Page 16 of Chasing the Wild
"No." His voice was firm. "You go too.”
"Sam—"
"Not up for debate." But his hand found mine, squeezed. "I'll be an hour behind you, max. Then we'll get everyone back to base camp, and I'm taking you to my cabin like I promised. Butright now, I need you down the mountain. Can you do that for me?"
I wanted to argue, but I saw the concern in his eyes. Besides, he could probably move faster without me.
"Okay," I said.
He got back on the radio and explained to his brothers what was going on. “Continue on down once Amanda and Jess catch up to you. Standard pace, no stopping. I'll take the ATV back down."
He kissed me hard as Amanda goggled at us. Then, I watched Sam trudge back up the trail and watched until he disappeared into the swirling snow. I tried to ignore the knot of anxiety in my chest. He'd be fine. He knew these mountains. Knew what he was doing. He'd be fine.
"Come on," I said to Amanda, taking her arm. "Let's get back to the group. Nice and slow, okay?"
We walked together, Amanda's breathing labored but steady. The group had slowed to wait for us, and Shane dropped back to check on Amanda.
"You guys work really well together," I said, watching how he monitored Amanda's breathing, while Neil helped one of the slower hikers, and Kevin scanned the tree line like he expected threats.
"We're brothers," Shane said simply. "We take care of each other. Always have. And now that includes you."
"I just met you yesterday."
"Doesn't matter. Sam claimed you. That makes you family." He smiled at my expression. "That's how it works with us. We don't do things halfway. When we commit, we commit. Sam's decided you're his, which means you're ours to protect too."
The easy acceptance made my throat tight.
"Thank you," I managed.
"Don't thank me yet," Kevin said with a grin. "Wait until you see what a pain in the ass we all are."
We continued down the trail, the pace steady but manageable. I kept looking back, watching for Sam.
"He'll catch up," Neil said, noticing my backward glances. "Probably already has the inhaler and is on his way back."
I nodded, trying to believe it. Trying to ignore the anxiety coiling in my chest every time I looked back and didn't see him. Ahead, I could see the trail widening, the trees thinning. The parking lot and the base camp wasn't far now. Maybe another fifteen minutes at this pace.
We were going to make it.
That's when the sky changed.
Not gradually. Not with warning. One moment we were walking through light snow, and the next, the world disappeared.
A wall of white slammed into us. Wind, snow, and chaos came from nowhere. The temperature dropped so fast I could feel it through my layers.
"What's happening?" someone shouted.
"Secondary system," Shane yelled back. "Weather service missed it. We need to hustle.”
"What about Sam?" I shouted, looking back toward where he should have been. But there was nothing. Just white chaos and howling wind.
"He'll find shelter." Kevin grabbed my shoulder, his face close to mine so I could hear. "Sam knows what to do. But we need to get to shelter at the bottom as fast as we can."
The group stumbled forward, Kevin and Neil practically dragging some people. The visibility wasworse than yesterday, worse than anything I'd experienced. Every step was treacherous, every direction looked the same.
I held onto Amanda with one hand, held onto the person in front of me with the other, and tried not to think about Sam somewhere behind us in this nightmare.
He'd be okay. He had to be okay. He knew these mountains, knew how to survive.
