“Are you okay, Ange?” she asked softly.
Angela smiled. “As well as can be expected considering I no longer have any personal belongings with me.” She drew a breath. “My passport, phone, purse. All of my belongings got blown up with the jet.” Her voice caught. “None of us have eaten for hours, yet we’ve had to walk, and walk, and walk.”
Nina swallowed at the truth of that. “Not to mention build a snow cave.”
“Don’t remind me. My arms still ache from helping build that thing.”
“Me too, and not sure how much more walking I can do to be honest.” Nina squinted at Jake up ahead. His phone lay in his hand at his side; she’d seen him checking it every few minutes. She glanced at Angela. “This weather’s killing me.”
Angela peered at her. “Your nose is peeling.”
“I know, but my head’s feeling better.” She managed a smile. “The Saranax’is doing its job.”
Angela forced the zipper of her jacket further up her neck until it almost strangled her. Taking her asthma pump from her pocket, she inhaled twice before putting it away.
Nina remembered vividly the concern she’d felt when Angela had placed it in her trouser pocket instead of her clutch bag as she usually did. How grateful she was that Angela had done that, as no doubt Angela must also be.
“My signal’s getting stronger,” Jake announced suddenly, his voice ringing with excitement. “But it’s spotty. I don’t know if it’ll hold long enough to put a call through.”
They all crowded around him. Nina looked down at her phone and blew out a frustrated breath. Still nothing.
“Mine’s flickering,” Neil reported, “but I’ve only got one bar of battery left.”
“That’s something, at least,” Parker said. Though the rest of them continued to stand, he sat down with a heavy sigh, seeming unconcerned of the snow’s wetness beneath him. “I’ve got a whole bunch of client meetings arranged and no way to get through to them to let them know what’s happened.”
Nina winced. She couldn’t think about client meetings right now. Instead she performed slow squats, needing to loosen the tightness at the back of her knees. She ignored Justin who smirked as she did them. Despite his continued attempt at bravado, she'd heard the grunts he'd tried to suppress and knew he hurt just like the rest of them.
She watched Jake rub Emily’s back and Neil rub Rita’s, and tried not to be envious. Her back could use a rub.
“Let’s try heading further out,” Jake said after a few moments. “The signal’s still not strong enough.”
There was grumbling among the group, but everyone knew they had no choice.
“Are you keeping track of how to get back?” Parker asked Jake.
Jake shot him a look of disgust. “Why is all the responsibility being put on me? You all have eyes, ears and legs don’t you? We all need to know our bearings, and not rely on one, or even two, people.”
In grim silence they set off, and fifteen minutes later arrived at a lake. Fifteen feet wide and oblong-shaped, it was frozen solid.
“A better signal here.” Jake didn’t bother to hide his relief. He immediately pulled off his right glove and began punching in numbers.
Taking a deep breath of hope, Nina took out her phone again.
She had a signal.
She screamed in delight, making Angela and Emily jump. “Sorry.” She laughed at herself. “Sorry,” she repeated, “I’m just excited because I finally have a signal.” She dialed Hazel’s mobile number immediately, but it disconnected after a couple of seconds. She frowned. “I can’t get through.”
“Try the number again.” Jake held his own phone to his ear. “It might take a few attempts before you get through,” he told her, and looked around at the rest of them. “How’s everyone else’s?” he asked them.
“Mine’s getting there,” Neil answered. “I want to get a hold of Rita’s parents who are back in London.”
Angela said nothing, merely watching them all with pained eyes.
“I...I left mine in the cave,” Justin suddenly admitted and flushed with embarrassment when everyone looked at him with a mixture of disbelief and confusion.
“Don’t worry about it,” Jake drawled with deceptive understanding as he redialed a number that Nina estimated was the third time. “None of us are relying on your brain cells to get us through this.”
Justin flushed again. “If you want to say something–”
“Don’t start arguing again, you two, please,” Parker pleaded. “Don’t we have enough problems without fighting one another?”
