Winter by Cathy F Bolton

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WINTER, Part 4
By Cathy F. Bolton

They went back the way they came, crossing a snow covered slope which pitched steeply downward. They walked carefully. Each step was placed with their weight shifted inward. With their passing, tiny balls of snow broke free, tumbling haphazardly down the icy crust. The old snow had been undercut by a thaw before being masked by current deep fall of pellet like crystals. The new snow was crusty making traction possible but it added weight to an unstable mass with no firm base.

With Baines in the lead, Walman covered the rear glancing back to be sure they weren't followed. Occasionally, he thought he saw movement in the shadows behind them but he couldn't be sure. It could just be a play of light caused by swirling flakes or the wind through the brush.. The slope was studded with rock and trees large enough to offer cover to anything not wanting to be seen. Unease grew until a muffled sound spun him around. He finally catch sight of the creature moving above them. Fear found a release and he fired the MagPro in the direction of the animal.

At first, he thought he had lost his balance from firing the gun. He tottered unsteadily as the ground seemed to shift. A deep rumble in the earth rose in tempo engulfing him as the world seemed to slip away beneath him. He heard the others cry out before he plunged into a white oblivion. The vibration of the shot caused a cascade effect as loose snow gave up it's tenuous grasp. The slope collapsed carrying everything with it.

Julia slipped away from Alonzo and saw a brief flash of him as she was swept into the avalanche. She felt a terrifying sensation of speed and being hopelessly out of control as she plummeted for an interminable amount of time before something grabbed her by the right leg, a sudden anchor in the sea of her momentum. She felt the muscles and tendons in her limb strain and tear as her body fought to free itself before the pain took away her consciousness.

She woke to soft white light and an incredible need to breath. Gasping for air, she rose from a grave of loose snow. The sweet flood of air into her lungs was accompanied by an intense pain. The injured leg was entangled in a fallen tree. She cried out as she fell back, twisting in agony, caught in its unrelenting hold.

"Julia?" Alonzo's voice was weak but it sounded close by. She sobbed as she turned her head searching for him.

He was buried to his waist and was attempting to dig himself out when he heard Julia's scream. Eventually extracting himself, he crawled over to where she lay. He broke the limbs which imprisoned her leg. Her knee bulged at a terrible angle. He helped her to sit up so she could examine it. She swallowed hard after surveying the damage. "My knee is dislocated. I'll have to push it back into place."

He seemed dazed. "What can I do?"

When she told him, he steeled himself to the task of holding her leg still while she tried to manipulate her knee. Without a pain block, she was in agony. Finally, it moved into place. She laid back, drained from the effort. He collapsed beside her.

"Alonzo?"

She leaned over and examined him. His jacket was wet with fresh blood. His wound from the animal attack was still bleeding plus he was suffering from hypothermia. He was very pale. Feeling his neck for a pulse, she detected a weak heartbeat. She hurried to stabilize her leg by splinting it with a few of the heavier tree branches, binding them with the scarf she wore. When she finished, she shook him.

"Alonzo, we have to find shelter."

He groaned cradling his body with his arms against the cold. Desperately, her eyes searched their surroundings. She yelled for help but there was no answer.

She had no idea how far they had been swept or what had happened to the others. About 10 meters away from them, she could see a rocky area of cliff face partially covered with snow. Dragging herself to it, she found an overhang which offered some shelter from the weather. At one time, an animal may have used it as a den. There was a flattened area of straw-like material inside. She hoped it was abandoned but she really had no choice. It was the best she could find. Rising by bracing herself against one of the trees, she ripped some of the smaller limbs from a fir tree and tossed them close to the crevice before going back for Alonzo.

She begged, pleaded, and pulled, trying to arouse him. He seemed not to comprehend what was happening but her urgency motivated him enough, so that together, they stumbled and crawled their way to the rocks. She pushed him in first, telling him to lie as close to the wall as he could. Then she followed. Hampered by the stiffness and pain in her leg, she slid in beside him, pulling the branches behind her to cut off the wind. There wasn't much room but she was able to unfasten her jacket and shirt. She reached over and began to open his clothing.

"Wha...?" he began but his teeth chattered uncontrollably.

"Alonzo, I need to warm you immediately. You could die if your core temperature drops much lower."

His jacket was stiff with ice but she managed to remove his arms which she crossed in front of his body. Removing her own jacket, she used it to cover them both as she wrapped her arms around him gathering him to her chest. She hoped the heat from her body would be enough to warm him. Under the circumstances, it was her only option.

Danziger had wrapped his arms around a tree the moment the mountain began to shake. As the ground fell away from his feet, he was left hanging by one arm as he used the other to snag Baines who had slipped by him. Fortunately, they were high on the slope and the snow that cascaded over them did not have enough force to break the big man's grip. Caught without anything to hang on to, Julia, Alonzo and Walman had been swept away. Baines and Danziger were lucky.

John Danziger didn't feel lucky. He felt like he was being slowly torn apart as he struggled to hold on to the tree and keep his grip on the other man's arm.

