Page 19 of The Edge of Never

He gave me a tired smile before he went to gather up the group and let Ruairí know what was happening.

I tugged Kit towards the shelter of the rocks I’d pointed out to Callan. Making them take their pack off, I set mine down too.

Kit took a seat on a rock and bowed their head. I sat beside them, keeping the wind off them, and dug into my pack, bringing out a thermos. I handed it to them.

“Drink some of this.”

Kit took it without complaint. Their eyes lit up after they took a sip.

“Is this hot chocolate?”

“Aye.”

They smiled and handed it to me, so I could have some too. Sugar and warmth were much needed right then. And the hope that once Kit had a rest, we could make our way down. The weather wasn’t getting any better. It would be hard going, and we’d have to rely on each other. I didn’t know if that was going to end in disaster or not. Guess we would just have to wait and see.

Seven

Kit

The last thing I expected was for Thane to insist we took a break and let the rest of the group make their way back down. The weather had got steadily worse for the past few hours. A lot of the group had been determined to keep going, regardless. They wanted to make it up to the summit. I hadn’t felt the same way.

The wind speed and the snow were making it tough to walk. I relied heavily on my ice axe to stay upright.

Thane was lost in thought for a long time and hadn’t noticed my struggle. My need to prove I could do this stopped me from telling him I needed a rest. That I wasn’t sure I could go on. Stupid, really. I wasn’t normally this stubborn. Thane brought out qualities I didn’t know I possessed. At least I was standing up for myself around him. I rarely did that with Sienna.

Don’t think about her. You’re up a mountain. You came here to forget not to dwell on your fucked up friendship with Sienna.

“Ye ready tae get moving?” Thane asked, pulling me out of my musings.

I rubbed my hands over my thighs.

“I guess so.”

I wasn’t, but I knew we couldn’t stay up here for much longer. Despite my warm clothing, it was freezing cold, my lungs ached, and I wanted to be anywhere but on that mountain.

Thane stood up and put his hand out to me. I placed my gloved hand in his, letting him pull me upright. We got our packs back on. I continued to wonder what was in his but refrained from asking. The noise of the wind made it difficult to hear each other without shouting.

With my ice axe in one hand, I set off ahead of Thane, following in the fading footsteps of the group. It was slow going. The wind was blowing the snow into us as we descended backwards down a slope, using our crampons to front point. My concentration was on my feet to make sure I stepped right.

As I reached the bottom right before where we would have to go across the ridge, I heard a loud noise that was a bit like thunder. I looked to my right and saw an enormous cloud of snow sliding down the mountain barely a few feet away.

“Oh fuck.”

Two hands grabbed me and dragged me backwards. I barely kept my footing as Thane pulled me away from the falling snow. And I fell into him a moment later. He let out a grunt and tumbled into the snow, tugging me with him. I collided with his body as he hit the ground. The next thing I knew, he rolled me to the side and covered me protectively, holding onto me like both our lives depended on it.

The rumbling sound of the snow tumbling down the mountain was deafening when combined with the howling wind. I clutched Thane’s jacket, burying my face in his chest to hide from the disaster happening next to us. I had no idea if we were going to get caught in it or not. And that was the most terrifying part.

After what felt like hours but could have only been minutes, the sound died down. I pulled my face away from Thane’s chest. He had his head turned towards the ridge and was watching the snow make its way further down the mountain.

“Was… was that an avalanche?”

Callan had given us training about avalanches during the course. I never expected one to happen right next to us. He hadn’t mentioned there were any warnings about avalanches in the area, but then again, the forecast hadn’t been entirely accurate either. Snow wasn’t on the cards, but here we were stuck in a blizzard.

Thane turned his gaze towards me slowly. There was a grave expression on his face. It made me shiver.

“Aye.”

The finality of that one word made my throat tight. If we left any sooner, it would have caught us. There had only been a few feet between me and the ridge. Thane saved my fucking life by keeping me away from it. The realisation made me dip my head back into his chest and let out a sound of distress. Thane, to his credit, held me while I shook in his embrace and tried to regain my composure.

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