Dangerous Games - Gold

by Adele Huxley

  Rebel hugged herself. “After they shot that poor guy, they tripled the guards inside.”

  “They came in and shoved everyone around a bit for good measure,” Hunter grumbled. He spit on the floor in disgust, obviously frustrated he hadn’t been able to push back.

  “Thankfully, they thought he’d gotten out through the front door. They didn’t think to check the integrity of the walls,” Phoenix added.

  Penny had to pick her words carefully. “So you’ve been in here the whole time?” Meaning, You haven’t been able to get to the button?

  He nodded and gave her a wide-eyed look. “I also told them about finding all our stuff ransacked, and the satellite phone smashed to pieces.”

  “Right, yeah,” she replied slowly.

  “Glad you made it back,” Miah said, giving her a pat on the shoulder. “Thanks for trying.”

  The others muttered similar sentiments, well, everyone but Hadley who pouted in the corner.

  She and Phoenix slipped off as the conversation dwindled. Using the guise of a couple reuniting, they huddled together in the corner away from the others. They shared some genuine embraces, but it was more to give them privacy.

  “Two things,” Penny started, her eyes darting back and forth between his. “I know the identity of a major player in this whole shit-show.”

  “That’s amazing! Who is—”

  Penny jumped in. “But it means nothing if we don’t survive the next couple hours.”

  She quickly filled him in on everything that’d transpired during their time apart. Michel’s assistant, the weird code phrase, the search for a missing drive.

  Phoenix held her tightly in his arms. For a moment, she felt his bravado slip. He was vulnerable, scared, and turning to her for comfort. If only for a few moments, she understood what value there was in opening yourself up to another person.

  “We need to get to that button,” Penny whispered in his ear as she blinked back the wetness in her eyes.

  “And we need to find that USB drive,” he added. “What if Charlie—”

  “I know, I had that thought, but here’s the thing. I heard them tell her they’d brought everyone in, but we know that isn’t true.”

  “And Charlie was one of the ones they did take away, wasn’t he?”

  “That’s what Claire said,” she replied. Without thinking, she cracked the knuckles on her right hand before freezing and looking up at Phoenix. “Sorry. I know you hate that.”

  “It’s alright,” he smiled weakly.

  A few beats of silence pulsed between them.

  “Could I just do the other hand real—”

  “Oh my God, whatever,” he laughed.

  The rare moment of levity was needed. They leaned against the wall of the barn and observed the small enclosure.

  Most of the athletes were sitting in little groups. Some stood, their arms crossed, pacing or rocking. No one was in tears, although the tension was palpable. It was over a day since they’d first been taken. Some were hungry, all were freezing, and there was no end in sight.

  “Plan A is to get to the SOS button,” Phoenix said, almost talking to himself.

  “Assuming it’s still there.”

  “Why wouldn’t it be?”

  “I have no idea, but life seems to be shitting on me recently so I want to be prepared for the worst.”

  Phoenix glanced at her from the corner of his eye. “Have I ever told you what a perky, pleasant person you are?”

  She ignored the dig. “Plan B is to figure out who they’re looking for before they do.”

  “Well, we know it isn’t anyone on our team because of—”

  “You can’t assume that,” she insisted. “All I was told was there was a suspected informant on Team USA. We know of one. There could be two, or seven, or—”

  “Shit. Yeah, I get it. There could be another one among us and they might not be the one with this USB drive.”

  “Or even in here. They could be back at the Lodge or in the Village.”

  As the reality of the situation sank in, Penny was grateful to have him by her side. Even though a tiny voice still reminded her she’d placed her trust in the wrong people before, her mind was calm.

  * * *

  Penny had rushed back to the barn thinking the guards were two minutes behind her. The urgency and anger she’d heard in that woman’s voice made her think they’d act immediately. She hadn’t prepared to stand around waiting for hours.

  Oddly enough, the boredom and exhaustion did mute the overall fear coursing through their bodies. There was only so long a person could exist in a heightened state of panic.

