Chapter Eighteen
Leighann pulled up to an abrupt stop at the edge of the mountain where Enrique had gone over. Her breathing was harsh as she watched him topple down the side of the out-of-bounds area like a race car that had been tapped just right and went end over end into the center field.
This section of the mountain was out of bounds for a reason. The area was famous for avalanches and was off-limits the entire winter due to its hazardous conditions. Down below, it was raw wilderness and dense forest. It was a steep descent all the way to the bottom. Leigh’s chest ached as she watched Enrique tumble head over heels all the way down until his body landed in a heap at the very bottom of the mountain. If it weren’t for the bright red markings on his ski suit, she wouldn’t have been able to spot him through the tree limbs.
If Leighann had been scared before, then she was absolutely terrified now as she stared at him down below. He had landed face down in the snow and wasn’t moving. She had no way of knowing if he was alive or dead from her vantage point hundreds of feet above him.
“Please, God, let him be okay,” she prayed repeatedly under her breath as tears pricked the corners of her eyes. Her heart raced, and her head buzzed with all the possible outcomes of this accident; none of them ended well.
She quickly removed her pack from her back and rummaged through it for the satellite phone, packed carefully amongst softer items to protect it in case of impact. She had never been more grateful for her brother’s experience and careful instruction over the years. “Never leave home in the winter without the SAT phone. If the clouds blink, cellphones stop working, but the SAT phone can be relied on,” she had heard Curtis say at least a hundred times.
She tried telling herself to calm down. Breathe. Breathe. Panicking never helped anyone. A cool head and steady hands will get the job done. I could use some divine intervention right about now. But her fingers shook as she pressed the numbers to call Curtis. She had no idea where he was, but she hoped he was somewhere the satellite could find him; she needed her brother right now. Placing the phone to her ear, she listened to the ringing while her labored breath created puffs of white air in front of her just long enough to see before being taken away by the wind. Her brows furrowed as her patience wore thin with each new ring of the line. Pick up, pick up, pick up!
“Hello? Kiddo, are you there? ”
Relief flooded her body when his voice came across the line. It was a bad connection, but she was so grateful he was there with her in that moment. She pressed the phone tighter to her ear as tears overflowed her eyelids and streaked down her face.
“Oh Curtis, we were about to leave the mountain. There is a bad storm coming. But Enrique turned around at the last minute and insisted he was ready to ski the black diamond. He didn’t listen to me, and I tried, Curtis. I tried, but he just wouldn’t listen, and he tried Bone Crusher. Then he lost his balance and shot right over the edge. I don’t know if he’s alive or not. I don’t know what to do.” A sob escaped her lips, and she covered her mouth with her free hand, trying to regain her composure.
“I can’t understand you, Leighann,” he said. “Take a deep breath and talk slowly. I can barely hear what you’re saying.” His voice crackled as it came through, and she had to assume hers was doing the same on his end.
She took two deep breaths and licked her lips as she stared down at Enrique’s unmoving form. “Curtis, I – Enrique – he’s gone over the edge and into the out-of-bounds – There is a storm coming.”
There was an abrupt shuffling in the background, and when he spoke, his voice was calm but commanding. “Just a minute, Angel, let me get a read on the situation.”
Once again, warmth flooded her as the relief of knowing she was not alone overcame her. She had gotten the message across, and her brother had kicked into problem-solving mode. “The mountain is shut down now because of the blizzard blowing in. Reports are saying it will arrive several hours earlier than expected. I can see exactly where you are. Good job remembering to wear your location beacon. Unfortunately, there’s no way a helicopter will be able to bring help. That portion of the mountain has a bad updraft, and the rangers usually have difficulty there on a good day, and today is a very bad day. Give me a second. Let me loop in the Safety Patrol supervisor and the forest rangers.”
She nodded, even though he couldn’t see her. Drumming her fingers on her bent leg in impatience, she watched Enrique’s body for any sign of life. Still, he didn’t move.
Curtis was able to connect the calls quickly, and within minutes, their voices were added to the chaos of the bad connection. It was like nails on a chalkboard and Leighann could almost feel the satellite phone being imprinted into her face from how hard she pressed the speaker to her ear.
“Mr. Parker has explained the situation to us already. But first of all, are you alright, Miss Parker?” Chris, the head Safety Patrol for Avalanche Crest, asked in concern. He had a thing for her and had asked her out a number of times. What she wouldn’t give for his help right now.
“I am,” she nodded. “But Enrique is not. He’s down the mountain, and I don’t know if he’s alive or not.”
“Miss Parker, this is Ranger Andrews. Unfortunately, we don’t have many options at this time. The storm is moving in incredibly fast, and there’s no way a rescue chopper can get there, not with the updraft in that area and the current winds.”
“Christopher, what about the Safety Patrols?” Curtis inquired, hoping his longtime friend would have some helpful suggestions.
“It kills me to say this, but our hands are tied here, too. The resort is in lockdown until the storm passes, with no one in or out. All my patrols went home. I would come myself, but I’m already an hour away, helping my sister.” A loud sigh came across the line; Leigh could imagine how difficult this was for him; it was his perfect opportunity to be a hero, and he wasn’t close enough to fill the role. “Even if I could get in touch with some of my Safety Patrols, it would take a good two hours to get up from the bottom to reach your client’s location. You need to understand that everyone entering that area is putting their life in jeopardy, which increases exponentially with the blizzard that is about to hit. I just can’t do it. I can’t ask my people to risk their lives like that. We can reassess after the storm. Have the avalanche risk evaluated.”
