Chapter 18
MEG
This hike on the other side of town had been familiar to her once.
It probably still would have been, had a blizzard not made it next to impossible to find her way.
The weather had been closing in when she left the house, but she hadn’t really acknowledged it.
All she’d been focused on was getting away, walking off her frustration.
She was so angry with the way Chrissie had looked at her, with the fact that her sister had never considered how much Meg might have changed over the years.
Her anger had fuelled her on past the town, past the streets, which were close to empty.
And it was only once she was on the hiking trail and conditions were treacherous that she remembered how often this could happen.
It was all too easy to get caught out by a turn in the weather, and she really had been.
Navigation was close to impossible. Was this trail even open? Or had she passed a sign to say it was closed and been oblivious to it with other things on her mind?
She soon became disorientated, unsure whether she was heading further away from town or was on her way back. If only she could get her bearings – she was sure she wasn’t that far from the main street – she’d take refuge in one of the hotels. They’d let her inside and she could wait it out.
But despite her best efforts she felt like she was going round in circles.
Here she was, on a trail, somewhere, without any food or water, and getting colder by the second.
Her phone had died; she’d stormed out of the house without charging it or bringing a power pack.
She cursed herself for reacting that way.
All those years of her dad’s weather warnings and tracking the avalanche bulletin and she hadn’t thought things through.
That about summed up the Meg of old, the Meg Chrissie remembered – say something at her sister’s wedding, have a few drinks or a joint to get through it, have sex on the day of her brother-in-law’s funeral and sod the consequences if it brought her comfort.
She’d done her best to change her ways and establish a more solid existence rather than the flighty way she’d lived her life in her teenage years and when she first left home.
She’d worked hard, bought her own flat. She’d become lead chocolatier at The Cocoa Cupboard, the prestigious Camden chocolaterie.
Grant was a curveball she’d never seen coming.
And his actions had ruined the business and cost her her job.
She felt stupid, betrayed, upset. She’d failed at all of that.
And here she was, failing again. She couldn’t even go out for a simple walk without getting into trouble.
She walked on. It was probably only a few metres but felt a lot further given the wind was pushing her back as the icy snow pelted the skin of her face. She could barely see a foot in front of her.
She stumbled over the remains of either a snowman or an attempt to build some kind of wall. And she froze. Didn’t movement and weight sometimes trigger an avalanche?
She wished she’d listened to her dad more.
What did you do if an avalanche started? Was there anything you could do at all?
Or would that be it?
The mound of snow was quite tall, and it reminded her straight away of the igloo she and Chrissie had built the first year they were living in Switzerland. They’d been surprised how sheltered it was. She wished she had the igloo now.
She remembered their dad had told both her and Chrissie that if they were ever caught in the snow, if a blizzard came in unexpectedly, then survival involved finding shelter, staying still, protecting your lungs, keeping calm, and insulating from the ground while you waited for help.
She couldn’t do all those things. But she could do some.
And it was better than carrying on walking aimlessly, hoping she might find her way.
She went to the wall, gathered more snow from where it was piled nearby and, despite the low visibility, managed to pack up the edges so it would enable her to crouch down on the other side.
The structure gave some respite. She made sure her coat was properly beneath her as she sat down, the wind chill a lot less already.
She pulled her neck gaiter up and over her mouth and nose – it would protect her lungs – and although she was starting to get scared, she knew she had to stay calm.
She’d wait it out. She’d be fine. She tried not to focus on the fact she had nothing to eat or drink.
After a while, she was tempted to get up and jump about to stay warm but that wouldn’t conserve the energy she needed to survive, so she huddled up some more.
She suddenly remembered something about keeping her circulation going so she wiggled her fingers, clapped her hands, flexed her arms.
It was getting even colder. And now it was getting dark. She’d been out for hours. How had that happened? She felt like she’d only just sat down. She’d lost all sense of time.
Should she get up again, try to stagger her way out of this mess?
She wanted to go back to her family.
She wanted to see Chrissie. To see Sarah.
She wanted to be at Jonathan’s chalet. She didn’t want to be here any more.
Her head bobbed so deeply it woke her up. She could barely keep her eyes open, and it was difficult to stay awake now. Her body was burning a lot of energy just trying to stay warm and there wasn’t a lot left for anything else.
Would anyone be looking for her?
Probably not. Jonathan would assume she was with her family; her parents would think she was with Jonathan.
Every time she saw Chrissie’s face, not the one that despised her, but the sister she’d grown up with, she was determined to stay awake.
But she couldn’t. It was impossible. And as her eyes closed yet again, she felt herself succumb to sleep.