I pull on my snow pants before tying my boots on. Razor just said he was going for a walk. He didn’t say where or for how long. I know he needed to work things out about Caitlin. If he just would’ve stayed put and ate a burger, like I offered, he’d be safe right now.

“I’m coming with you.” Caitlin dresses.

“No, you’re not, I need you to stay here in case Razor comes back. I might need you to call for help on the radio,” I bark out the orders. I’m back in SEAL mode. We’ve got a man down and there’s no time to argue about who’s going to do what.

Caitlin freezes and seems to think over what I’m saying. As I yank my hat over my head and slip my hands into some gloves she nods. “Okay, but I’m going to look around the perimeter of the cabin, just to be sure he’s not passed out in the snow or something.” She keeps putting on her winter clothes.

“Good idea. Don’t wander far. Take a flashlight and a flare. You’ll find the flares in the hall closet in a box at the back. Shoot it off if you find him, that way I know to come back. If I find him, I’ll load him onto the snowmobile and bring him back here, got it?”

“Got it,” she repeats.

I follow Gunnar out the door. “Come here, boy. I lead him to the snowmobile. Once I’ve got it fired up, I rev the engine and get ready to follow. “Show me where he is, Gunnar. Where’s Razor?”

Luckily the LED light on the front cuts through the darkness and helps me keep an eye on his big, black silhouette. Gunnar shoots off into the night and I follow his lead. He seems certain about where he’s going, he doesn’t hesitate or stop to sniff around. He knows exactly where he left Razor and he’s making sure he takes me to him.

Shadows of trees arch over me, like monsters rising from the dark to steal children from their beds at night. I blink and focus my vision on our dog. Keeping the snowmobile away from any unnecessary hills or ice. I squint up ahead, trying to see if I can make out Razor in the distance, but I don’t see him anywhere.

Rrrimmm, rooom, rrrimmm!

The motor screeches into the night, it’s high pitched buzzing announcing our presence to the wilderness. Suddenly Gunnar stops short and I have to wrench the handlebars hard to the left to avoid running him over. I bring the old machine to a stop, but leave her running. The bright light cascades over the snow, making it sparkle underfoot.

“Where is he?” I twist around in a circle, whipping my head in every direction as I search for Razor. I expected Gunnar to lead me straight to him, but I don’t see him. My heart sinks and cold sinks into my skin, did Gunnar lose the trail? Did he lead me the wrong way? Is Razor unconscious out here? Is he dead? I swallow a hard lump in my throat and keep searching. I don’t care if I’m out here all fucking night, I’m not stopping until I find him.

“Ace? Gunnar?”

I whirl around to where I hear Razor’s weak voice in the distance. It sounds like it’s coming from the tree line. I run across the crunching ice and fall to my knees next to him. He’s lying back against a tree, he’s buried the lower half of him like kids do on the beach, his legs under a mound of snow. On top of that, he’s pulled some fallen tree branches over himself.

“What are you doing? Trying to camouflage yourself?” I chide him.

“No, trying to stay warm.” His face twists sideways and his eyes turn to slits. “I didn’t know if I’d be out here long. Ace, I broke my leg. I heard it snap. I can’t put my weight on it,” he puffs out his words, like every syllable is an effort.

“We got to get you back to the cabin.”

He jerks his head in a curt nod. We both know this is gonna hurt like hell, but there’s no other option. If I don’t get him back, he’ll freeze before his leg even has the chance to set wrong. I carefully sweep the evergreen branches and snow from Razor’s legs and ease my arm around his back as I scoot my head and neck under his armpit. Using my legs, I lift him, struggling to get him off the ground until he’s putting his weight on his good leg and leaning back against the tree for support.

“Ahhh, fuck!” he yells.

“Okay, man, catch your breath ’cause I need you to stay standing while I bring the snowmobile over, got it?”

“Yep,” he answers through clenched teeth.

Gunnar dutifully lies at Razor’s feet, never leaving his side as I scurry over and drive closer. As soon as I’m parked as close as I can reasonably get, I rush back over and become a human crutch for him, helping take all his weight as he hops to the idling machine. It takes some maneuvering, but we manage to get him on the back of the seat.

“Go slow,” he pleads.

I know what he means. Every little bump on the way back is going to rattle his broken bones, making them grind together and radiate pain through his leg.

“I’m gonna do my best, I swear.” I give him my vow. “Hang on.” I ease us back to the trail and take it a lot slower heading back than we came out.

Gunnar trots alongside us, concern for Razor still his priority. Razor yells as we hit a bump and I feel fucking awful. There’s just no way to avoid them all. I try to slow down more, but he taps my shoulder.

“No, just get us there, going so slow is fucking worse,” he cries out.

He’d know better than me. I pick up the speed and try to get us back home as smoothly as possible. As soon as I pull up to the front door, Caitlin bursts out of the house and rushes over to us.

“Is he okay? Oh my God, are you all right?” She puts her hands on his face and I cut the engine.

“His leg is broken, help me get him inside.”

She’s not wearing her coat or even her boots. Good thing she won’t be out here long, because I don’t need another medical emergency on my hands.

Caitlin holds Razor steady as I dismount from the seat. Between the two of us, we manage to get him off the back, but not without a ton of yelling and swearing. Ninety percent of it from Razor.

Finally, we get him inside and over to the couch by the fire. Gunnar flops down next to Razor, watching him intently. I head over to the radio and pick up the receiver. I call for help while Caitlin comforts Razor, but they tell me the earliest they can send a plane is tomorrow after dawn.

Well, fuck.

“Ace?”

“Yeah?”

“You guys gotta set my leg, man.”

“What?”

“I don’t think we should mess with it.” Caitlin kneels at his side and leans over him.

“You have to. It’s only going to make it worse to leave it all night like this. I’ll tell you how to do it.”

There’s no question I don’t want to be moving his leg around, but he’s right. I can’t just leave it and let things get worse.

I sigh. “What do we do?”

“Caitlin grab some scissors, Ace, grab the first aid kit and then get our wood spoons out of the drawer.”

We scatter, listening to his directions and gather with our supplies at his side. He gets Caitlin to cut open his pants and talks me through pulling his foot down. He howls in pain as the bone shifts back into a straight line with a snap. Gunnar howls with him and Caitlin weeps into her hands.

Sweat breaks over his brow and his breathing is like little pants. I worry he’s going to hyperventilate. “Deep breathes, bud. Fill your lungs. Good,” I coach him. “The hardest part is over.”

Razor nods, his hair starts to soak with sweat. Caitlin rushes from the room and returns with a cool, damp cloth to mop up his face with.

“Thanks.” He smiles at her. He looks over at me and the smile fades. “Ace, I need you to make a splint, just take the spoons and have Caitlin hold them straight on either side of my leg while you bandage it.”

He guides us through the whole thing, like the SEAL medic he was, that he’ll always be. Even when he’s the one with the injury, Razor stays calm, cool and collected. Always a pro.

We finally get him sorted out. He’s splinted, his foot is elevated, he has ice for the swelling and Caitlin gave him painkillers and water. Exhausted we all slump down. Razor onto the sofa and us beside it. None of us has any intentions of leaving him alone tonight. Not even Gunnar.

I know it will feel like a long time before the sunlight creeps up behind the horizon. The hours will feel like days, especially for Razor. All we can do is try to keep him company and try to keep him comfortable. Now comes the hardest part. We wait.