02-14-2022
5 Years Prior
The windows shook heavily again in their wooden frames and the flames in the fireplace winced and quavered against the ominous strength of the storm. Kaia pulled the blanket closer against her shoulders while she listened to Holly’s quiet snoring from the other room.
“How can she sleep so soundly”, she asked, wiping silent tears from her eyes. No one answered.
Around the small living room, her friends were lost in thought. Blowing snow obscured any view of the mountain, but at least they were safe in the hut, and no longer lost in the freezing, driving wind. And the memory caused her to burst into tears once again.
Drake reached out to her from the other side of the couch and placed a reassuring hand on her back.
“As soon as the storm lets up, even a little, we’ll find him. Ok? I promise”.
“It will be too late”, Kaia moaned, “Evan saved our lives, and we… we…”. The air in her lungs ached to be released, but her throat was so sore from screaming his name that it hurt.
“We left him out there!”
Kaia pulled the blanket over her head and screamed with all her might. She felt too hot and too cold all at once. She wanted to throw off the blanket, yet needed the comfort of something to hide her red, puffy eyes.
Drake huddled closer and pulled her into a tight embrace. His voice was husky, but firm, “Don’t you dare feel guilty about what Evander did out there! He saved our lives, Kaia! He's a trained professional. Andres, Cassidy and Sam are out there right now, scanning for his GPS and making sure he has oxygen. His watch is still relaying O2 Saturation levels and he’s hurting but he’s alive, Kaia. He’s going to survive. And we will survive because of him”.
“Drake, I’m not a child”, she fought back. "I just don’t know why the hell we’re in here, while they’re out in this god-forsaken storm! We should not have left him out there!”
Kaia stood from the comfort of the dilapidated couch, threw off the blanket and immediately winced at the pain shooting through her knee. Kjarsta jumped from a seat next to the fireplace and caught her before her knee gave way and she fell head long into the flames.
“Alright tiger”, she lovingly crooned, “I think it’s time you joined Holly in La-La-Land”.
Kaia’s eyes flashed wide for a brief second, “Kjarsta, don’t. Please. I need to be awake when they bring him here safely. It was my fault! I tried to push myself too hard. He told me not to, but I was so stupid. I made him fall”. And the tears came unbidden, once again. She felt a quick jab in her leg, but gone again before she even registered the intrusion.
“Trust me”, Kjarsta whispered lovingly, before settling Kaia back onto the couch. She looked up at the ceiling and ticked her head to the side. Was that fan always there? Suddenly, the quaint little cabin on the mountaintop seemed so huge, so vast in area that her mind couldn’t comprehend the space for all seven of her best friends. The logs of the walls, and ceiling seemed to press in on her, squeezing the air from her lungs and the pain from her legs, chest and shoulder.
“I do”, she breathed at Kjarsta, “I trust…” and the walls pressed further and sucked away her desire to be awake. ‘I think…” she laughed, “I think… I’ll… sleep” she sighed. And the world grew dark.
***
Kaia’s eyes fluttered awake and her hips felt as though a sumo wrestler had been sitting on her all night long. She braced a hand on the couch to help support her body and she pushed off with her lower legs, attempting to roll onto her other side. The sudden pain in her knee and surrounding muscles caused her to suck in her breath, begging the pain to subside. With little relief, she pushed through the pain, lifted her hips from the sagging cushion, flopped on to her other side and whimpered in agony as her top leg pressed on her injured knee.
A bob of blonde curly hair was immediately in her face, and she reached up her hands to brush the tickling strands from her eyes. “Holly, tie back your hair, for f*ck’s sake”, she admonished. But rather than disappearing, the blonde curls took over her entire vision and tickled her nose. She tried to push the feather-light locks from her sight, but the cascading curls were unrelenting.
“Pfft”, she exclaimed. “Can you at least get me coffee?” she breathed. With a loving press of soft lips to her forehead, the curls disappeared, only to be replaced by Drake’s rugged face, scratchy beard and all.
“Did you sleep ok?” he asked, genuinely concerned.
Kaia opened her eyes and the amount of light streaming through the windows seemed to taunt her lagging wakefulness. She struggled to release her arms from the blankets and yawned, from beneath a gaping cowl, and her voice dropped.
“You drugged me without my permission”, She accused him.
He sat back on the couch, trying his best not to disturb her legs. He bent at the waist and dropped his head into awaiting hands, resting on his knees. He sighed heavily and Kaia’s heart skipped a beat. It seemed to be doing that a lot lately.
Before Drake could raise his head and respond, Holly appeared at her side with a cup of piping hot coffee and set it on the end table next to the couch. She reached an arm around Kaia’s shoulders and carefully helped her into a sitting position. Kaia’s abdominal muscles strained at the effort of sitting, but Holly was quick to pile up supporting pillows at just the right angle.
