Page 3 of Saved By the Soldier

I hear the crackle of the radio. "Luke, are you there Luke?"

It's midday, and the snow is still falling. I grab the radio. "Frank, what's going on?"

"Luke, you know that woman I told you about?"

"Yeah, the one who thought it was a good idea to stay in a tent on the mountain in a snowstorm?"

"Yeah, that one." The radio crackles again.

"What about her?"

"She hasn't checked in. I asked her to check in every morning, just so that we know she's okay and we don't need to rescue her. She said she would, but she hasn't. I'm worried about her being in a tent in the cold. Any chance if I can get her coordinates, can you go and find her and make sure she's okay?"

"Sure, give me the coordinates and I'll go and see if she's okay. I'll help her back down to safety."

"Keep safe and thanks, Luke. I know you're okay up in your cabin." It crackles some more, and I lose the signal.

"Shit he didn't give me the coordinates."

I put on my snow gear, so that I can stay warm when I'm out in the cold.

The radio crackles and the coordinates come through. I write them down and then check which direction I need to go.

Once I'm out in the snow, I take a deep breath of the cold air. It's not letting up. The snow is swirling around me, making it hard to see where the paths are. The further I get away from the cabin, the more adrenaline rushes through my body. I need this so much. I need to be out there helping people survive.

I get further and further into the forest. She had made it a good way up the mountain if the coordinates were correct. I get there and don't find anything. There were signs that someone pitched a tent, there's a section that doesn't have a lot of snow on it, and there has been some snowfall on the blank ground too.

"Where the fuck has she gone?" I can only assume she packed up today and went back down the mountain. That's when I see the tracks leading further up the mountain.

"God she's a stubborn bitch, that's for sure." I follow the tracks as long as I can. They've been covered with more snowfall.

Shit, what am I going to do? I use the radio and contact Frank.

"Frank, it's Luke. I can't find the woman. It looks like she packed up this morning and continued up the mountain."

"Stubborn woman," he says.

"All I can do is wait to see where she is. Let me see if there are new coordinates." I can hear him shuffling away from the radio, then he comes back two minutes later.

"I've lost service because of the snowfall. You can keep trying if you want, I don't want you to be in danger though, Luke, your mom would kill me." He laughs and I do too. He knows my mom well.

"I'll keep going up in the direction that I think she was going and see if I can find her. I'll keep in touch, Frank." I turn the radio off and stick it in my back pocket. I need to find this woman before she freezes to death.

An hour later, there's still no sign of her. I need to go back to the cabin to warm up and eat and then I'll try again.

This is why I never date. If there are stubborn women around who like to take risks like this one does, then I don't want one. Ever.

3

EMMA

"Fuck,"I shout when I wake up. The tent is almost on top of me. Not that big. I realize I shouldn't shout. I don't know if Viktor and his team are nearby. I wonder if they stuck it out or went back down to the town. I know him, though, and I know he won't give up. He'll be back today. I need to keep on moving up so that I'm harder to find and also I think that's where the wolves are going to be. Climbing out of the tent, I roll it up, put it in the bag, and attach it to my backpack. I'm so glad I did Girl Guides all those years ago. I grab a protein bar and a bottle of water from my bag and eat that on the way up the mountain.

The snow is falling heavily. It wasn't this bad when I went to sleep. I wonder if I should just abandon the mission and go back down to town. I have a feeling that the Blue Wolves are here. I don't know why I feel it, but I do, and I’m never someone who backs away from a story when it starts to get tough. Never.

It's getting harder to walk through the snow, though. I only have my hiking boots on, and I didn't pack any waterproofs, so my trousers are getting soaked. I'll probably die of hypothermia out here. After about an hour, I can smell burning wood. I walktoward that smell. Is there someone living here? Up this far in the mountains? Surely not.

But as I get closer to the smell, I see the smoke coming out of a chimney, and then the roof is visible. It's a beautiful log cabin. It's like something you would see on a box of chocolates or in a movie.