  Penny and Phoenix, along with most everyone else, had sunk to the floor. With her head resting against his chest, a comforting arm around her shoulder, she’d even drifted in and out of sleep. But like an alarm bell, the first trills of an odd whistle stirred her to full alertness.

  “What was that?” Phoenix whispered. Others perked up, looking around.

  It sounded again. This time she recognized it was a person whistling the first couple notes of a tune. Phoenix jumped to a crouching position. “Maybe we can get to the button.”

  “Maybe,” she replied in a hushed voice. “Watch their reactions.”

  Anything new or different posed a potential threat, but she knew this could be what she’d been waiting for.

  Four new guards took turns walking up and down the small path between the stalls. They paused at the entrance with each pass and whistled. It was strangely ominous.

  Hunger, fear, anger. It’s a potent mix, even when being held against your will. The new behavior sparked a ripple of discontent through the athletes. The whistling felt taunting. Everyone rose to their feet, muttering.

  Phoenix and Penny stood with them. The tension was thick, almost electric. She guessed the guards felt it too, but with the sense of protection their weaponry provided, they didn’t show it.

  “Shut up!” a voice cried out from a stall to their left. Mumbles of agreement rose up.

  The whistling continued. A guard stopped in front of their pen. Whistled. Watched.

  Through the jostling, Penny searched for any bizarre behavior. A hand gesture, a look, anything that could possibly be a signal back.

  The guard whistled again.

  A flurry of movement across from them caught her attention. It was Anna, Elle’s petite yet slightly terrifying teammate. She was coughing in a rapid, almost fake way.

  Cough. Coooooooough. Cough.

  Shaun was at her side, concerned. At first, he looked to be worried about her sudden fit of coughing. But as Penny watched, she realized he was speaking to her. She ignored him, physically moving him to the side. Each time the guard at the door whistled, she was struck with another fit. Signal or was it coincidence?

  Penny elbowed Phoenix in the ribs much harder than she meant to. “Over there,” she hissed.

  The guard stopped to confer with another for a moment. They switched positions. He whistled. Anna coughed.

  “Holy shit,” Phoenix whispered.

  Penny read the situation instantly. Because of the rising unease in the barn, there was a lot more chatter than normal. Anna was petite, hidden all the way in the back. It was clear the guards had heard a response but were unable to locate from where. And she knew she couldn’t bring too much attention to herself.

  “We have to get to her.” But as Penny stepped forward, the worst happened.

  The pressure had built too high.

  The guards had pushed too far.

  “We’re hungry!” A voice shouted.

  Another at the far end of the barn shouted in French. They sensed a shift in power.

  The group in their stall surged forward toward the guard, shouting demands. Standing at the back, Penny and Phoenix were able to skirt around the side of it. But they were helpless as Anna jumped into the throng. The diversion was enough to get her closer to the guards.

  “Get back!” the guard yelled. His ampli
fied and distorted voice filled with fear.

  His cry had little effect on the crowd. Rising shouts rang out. They were two seconds away from a fully fledged riot and all Penny wanted to do was reach Anna before it was too late.

  “Get back!” the masked man screamed again.

  Penny instinctively ducked as a burst of gunfire exploded at the far end of the barn. Panicked screams filled the air. In the confusion, the other guards opened fire, peppering the ceiling with rapid bursts.

  Chapter 24

  Phoenix lost grip of Penny’s arm as everyone surged away from the gunshots. Their clear path to Anna was swallowed up in an instant. Penny’s head disappeared in the mass and for a moment, visions of trampling filled his imagination.

  “Penny!” he shouted over the melee.

  He couldn’t touch her. He couldn’t see her. But by God, he could hear her. “She’s getting away!”

  Anger and fear thrummed through his muscles. He pushed and clawed his way through the crowd to reach her, all the while she was doing the same to get to the spy.

  Another burst of gunfire, this time from the man guarding their stall. Phoenix ducked but didn’t drop to the floor like most others, giving him a slight advantage.