Baines was struggling to plant his feet on something solid. He lost his grip on the MagPro and it slipped away, sliding down the mountain before disappearing. Although it seemed to last forever, the rumbling eventually ceased and the flood of snow was reduced to a scattered trickle of small streams. Baines looked around amazed to be alive. Danziger still held him in a death grip.

"It's Ok. John, I think we made it."

Danziger just stared at him his hair and eyebrows and lashes coated with ice. He couldn't seem to work his hands so Baines had to break his grip. He looked around, feeling sick, the others were gone.

"WALLL...MANNN,.. JULL..LIA", with cupped hands, he called to them but his voice was eaten by the wind. He had lost his gear. Danziger had left his in the valley. With no way to contact camp, he was unable to call for help. "Come on man, I have to get you back at least. We'll get the others to come back and look for them."

Devon paced the floor of the Bio-dome. "Why haven't we heard from them?"

The rest of the group sat watching her, they all imagined different scenarios but kept their ideas to themselves. Everything was ready waiting for the rescue team's return. Bess tried a smile on a worried True. The little girl just looked past her to the door. Finally, the sound of the rail outside brought them to their feet. The door flew open and in with the wind and snow burst two frosted forms. Baines, with both arms dragging Danziger, fell through the door. The others rushed to help him. Devon reached out and touched John's face which was blistered with frostbite.

"Dad!!"

True scooted under the adults throwing herself on her father. He tried to reach up to comfort her and let her know he was Ok but the effort seemed beyond him.

Yale took hold of the little girl. "True, you must stand back and let them help your father." She submitted to his request. Her Dad was safe.

Devon looked past them. "Baines, where are the others?"

Baines allowed them to take Danziger away to the warm bath they prepared for him. He watched them go as he put off facing Devon. When he turned, his eyes glistened and his voice shook.

"Devon it happened so fast. John and I are lucky to be alive. The whole shanken mountain just collapsed around us."

She stepped back as if he hit her, her eyes wide with shock.

"Baines, are you telling me that they're.." She couldn't bring herself to say the word.

"I don't know. They were there and then they weren't. All I remember is Danziger grabbed me and we hung there till it was all over. I called but no one answered. Danziger was half frozen, we had no gear, no weapons... Devon, I didn't know what to do except try to save him."

She saw the agony of his decision reflected in his face. "You did the right thing."

She hugged him,. trying to reassure him, while she beat down the empty feeling of loss that was beginning to grow in her heart.

"Get out of those clothes and get something warm to drink."

Bess hovered close by and handed him a warm drink. He held it, letting it warm his hands. His face was cast down above the steam that rose from the cup.

Bess exchanged a look with Devon and they guided him to the table prying the frozen jacket off. While Bess sat with him, Devon went to check on Danziger. Morgan came from Julia's lab where they had set up the tubs. He was carrying the mechanic's clothes.

Seeing the direction Devon was headed toward, he walked in front of her nervously.

"Ahh, he's kind of indisposed right now."

Devon looked past him. She caught a glimpse of Danziger's pale body as they lifted him into the tub.

"Morgan, this is not the time to worry about modesty. I have to know what happened out there. Baines seems to be in shock."

Morgan rolled his eyes.

Danziger was past caring at this point. The water was luke-warm but it stung his skin. Every part of him screamed as feeling began to return. Cameron met Devon at the door.

"Without Julia, I don't know how high to increase the temperature or when to do it."

She patted him on the arm. "Ask Yale to access his medical files. He may have some information about frostbite."

Cameron shook his head and left to find Yale. Devon took the hot drink that sat beside the tub. Kneeling down to afford Danziger some privacy she cradled his head with her hand and brought the cup to his lips which were cracked and bleeding.

"John, do you think you can manage to swallow some of this." His head rolled back as he tried to focus on her. "Please, try just a little." He managed a few swallows before he began to choke. "Ok, take it easy." She brushed back the golden curls which dripped as they defrosted. She hated to see him like this. How could she continue to hold out hope for the others when he hadn't been buried in the snow and was in this bad condition.

"The others..you have to try...to find them." Devon took his face in her hands as he began to nod. Her eyes became intense as she willed him the strength to continue.

"John, try to stay with me, do you think there's a chance they may still be alive? Baines said they were buried by the avalanche."

"Don't know..heard a shot...never saw the others...just Baines...can't remember..."

"John, I can't risk sending anyone else. If they're buried, we may never find them." Her hand shook as she moved it from his head. He saw the torment in her eyes as she fought a bitter inward battle.

"Adair...take Zero...thermal scan is still working. You can't...leave them. There might..still be a chance. Tell True...she can put the cap... back together."

True stood in the hallway watching and listening. She had to make Devon believe she was more then just a stupid little kid. She walked into the light.

"I can do it Devon, Dad's right." She saw the sudden flare of hope in the woman's dark eyes.

"Ok, True."

Looking back at the father, "You're sure the scan can detect them?"

He nodded and said softly so that True wouldn't hear, "If they're alive.., it will find them."

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