Page 59 of A Rebel's Shot

Swinging his pack on with a grunt, he grabbed her hand. “Stay close behind me. I want us in a tight, single file line so we know that our steps are safe.”

“Safe?” Nolan asked.

“The ground might break away.” He pointed off to the side where a section of snow had caved in a large hole. “There’s a river of runoff flowing from the glacier under us. There’s no telling how far ice covers the river. We want to avoid falling in.”

That possibility doused any heat she had. She squeezed his hand, worry for him crashing over her.

“If the ground is unstable, how are you going to keep safe?” She hated the tremble in her voice.

Maybe they should just stay at the plane. It seemed stable enough.

Tiikâan let her hand go and yanked on a busted wing support. It broke the rest of the way free with a pop. He grinned at her, lifting his makeshift staff in hand.

“I’ll test the ground before I step.”

Right. Okay. He had everything under control. All she had to do was follow.

The entire way to the cave, she stuck as close to his back as possible without stepping on his feet. The wind snapped around them, driving the sharp snow into her face. Tears streamed from her eyes. Her fingers burned with cold.

Her leather jacket protected her torso from getting wet, but it did nothing to keep her warm. Between the weight of her pack, the shifting snow beneath her feet, and the shivers convulsing her muscles, exhaustion quickly zapped her body.

Wasn’t that a sign of hypothermia? How fast did that set in? She clearly needed to do more research into cold weather survival because she came up empty. She just prayed the cave was warmer, and they could find a dry place to wait for a rescue.

After what seemed like hours and her feet going numb in her hikers, the cave appeared through the sideways snow. The huge opening spanned a good twenty-five feet across and fifteen feet high.

She followed Tiikâan in and had an eerie feeling of Luke Skywalker on planet Hoth when the white snow beast tried to eat him. Tiikâan popped a flare, lifted it high, and when the end of the cave couldn’t be seen, dropped it ten feet inside the entrance.

He shrugged off his pack and turned to them. “Your packs have water in the right side of the big pocket and a headlamp in the front. Let’s hydrate before we go any farther, but don’t drink too much. We need our water to last.”

“Is it safe?” Nolan asked with a groan as he stripped off his pack.

Tiikâan shrugged, not giving Merritt the boost of confidence she was hoping for. “If we can, I’d like to get out of the wind. Sometimes, there are places where the ground below has been exposed through the ice. Hopefully, we find some and can set up camp.”

He took two gulps, put the cap on, and stowed the canteen in his pack. He wasn’t joking about conserving water.

She did the same, then found the headlamp. When she attempted to turn it on, she blinded herself. So much for acting like she knew what she was doing. She scanned the cave with the light. Ice sparkled against the dark shadows, but it did nothing to lessen the overall creepy atmosphere.

A gust of wind blew a wave of snow over them. She jerked the headlamp on with trembling hands and swung the pack on. At least it offered some protection against thewind.

“Let’s go.” Tiikâan tipped his head toward the back of the cave.

She caught up to him. With the cave as big as it was, they could walk side by side. Heck, they could park the plane in here, if it wasn’t flipped on its roof.

She cringed.

She hadn’t even considered that Tiikâan had lost his livelihood. Did he have another plane? She’d buy him one and make sure it was in Alaska as fast as possible. The cave groaned, jerking her off her rabbit trail.

“So… what’s your thoughts on Sasquatch?” Her voice wavered. “I’m getting a wholeLuke hanging from the ceiling as the yeti space monster prepares the firekind of vibe here.”

Tiikâan’s laugh echoed off the walls. Nolan muttered something behind them too low to hear. Tiikâan scanned the area, the light shining off ice stalactites and stalagmites before them.

“If there are such a thing, they could easily hide behind any one of these columns.” His smile widened as he shifted his gaze over to her. “You better stay close.”

“Noted.” One step the ground was crunchy ice, the next slick as snot. Her feet slipped out from under her. “Whoop!”

Tiikâan grabbed her arm.

“Whoa.” He pulled her close to his side. “Let me help you.”

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