Erica
Adrenaline jittered through Erica’s body, pushing her forward with the same urgency as the panic throbbing through her veins.
Her eyes scanned the path ahead, following the beam of her torch and searching through the trees for any sign of sled tracks in the snow. The snow had all but stopped falling now but it was possible Molly could’ve veered from the snowmobile tracks during the worst of the blizzard. There was so much fresh snow on the ground, Erica wasn’t entirely convinced they hadn’t taken a wrong turn too.
Be OK, Molly. Be OK.
Lee’s arm rose up in front of Erica. He pointed ahead before shouting back to them. ‘It’s getting late.’
‘We can’t stop,’ Erica shouted.
He said nothing but dug out the Sat phone from his bag. ‘I’m going to call the hotel, see if there’s been any sign of Molly and find out if the rescue team are on their way. The dogs are tired,’ he added. ‘They need to stop for the night.’
‘No, we can’t leave Molly out here,’ Erica cried.
‘Carrying on like this is a suicide mission for all of us.’ He watched Erica for another moment before adding: ‘Anchor up whilst I make this call and eat something,’ he said. ‘Then we’ll see if we can go a bit further.’
Erica threw her hook to the snow, ignoring Lee’s second request as she stepped off the runner into soft fresh snow. Her feet sunk several inches and she felt the frozen rivet of the snowmobile track beneath them. They were still on the path, but was Molly?
Noah’s torch beam bounced across the snow towards her. ‘Why have we stopped?’
‘Lee’s phoning the rescue team,’ Erica said, her voice loud in the silent forest. ‘He says we have to stop for the night. MOLLY,’ she shouted into the darkness. ‘MOLLY.’ The second shout was a screech as a fresh wave of acute fear tore through her body.
Erica stood still and tried to stretch her hearing beyond the panting dogs and her own ragged breath catching in her throat.
‘There,’ Noah said, pointing ahead and sprinting through the snow. He stumbled for a second before rushing forwards.
‘What?’ Erica gasped listening again. This time she heard it. Dog barks from somewhere up ahead.
They ran forward with Lee following behind them. Erica and Noah reached the ledge together and stopped. The drop wasn’t far – a metre Erica guessed, but it was a straight drop before the path carried on a few metres ahead. Erica imagined snowmobiles launching from the ledge, a thrill jump, but how would a sled with dogs fare on the jump? Her eyes scanned the ground below.
Erica gasped, pointing to a figure leaning against a tree. Noah shone his torch to the ground, triggering a series of barking yelps from the dogs below, but it was Molly they were focused on, and the snatches of blue jacket visible through the blanket of snow covering her body.
‘Molly,’ Erica shouted, jumping from the ridge and landing in a heap below. Her ankle cried out in pain but she didn’t care. Erica sensed Noah moving beside her and Lee behind them, talking on the phone, or to them, Erica wasn’t sure. Her only focus was on reaching Molly.
‘Molly?’ Erica swept her hands over Molly’s body, dusting off the snow. She pushed her hand into Molly’s and squeezed it tight. ‘Molly?’
There was a long pause, long enough for a sob to shudder through Erica’s body. Then she felt it: Molly’s hand squeezing back.
‘She’s alive,’ Erica shouted. ‘Molly, squeeze my hand again.’
The second squeeze was stronger, flooding Erica’s body with a shaky relief.
‘Noah,’ Lee called out. ‘See if you can find some wood. Let’s get a fire going.’
Noah leapt up and darted into the night.
‘I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Molly,’ Erica said.
‘It’s not your fault,’ Molly whispered, her voice weak as if she was speaking from a place far away. ‘Are the dogs OK?’ she asked.
‘I think so. They’re making enough noise, that’s for sure.’ Erica stood up, assessing the upturned sled for the first time. Beyond the sled, Molly’s dogs sat bunched together, alert and expectant.
‘We need to move this sled,’ Lee said. ‘Erica, grab that side for me. The gang line is tangled so we can’t move it far. Molly,’ he said, ‘if we lift it up, do you think you can move free?’
She nodded, pushing her hands into the snow, readying herself to move.
‘One, two, three, lift.’
Erica gripped the wooden runner, hoisting the sled in the air and watching Molly drag her body out from underneath it.
‘Are the dogs OK?’ Molly asked again. Her voice was stronger but Erica could hear the chatter of her teeth rattling in her jaw. Molly dragged herself across the snow and collapsed her body over one of the dogs. ‘You OK, Dodge?’
‘Let’s get them untangled and onto a line and then we can check for injuries,’ Lee said in the same calm authoritative tone he’d used throughout their journey.
‘I’m sorry, Lee,’ Molly said, pulling herself up to standing. ‘I should never have left.’
Lee paused, placing a hand on Molly’s shoulder. ‘You’re lucky to be alive,’ he said. ‘A less competent musher and I’m almost certain it would’ve been a different story.’
‘I was trying to get to the Icehotel. It was so stupid. I thought if I kept following the path …’ Molly’s voice ran on, filled with regret and jabbering with shock.
She was still talking when Noah lit a fire and they heated pouches of food.
‘We’ll camp here for the night,’ Lee said. ‘And head back tomorrow morning.’ He squatted beside the fire and held up his hands to the warmth. ‘I’ve told the rescue team that we rescued ourselves.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Molly said again her voice shaking with shock and emotion.
‘We all make mistakes, Molly,’ Lee said. ‘It’s what we do afterwards that counts the most.’
A hush descended over them as Lee’s words sunk in. Erica watched Molly’s eyes drop to the fire as she nodded her head.
‘I want all of you to stay here and keep warm,’ Lee commanded. ‘I’m going to pitch two tents, and get the dogs settled,’ Lee said, stepping away.
Erica felt the emotion well up inside her. Molly was safe. They’d found her. Tears dropped from Erica’s eyes, splatting like rain onto her trousers.
‘I shouldn’t have run off,’ Molly said, turning her face to the fire. ‘It was so stupid.’
Erica shook her head. ‘I should’ve told you about Noah the second I found out. I thought I was protecting you. I’m sorry.’
‘I know you were,’ Molly replied, scooching across the snow and hugging Erica.
‘Molly,’ Noah said.
Molly bit her lip and nodded, her hold on Erica tightening. ‘Tell me what happened that night. All of it,’ she whispered, her gaze fixing on the flames.
So he did.