“Do you think we’re doing the wrong thing trying to call anyone?” Angela asked tautly. “Jake, you’ve said you can’t give an accurate location of where we are.”
Everyone stopped and looked at one another.
Jake took his phone from his ear to meet Angela’s worried gaze. “We have to let people know what’s happened, Angela.”
“What for? To really worry them and tell them that we’re stranded and don’t ‘know where we are?” A tear slipped down Angela’s cheek. “Well I’m glad I no longer have my phone.”
Nina stared at her friend. She hadn’t thought about it from that perspective, and her phone trembled in her hand.
Jake’s eyes held sympathy but his tone remained determined. “It’s either that or die out here without anyone ever knowing what happened.” His gaze whipped around the group. “Is that what you all want?”
Something snapped inside Nina. “Must you mention the word die? No one else is going to die,” she said angrily.
“I’m only ever optimistic when, and if, there’s a logical reason to be, Nina.”
“For goodness’ sake, Jake,” Parker began hoarsely. “Give us some hope.”
Jake’s expression grew hard. “I’m not here to give you anything.”
“I’m not dying out here.” Justin had gone as white as the snow around them. “No way.”
“Exactly. We have to fight and get through this,” Neil reminded them all. “That’s making contact with our people in London. We have to have hope. We have to stay positive.”
Nina redialed Hazel’s number. Once again, the phone cut off. She almost screamed in frustration.
Jake curved an arm across Emily’s shoulders. Emily had remained quiet and pensive throughout the exchange. “I’m going to keep trying to call Gwynne, my boss,” Jake clarified to the rest of the group. “The rest of you...well...that’s your call. Em and I don’t have family back in London to worry about.”
Nina’s throat tightened. “I’m not calling my sister to say goodbye.” She tightened her hand on her phone, strengthened her voice. “I’m calling her so she knows what’s happened.”
Parker’s hand shook as he scrolled through the menu on his own phone. He still sat on the snow, brows furrowed. “I won’t let this crisis be the last chapter on my life. My team needs to know what’s happened. There may be something they can do.”
“Do you have a signal?” Neil asked him.
“A faint one. I’m going to see if I can put a call through to the hotel.”
Emily gnawed her bottom lip. “The guys at the office will all likely be at the weekly meeting at this time,” she told Jake. “You’ll need to leave a message.”
“I know. I’ll leave a message with Sam; she’ll get it to them when they’re back. Sam.” His voice turned crisp and businesslike as he reached the answering machine. “It’s Jake here.” His words caused everyone to stare in hope and relief. They all watched as he spoke quickly but clearly, giving as much detail as he could, which wasn’t much.
Several feet away, Parker pressed a hand to his forehead in despair.
“You couldn’t get through?” Nina asked him. She continued to dial Hazel. Each time she did, it disconnected after initially connecting.
“The line kept breaking.” Parker’s eyes watched Jake. “But at lease Jake’s making headway.”
“We can always try Jake’s phone if –” Nin
a broke off abruptly, a jolt of exhilaration spearing through her when a beep sounded in her ear. She’d finally gotten through. Her heart leaped with exhilaration. “I’ve gotten through, Ange. I–”
“It has not been possible to connect your call,” said a flat, unemotional pre-programmed female voice recording in her ear. Please try again later.
Chapter 14
––––––––
Nina lifted her arm to hurl the phone toward the mountains, and she would have succeeded if Angela hadn’t caught hold of her wrist.
“What are you doing?” Then Angela saw the despair plastered across Nina’s face and she bit her lip. “You didn’t get through after all.”
Nina stared at a point to the left of Angela’s shoulder. Get a grip, she told herself. “No – I...” Her voice fractured. “I thought...I thought I had.”
“It might improve later in the day,” Angela said.
There seemed as much chance of that as a supermarket springing up beside their snow cave. “It needs charging. I have a charger, but there’s no socket out here.” She slipped the phone back into her pocket and then clenched her hands together. Her composure threatened to slip, and she had to remind herself to keep it together. Several feet from her, Parker sat staring straight ahead.
“Are you going to try Alex?” Angela asked her.