  He looked up just as Penny reached out to grab Shaun’s arm. His pinched, hawkish features contorted in confusion.

  In the panic of everything, Phoenix didn’t understand the sensation at first. A low vibration registered in the back of his mind and assessed as not being an immediate threat. Without much thought, he figured they were moving a tank or other heavy machinery outside.

  Then the earth shifted violently beneath his feet and a pit in his stomach opened up.

  A new chorus of cries erupted around him, confused, terrified. When he noticed the confused guard, he knew something was terribly wrong.

  He forced his way through the petrified crowd to reach Penny’s side.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Shaun demanded of her.

  She was desperately scrambling at Anna’s pockets, shouting and cursing. “Where is it? I know you have it!”

  Anna feebly swatted her away, unable to fight off both her and Shaun’s attempts to keep her in place.

  Phoenix tried to pull her off, but she thrashed from his grip. “I bet you shoved it up your treasonous snatch, didn’t you!”

  A peel of thunder echoed against the surrounding mountains. Rather than diminish and fade away with each roll, the sound only grew. It was the only thing that stopped Penny’s search.

  She, like many others, turned to locate the source of the bizarre thunder. Like a rattlesnake's warning or howl of a wolf, it struck a central chord of fear.

  Phoenix had heard a similar sound once before when he was younger. He’d taken a back-country safety course over a long weekend. Part of the training involved avalanche awareness and his lucky group happened to be the last of the season, meaning the spring snows were prime for triggering.

  For fun, their guides had gathered the group at the bottom of an open valley at a safe distance. They stared up at two high peaks, the sides of which they’d raced down countless times. A narrow shute formed between the two, a spot the pubescent boys had dubbed ‘The Cleavage.’

  It was down this natural path he witnessed his first avalanche. Triggered, expected, prepared for… and utterly terrifying. The roaring sound of it was like a predator. Nothing could stop it. Nothing could outrun it. Most of the other kids on the course cheered and whooped with excitement. But Phoenix had been chilled to the core. The message hit loud and clear.

  “That was an earthquake,” he said.

  Penny tried to pull away from him. “Yeah, so? I’ve got her!”

  He yanked her back violently. His ability to communicate beyond simple words was swallowed by fear. “Avalanche.”

  Her eyes widened. As if emphasizing his point, another peel of thunder bounced through the air around them.

  “Where? Here?” she asked.

  Phoenix wrapped his arms around her as tightly as he could. He tried to picture the surrounding landscape, to predict where it could come from. If it was heading right at them, they only had moments before it hit. Using his best guess, he put himself between it and her.

  Maybe I can save her from the worst of it.

  Chapter 25

  Snow has a smell. Phoenix always insisted snow in different parts of the world had distinctive scents. The snow in New York smelled icy and clean. Snow in Colorado reminded him of cotton candy, almost sweet and powdery. The snow that encompassed him at that moment was earthy, dirty.

  His head throbbed. With so many hard crashes in his life, it was as if like his body had a safe way to reboot. The speeds in alpine skiing meant any mistake or crash could end in catastrophic damage. The last thing he wanted to do was sit up quickly and make an already bad injury worse.

  With his eyes closed, he performed a quick internal scan of his body.

  Wiggle toes and fingers. Good. Legs? Careful… slowly… okay, no screaming pain there.

  Methodically he tested his limbs and range of motion until he felt confident nothing there was broken. He was reassured that at least if he could move his arms and legs, he’d avoided a paralyzing spinal injury. Hopefully.

  During the short moments it took for him to go through this body check, he became aware of two things; a heavy weight on his back and muffled screams around him. Neither of these things happened during a crash.

  Phoenix’s eyes snapped open and tried to make sense of an unfamiliar terrain.

  He was outside, yes, but not on the side of a mountain. People with bloodied faces crawled over piles of snow and bits of weathered timber. The nightmarish scene just wouldn’t click into place until a single thought, a sensation more than an image.

  His arms wrapped around Penny, his only concern protecting her.

