Page 1 of Feathers and Thorns
Enara’s and Baztien’s bodies were crushed together under the snow, the oxygen almost depleted. They had minutes left.
“Baz, I’m scared,” Enara whimpered as she tried to shift, stopping when snow filled the space she had just been occupying.
“Look at me,” he said, giving her a small smile. “I won’t lie to you; we may not get out of this, but if we don’t, I’m glad I’m here with you. If we’re lucky, it will be like falling asleep.”
“I love you,” she whispered quietly.
“I love you, too.”
Silence.
Death wrapped her arms around them in a frozen embrace. They closed their eyes, pressing their foreheads together and took their last shallow breaths.
“I’m coming, guys. Hold on,” Jai yelled from above.
They did not respond.
He clawed at the snow, his thin gloves doing little to protect his hands from the icy shards. They sliced into his fingers like pieces of shattered glass as he dragged the frozen ground away from the tip of Enara’s staff, which had embedded itself vertically from where they sat, barely protruding above ground. He was lucky to have spotted it.
“Guys, I’m almost there!” he yelled again.
“Jai?” Baz asked weakly.
“Yeah, buddy, I’m coming!”
“Thank the Maker!” Enara cried.
Jai dug down another foot or so then let out a sigh of relief when his hand brushed against Baz’s fingertips. He was lying on his side with Enara next to him, his hand extended, holding onto the staff’s handle.
Jai widened the hole to allow them to breathe, and they sucked in the frostbitten air, thanking their lucky stars. Then he got Baz up into a semi-seated position to help move the snow around. After about twenty minutes, they both crawled free.
The avalanche had carried them into a tree well. A few more minutes, and they would have suffocated.
“Well, now we’re even,” Jai said, slapping Baztien on the back.
“Don’t mention it,” he replied, rubbing his shoulders to fight off the chill.
“How did you escape the avalanche?” Enara asked, blowing warm air onto her hands.
The tracker pointed to an overhang jutting up near the cliff’s edge. “It was terrifying. I almost didn’t make it. I pushed off the log and grabbed on right before it went over the edge. All the debris crashed right over me.”
“That’s crazy,” Enara said, eyes wide.
“There’s something else, too. We’re closer than I thought. I saw kestrels circling over there”—he pointed—“just past that ridge. We should check it out.”
“I’m with you, man, but we should regroup first,” Baz replied.
“Yeah,” Enara agreed. “My pack ripped off when I was holding on to Baz. Most of our med supplies are gone. All we have left is some antiseptic and a few bandages that I stuffed into yours.”
“Shit.” Jai kicked a chunk of ice and watched it roll down the hill. “Okay, let’s take a moment to rest then get to the ridge. We can make a plan from there.”
Baz and Enara nodded, and then Enara handed them each a piece of dried fruit from Baztien’s pack. They would need the energy, but it was tough to chew, making their jaws ache.
“You know, I’m sick of Mother Nature trying to kill us,” Baz commented, flashing back to their time in the tunnels.
“I think that’s something we can all agree on, man,” Jai replied, straightening his jacket as they trudged toward the ridge.
“It does seem like she has it out for us,” Enara said thoughtfully.