“Thank you”, Kaia said, turning to reach for the cup of coffee. A searing pain shot through her side so abruptly that her breath caught in her throat and she was frozen in place. Drake looked up from his reverie and his deep brown eyes glistened.
“Let me”, he said, jumping from the couch and placing Kaia’s mug within reach of her outstretched hands. She noticed how disheveled he appeared. Drake hadn’t bothered to shave in a few days, and his clothes were rumpled. In fact, Kaia couldn't recall what clothes he had been wearing when they first reached the cabin, after ascending the mountain. How many days had it been?
Without warning, a shiver wracked her body and coffee sloshed over the edge of her mug. She pulled it close to her chest and reveled in the warmth emanating from the liquid. She closed her eyes and breathed in the scent of earth, caramel, and citrus. Placing the mug to her lips, she gently tipped the searing hot liquid into her mouth and let her tongue explore the flavours. At first, it was too hot to taste, but she felt rewarded by the pain, balanced somehow. Soon, the heat of the coffee dissipated and the mouthfeel was bold and surprisingly smooth. Without cream or sugar, she could feel the complexity of flavours on various parts of her tongue. A sharp, citrus tang hit the outer buds of her tongue, followed quickly by a soft sweetness that settled throughout her mouth. She sighed in appreciation.
She opened her eyes to see Drake staring intently at her face, his brows furrowed, and his mouth in a tight line.
“How is your knee?” he asked, his words and voice heavy and exaggerated.
“I’ll survive”, Kaia responded without intonation or inflection, sipping on her coffee and holding the mug tightly to her chest.
After another sip, she settled the mug back on the coffee table and addressed the room, “Have they returned with Evan?”
Silence.
“How long have I been asleep?” she asked, a little more softly.
Drake ran a cut and bruised hand through his tangled, tousled hair, hesitant to answer her question.
Holly bounced back into the room, but immediately sensed the tenuous glances between each person, and stopped in her tracks. She opened her mouth, and closed it again, seemingly unsure of what to say.
“Fifteen hours”, a female voice finally said, from behind Kaia, and out of sight.
An icy jolt shot up Kaia’s spine and she choked on her words, “That means…Evan has been out there for…”
“Yeah”, Kjarsta finished, “twenty-eight hours”.
The chill in Kaia’s body flashed fiery hot, “Why are you still here? I can’t walk, but you all still can! Where are Andreas, Cassidy and Sam!?” she yelled, close to tears.
“They’re fine”, Kjarsta answered, her voice pleading and soft, “the GPS signal is strong, and their vitals are good”.
Kaia tried to pivot on the couch, to meet Kjarsta’s gaze, but she was hampered by Drake’s weight and the immense pressure in her knees.
“And Evan? Do we still have a read? Why haven’t we called for the heli-evac yet?!” she stammered, her words coming too fast.
Drake answered this time, his eyes meeting Kjarsta’s, but not Kaia’s. “His vitals are strained. He’s deeper in the ravine than we initially thought. Andreas and Sam are experts. If it’s possible to find Evan, they will. And Cassidy is right there to treat any wounds”.
Kaia sank back against the cushions of the couch, willing the softness to bury her alive.
“I can’t… I couldn’t possibly…” the air in her lungs caught and refused to be released. A voluminous sob escaped, instead. “I can’t leave him here. I can’t live without him!”.
Strength left her body and she sagged into the couch, lifeless and liquid, until a scream erupted from the very depths of her soul. Three faces watched her with varying degrees of shock, loss and bewilderment, but she barely registered their presence at all.
After a moment of wracking gasps for air, she finally composed herself enough to whisper, “Why are you here and not looking for him?”
Drake settled his arms protectively around Kaia’s shoulders and helped to steady her shaking body.
“Kaia”, he said, his voice projecting authority and conviction, “... we promised that we would get you safely home. He made us leave and bring you to safety. I don’t know what Andreas, Cassidy and Sam are facing out there, but they will not come back to this cabin until they absolutely have to. We will call for heli-evac as soon as we’re all in one place and the storm has passed. The wind... it won't let up. But we've got radio, food, coffee and gas for the generator. I promise you that we are doing what we can to bring everyone safely home. Evan loves you more than anything in the world”.
“I think I’m going to be sick” Kaia breathed, her stomach convulsing. Drake ushered Kjarsta to bring a bucket and placed it before her, still supporting her shoulders, but she pushed it away.
“I didn’t get to tell him’, she cried, “I have to tell him”.
Drake soothingly draped his hand on the back of her head, smoothing out her unruly, curled hair and gently caressing the base of her neck.
“He knows how much you love him, Kaia”.
“I know that he knows; I said yes!” she quivered, “I didn’t get to tell him… “ she paused, trying to find the right way to say it.
“I’m pregnant”.