  The avalanche crashed against him again, in a completely different and horrific way.

  Oh God, I’m crushing her!

  No longer caring about a career-ending injury, Phoenix scrambled to get free. Pumped with adrenaline, he pushed a section of the barn wall off his back, the weight he’d felt as he came to.

  “Penny!” He spun in circles looking for any sign of her in the snow at his feet. Her name joined the chorus of dozens of others.

  Like a tornado, there isn’t much sense in the devastation an avalanche leaves. One building remains upright while a couple feet to the left, utterly destroyed. It hits with the force of an explosion yet fills in gaps like flood water. The area around the compound was unrecognizable.

  “Penny!”

  Oh Jesus, no. Please, no.

  He dropped to his knees and clawed at the snow with his bare hands. He assumed she couldn’t have been pushed too far away, but if she were buried, she’d only have precious seconds to breathe.

  “Penny! Where are you?”

  He didn’t feel the pain in his hands. Ice shards scratched at his skin and embedded into the soft flesh under his nails. He only wanted to find her.

  “I’m over here, dipshit!” A voice called out.

  At first, he thought he’d imagined it but she cried out again. Blinking away tears he didn’t realize he’d been crying, he scanned the surrounding area. Penny was fifteen feet away on her knees, waving him over.

  He slipped and skidded over, staring at her as if she wasn’t real.

  Penny grabbed his shoulder and gave him a good shake. “It’s Rebel and Hadley. We think they’re trapped in an air pocket.”

  Phoenix snapped out of his daze. A part of him still believed it was all a horrible nightmare, but he was willing to participate anyway.

  Hunter appeared seemingly out of nowhere with a splintered board in his hand. Without warning, he plunged it into the snow with both hands and dug. It only took a few hard pulls before the board splintered to pieces.

  “Fuck!” he screamed, face turning red.

  Phoenix and Penny dove into the hole as he flew away to find another. Like a c
ouple of animals, the tunneled into the snow.

  On one swipe, Penny’s hand disappeared into the thick of it. A tiny gap appeared as she pulled it back. For a second, their eyes met. He knew from training, but she knew instinctively. This was the most dangerous part.

  “Careful! Hold your breath! Take a deep breath!” he shouted into the hole.

  Penny reached for his shoulders as Hunter flung himself forward with the board. “The whole thing is gonna collapse. You’ll beat the shit out of them if you use that.”

  He discarded it and plunged in with both hands.

  Like sand, the snow dropped away with increasing speed. As it loosened, it filled into the tiny amount of air Rebel and Hadley had to breathe.

  They dug quickly. Phoenix’s hand dragged along something fleshy. He reached in deeper and gasped as fingers closed around his.

  Frantic moments passed until they could dig both of them out. They emerged terrified yet unscathed.

  Hunter dove for Hadley. He pushed his way between her and everyone else, protectively checking her over for any injuries. She half-heartedly batted him away while the others collapsed to catch their breath.

  “Miah?” Rebel asked between gasps.

  Penny waved a finger in a general direction behind them. “I saw him over there. He’s fine.”

  Phoenix’s gaze continued to snap back to her every couple seconds. It was as if he couldn’t believe she was actually alive. The few short moments he thought the worst had happened were the most horrible of his life. He was surprised at the depths that anguish had sank.

  Penny seemed to sense how mixed up he was. She rocked up to her knees and wrapped her arms around him. “It’s okay. We’re all okay.”

  With a lump forming in his throat, he returned the hug with one hand. “I know,” he choked out.

  She yanked back, holding his shoulders with both hands and staring into his eyes. “We have to find Anna,” she snapped as if suddenly remembering. Before he could respond, she’d already jumped to her feet.

  Phoenix followed, still dazed and in shock. Chaos. That’s the only word for what unfolded around them. His stomach sank as he tracked the enormous pile of snow back up the mountain. The heavy snows combined with the warmer weather had led to a collapse of epic proportions. That road had to be completely blocked now, trapping everyone in the Lodge.