Leigh’s fingers balled into a fist by her side as she thought about how hopeless the situation was. She hated to think about death. It had ruined her childhood, and she avoided the topic at all costs most of the time. Now, she was staring it in the face, and it was frightening.
“There’s a hunting cabin about a mile away at the base of the mountain,” the ranger said, quickly grabbing Leighann’s attention again. “Search and Rescue uses it in the winter as a safe haven or base camp, depending on the situation. It’s rarely needed because there are avalanche warnings posted everywhere around those parts, and we don’t often have trouble there. It’s always stocked up before the first bad snowstorm, just in case. If you can make it down the mountain in one piece and get there before the storm really hits, you may just have a chance of surviving this. All the cabins open to Search and Rescue have the same code system, so emergency workers don’t have to break the windows to get in. The code you’ll need for the padlock is the zip code for that town. It’s the only way, Miss Parker.”
“Angel, it looks like you have two options. One, leave Enrique where he is and come in before the storm gets any worse. Two, go down there and secure him the best you can until a team can come in and get you after the storm.” Curtis offered the two choices as if she really had one, but she didn’t. How would she be able to live with herself if she didn’t at least try? If Enrique was already dead, she would head to the cabin alone, but if he was alive, there was a slim chance she could save him.
“If you can get to the cabin, a Safety Patrol team can be to you within hours of the storm clearing, Leighann. We will get you out as soon as it is safe to do so,” Chris assured.
She shifted the phone to her other ear. The fingers on her right hand were numb from squeezing it so tightly in her anxiety.
The men couldn’t see the uncertainty on her face, so they hung up once she told them she understood and she would do it. Chris promised to be there for her as soon as he was physically able and wished her the best.
Curtis remained on the other line, and now that they were the only ones on the call, he could finally calm her down. He knew his sister, and he knew there was a pretty good chance she was on the verge of hyperventilating.
He was right. Leigh was totally overwhelmed by the responsibility that landed on her shoulders. She was alone in this, Enrique’s only chance. She had to go down that mountain, get to Enrique in time, assess his injuries, secure him somehow, and then get to the cabin a mile away before the storm hit. A look overhead told her that it seemed unlikely, and the fact that both of their lives depended on her brought tears to her eyes once more.
“First things first, Angel. Take some deep breaths and calm down. You need a clear head for this,” Curtis instructed, his voice soothing in spite of the crackling phone connection.
She wondered how he was able to remain so composed, given their current situation. His best friend was a fool who had risked his life with his daredevil antics, and now his little sister, practically his daughter, was going to have to risk her life to try and save him. There was an excellent chance they would freeze to death before they made it to safety. How did he stay calm when facing those facts?
“I can feel you thinking and freaking Leighann. Relax. It is understandable that you are scared right now, but we both know you can do this. ”
“I don’t know any such thing!” she shouted, venting her emotions onto her big brother. “You should have been the one here with him, not me! If you had been here, he never would have gone down Bone Crusher. If he did go down that stupid slope and still went over the side, you would be big enough and strong enough to get him to safety. You know what to do to increase your chance of survival! I’m just me!” Leigh collapsed all the way to the ground and held her head in her hands as the fury of the approaching storm continued all around her.
“You are enough! I have trained you in survival strategies. Do you have your emergency pack?”
“Yes, of course I do,” she spat angrily at his question.
“Is it fully stocked with the gear we discussed years ago?”
“Yes, I never let it run low. You know that!”
“Then you are as prepared as I would have been. Except, really, you’re more so. You are the two-time Olympic Alpine skier, Kiddo, not me. I’m good, but not that good. There’s a reason things played out the way they did with you filling in for me. Getting to him is something I would not have been able to do. If there’s anyone who can successfully make it down that ungroomed mountainside, it’s you. Being able to save Enrique is in God’s hands. He is the one who will determine life or death here, not you and not me. I believe in you. I always have. You are brave. You have a determination in you that defies all the odds, and you are the strongest woman I’ve ever been privileged to know. Years ago, you asked what your purpose was for skiing. I think the Lord may have been preparing you for such a time as this. No matter how this turns out, I’m proud of you. No matter what challenges you are about to face, know that you are not alone.”
She licked her lips, her vigor slowly returning as he spoke. She exhaled deeply, feeling the courage she needed seep into her bones. “That sounds like a goodbye, Curtis.”
“It most certainly is not,” he said, and despite the severity of the situation, she could hear a smile in his voice. “It’s a farewell until we speak again. I am trusting the Lord to keep you and Enrique safe. Enrique, so I can take a few strips off his hide over this whole thing and you because… there is so much more life we need to experience together. I love you, Angel. Now, you need to get a move on. Pep talk is over.”
Leigh smiled, “I love you too, brother mine. I will give it all I have and appreciate the prayers. It will take a miracle to see us through this. I’ll call you when I get to the bottom.” Then she hung up quickly, needing to cut the cord to her lifeline before her courage deserted her. She repacked the phone in the middle of her gear, safely surrounding it with the softer items, before pulling it onto her back and tightening the straps. Standing at the very edge of the mountain, she assessed the terrain and planned her approach as she had done so many other times during her Olympic training.
She was terrified, and doubts started to echo in her mind. Leigh pushed them away, pulling her brother’s words of encouragement around her like a warm cloak, and prayed, “Lord, I don’t understand this plan of yours, but I ask that you guide me through my part of it. Please, please, please let Enrique be alive and help me get him to safety. Then, if that works… keep me from killing him for doing this to us.” She lifted her eyes to the heavens, took a deep breath, and, with a giant leap of faith, headed over the edge and down the mountain.