Page 29 of The Mission

“Have you butt-dialed me? Not that I’m complaining.”

“No,” Conrad managed. “I’ve fallen.”

“What? Where? Are you okay?”

“Top of the Turmwiese.”

“The top? Where at the top? Are you injured?”

“No injuries. I’m on the left of the chairlift. I fell off-piste. I’m slowly sidestepping my way back up, but I’m really tired.”

“Oh God. Don’t take any risks. I’m coming.”

“You don’t need to come. You can’t help me up. I just wanted you to know where I was.”

“So I can retrieve your body? Good idea. Shit! Horrible thing to say because now I’m terrified. I’ll call Ski Patrol. The mountain’s closed.”

“No need to call them. I have to get myself out of this. I can ski down.”I hope.

“Conrad! Please be careful. I can’t… Please!”

“I’ll be fine. See you tonight.” Conrad put his phone away and pulled his glove back on.

Talking to Arlo had given him the morale boost he’d needed. He summoned more energy from somewhere and made a little more progress. He’d never had to work his way up anything this steep before. If he fell again, he really wasn’t sure he could climb out without help. Could they drop a rope and haul him up?

The snow was still falling thickly and the light was fading. He didn’t want to ski down in visibility as low as this but there was no choice.One last push.Think about Christmas with Arlo and his family. Do not let yourself fall!

He was so close to the top, but not close enough to risk throwing himself at it only for the snow to collapse under him and send him plummeting, so he kept going and going until he felt he could risk dropping sideways.Please!When he found firm snow under him, he could have cried.

He squirmed away from the edge, and lay for a while with his heart hammering, cold seeping into his bones. When he pushed himself up, his legs were shaking. He called Arlo again.

“Are you out?” Arlo asked.

“I’m okay. I’m on the level now. Safe. Except the chair lift has stopped working so I’ll definitely have to ski down to the cable car.”

“I’ve been trying to get them to restart that lift but the wind’s picked up and they’re being awkward. Sure you’re all right? They want to know if they should come and get you.”

“I’m fine. As long as the cable car is still working.”

“Yes, it is. I’ll be waiting. Snowplough. Don’t take any risks. No jumps. No back flips. Be careful.”

“See you soon.” Conrad looked over at the marker poles. The one that he’d hit lay flat on the edge of the slope and didn’t look in line with the rest. Had it been moved closer to the edge? Mark wouldn’t… No, surely not. But when he slid over to have a look, not too close because there was no way he could climb up again, one of the standing poles wasn’t in line with the others. He’d tell someone when he got down. Mark’s work or not, it was still dangerous.

It was a slow, cautious descent. He didn’t snowplough but made shallow turns, kept his speed low and stopped every now and again to make sure he was on the right track. When he saw the cable car station shining in the gloom, he was so relieved, he caught an edge and fell. This time it was just a matter of pushing to his feet and skiing on.

Rurik was waiting with Arlo who threw his arms around him. “Oh God, oh God,” he kept saying.

“Do you need any medical attention?” Rurik asked.

“No, I’m just tired and cold.”

Conrad clipped off his skis and picked them up.

Rurik took them off him. “Let me carry them.”

Conrad didn’t argue. When he was sitting in the cable car, Arlo snuggled up to him. Twelve minutes to get to the bottom and Conrad was getting colder and colder.

“You’re white,” Rurik said. “So what happened?”

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