Nina merely looked at her, and Angela nodded. “I see.”
Nina looked at Jake who had ended his call. “You got through? That’s great.” Her eyes stayed glued to his phone.
“Yeah. I left a message for Sam, our company’s receptionist.” Sitting down, he rubbed the back of his neck wearily. “The line kept breaking up, but we have an emergency code we use when things go wrong. It’s the first time I’ve ever had to use it. I believe Sam understood what I was trying to say.”
Relief made Nina lightheaded. “So she’ll get help?”
Everyone held their breath.
“Help?” He snorted. “I couldn’t give Sam our location. She was horrified.”
Shoulders slumped around the group. Emily closed her eyes.
Nina took a deep breath and reminded herself that she wasn't supposed to panic. “What did she say then, specifically? What can she do to help us?” Her voice had risen shrilly but she couldn’t help it.
His gaze turned to the mountains. “She’ll raise an alarm. She asked if anyone had been hurt.”
In the ensuing silence that followed, Nina glanced at Emily briefly then exchanged a pained looked with Angela. “At least someone knows now,” she told them. “I couldn’t get through to my sister on my phone. Can I use yours?”
His eyes smiled at the mention of her sister, but he shook his head regretfully. “Sorry. I need to conserve the battery. If the team can’t get through to me–”
“I understand,” she whispered.
“I’ve tried to call Rita’s parents, but it kept cutting out,” Neil said. “It drained the battery. It’s dead.”
“Let’s head back to the cave then,” Neil suggested.
––––––––
Seeing the snow cave again was a welcome sight to Nina. The bright red jumper Jake had also tied around the tall pole was a bright splash of color against the white background of snow. It drew attention, which, Nina knew, had been the purpose.
Despite the cold, by tacit agreement they didn’t retire to their individual rooms. Jake went and brought out the two mats they’d used immediately after the crash and placed them outside the cave for them to sit on.
“I need water,” Rita said hoarsely, rubbing her throat.
Nina sat beside her. “Me, too.” Her throat was scratchy with thirst and lack of saliva.
“This is the only water we have access to.” Neil indicated the snow around them.
Nina watched along with the rest of them as Neil set Luke on his lap. He balled up chunks of snow and let it drip between Luke’s small, puckered lips. Luke laughed as he dribbled it, seeming to think it was a game, and his chubby legs kicked out as he swallowed.
Justin shook his head in disbelief. “Great.”
Seated on the second mat, Jake stretched out his legs. With a grim sigh he emulated Neil, scooping up snow between his gloved hands and swallowing it. “Dig a bit before you drink it,” he advised.
With little choice, the rest of them did as he suggested, and Nina dug in the snow patch beside her hip. The snow melted easily between her cupped gloved hands. The cold of it hit the back of Nina’s throat with a severity that made her gasp. It was tasteless and painful as it made its way down, but it was the only ‘water’ available. Drinking snow in order to survive, Nina thought in disbelief. Which of them could have foreseen this a day ago? For a split second, Alex’s face popped into her mind and she smiled grimly. He’d called her a princess before she’d left. Yet he wouldn’t have been able to cope with an hour of this, let alone a whole night.
The only one not drinking was Emily. She sat rigid looking off into the distance.
After a while, Parker lit a cigarette, and at that moment, Nina almost wished she smoked too. It would have taken the edge off the anxiety. Damaged her lungs, of course, but what was a little give and take?
“How’s the little guy doing?” Parker asked Neil. The cigarette dangled from his mouth. “He’s been a star.”
Jake shot Parker a look as if to say: some children know how to behave. A shame yours don’t.
Neil continued to drip melted snow into Luke’s mouth, his own mouth tight with tension. “So far so good, but this can’t be good for him. He needs solid food.”
Beside them, Rita gathered snow too, grimacing with every chilly mouthful.
“Emily?” Nina wiped a hand across her mouth. “Why don’t you drink something? You must be thirsty.”
