her voice is thready, strung between deep breaths. “The avalanche… at the Canyons… I heard some people were caught up in it. I thought… I knew you guys were going there, and then none of you answered your phones and I thought… I thought…”
She’d thought she’d lost us.She almost did. I swallow, my throat aching, stomach churning at the thought.