Emily shifted her gaze to her. Dark circles lay under her eyes, her mouth lay grim and flat, and her hair remained hidden under the hood of her soiled ski suit. She stared blankly at Nina. “What?”
Jake paused. “Drink some water, Em. We’ll go back into the cave in a bit.”
She gave a soft murmur in response, more for his benefit than for her own, Nina thought, and began scooping snow with her gloved hands.
His eyes on Emily, Parker finished his cigarette and let the used stub drop to the ground where it sizzled and quickly extinguished. “Maybe you’d better go and get Hugh, Justin.”
Great, Nina thought and glanced over at Neil who met her gaze with one of distaste.
“He’s probably sleeping,” Justin said, but he rose, wiping the remaining snow off his trousers.
“If he is, then wake him up,” Parker said. “He needs water like the rest of us, doesn’t he? He doesn’t even know we’ve returned.”
Nina kept her eyes averted when Justin returned with Hugh several minutes later. They came out bickering at one another like two old ladies. Justin took most of his brother’s weight as he helped Hugh toward them.
“I need something for my leg,” Hugh moaned when they finally reached them.
Nina studied him. He looked awful, even worse than he had before they’d left to find a signal. Sweat-dampened hair lay plastered to a face flushed with pain and hollowed from lack of any fluids. His eyes, half-closed, sat pinched on his gray face. He collapsed onto the mat beside Parker with a grunt of pain. “Aren’t there any meds?” His gloved hands clenched his right leg.
“Jake?” Parker began hesitantly. “Do we have–?”
“No. I’ve told you that already.”
Hugh moaned again, his eyes rolling to the back of his head in agony. “Please. I think it’s broken.”
Unmoved, Jake continued collecting and drinking melted snow.
“It’s probably just a bruise,” Justin scoffed. “Don’t be a girl.”
Sweat patches continued to gather on Hugh’s forehead and ran down the left side of his face. “I don’t think so. Something fell on it when the jet went down. I think it was the chair in the cockpit.”
“Oh, so
you’re amnesia has ended?” Jake mocked. He glanced at Neil in disbelief.
Neil could only shake his head. “Rita and I are heading inside,” he announced. “Luke needs feeding again.” He and Rita rose, and without sparing Hugh a glance, began heading back. Luke’s sleepy head lolled on Neil’s shoulder.
“A chair fell on your leg?” Parker shaded his eyes from the sun as he studied his youngest son. “For heaven’s sake, Hugh, why didn’t you say so before?” He reached over and carefully lifted the right trouser leg of Hugh’s trouser up. When he swore, everyone turned to look. Even Neil and Rita paused to come back over, curiosity getting the better of them. Neil winced when he saw Hugh’s leg. Rita sucked in a breath and looked away, swallowing convulsively at the sight.
And what a sight it was. Hugh’s calf was a myriad of blue and black and bent at an odd angle. Fresh blood eased from the wound while bone showed clearly through the torn skin. It had begun to swell, too; the skin around it had turned a pale green, fluid trickling out.
“Jeez.” Justin sucked air through his teeth. “The bone’s out of place.” He looked at his brother in disbelief. “How the heck have you been walking on it? You’ve probably made it worse.”
Nina was no medic, but even she could see it was bad. Her stomach rolled with queasiness.
Angela and Emily had leaned over to inspect the leg; their expressions more curious than concerned. “His bone’s sticking out.” With a twist of her lips, Angela rose to her feet. “A very messy business. I’m going inside.”
“We’re coming with you,” Neil said, and they turned and left. A few minutes later, they’d disappeared into the warmth of the cave.
Emily shifted her eyes away from Hugh’s leg. “It’s broken,” she said with certainty. “He shouldn’t have come out here. Justin’s right. Moving with a broken leg only makes it worse.”
“What can be done?” Parker asked with desperation as Hugh continued to moan into the mat, his face contorting with pain against it. “I’m not a doctor.” Parker turned beseeching eyes on Emily. “I know you’re trained in first aid for your job. Can you...help him?”
Spiral and Torn Books 1 and 2 of The Salzburg Saga Trilogy Page 11
