Chapter Five

Victoria

The engine sputtered and went quiet. Terrified, Victoria listened as the air whooshed past. Charlie whined. She reached across the seat and grabbed his collar. She didn’t know what else to do. Clay manned the plane, but any moment they would crash. The thought came to her in slow motion. She wanted to scream but could only sit, frozen with fear. The most she could manage was to hold onto Charlie and pray Clay would get them safely on the ground.

“Brace yourself,” she shouted at the children.

The girl shrieked.

The boy said nothing.

She pulled Charlie closer so he stood between the seats. Hopefully that would protect him somewhat. Summoning courage, she looked out the window. The ground rushed past, getting closer every second. And then the plane hit the snow, bouncing up as the sound of metal crunching rolled through the cabin.

She felt dazed. The landing gear just tore off. How will we take off again?

When the plane bounced two more times, Charlie crashed into her legs and whimpered. Someone screamed. Victoria’s head slammed against the window. Her vision darkened for an instant. Behind her eyes stars exploded. The plane skidded on the snow, careening wildly until it came to a stop.

She dropped Charlie’s collar and touched her head. No blood. Just a lump. Darkness faded. Patches of vision returned. She looked out the window. Sun shone on the snow, making it sparkle. So pretty. The snow looked like it was covered in diamonds. A tendril of smoke came from the wing, jerking her back to reality. She grabbed her purse and stood. The boy and girl looked up at her. They were silent. Their eyes were big. Their mouths gaping.

“Are you hurt?”

Both shook their heads.

“We have to get off. Now. Take nothing and let’s move to the door.”

The girl glanced at Victoria’s purse. “I need my backpack.”

Clay glanced back and held her gaze, questioning.

“Everyone’s fine.” Victoria said, her voice tight but even.

“Good.” He turned and began working on the door. “Grab what you want but the second he has the door open, we’re leaving.”

He struggled with the handle and slammed his weight against the door. The door didn’t budge. He pulled himself fully against the opposite side of the plane and then threw himself against the door with a bang. It rattled but still did not open. He picked up the pilot and set him back in the pilot’s seat so he could take a better run at the door.

“Oh my God,” the girl said softly. “Is he dead?”

“He is,” Victoria said. “Don’t look at him.”

Clay slammed the door again and this time it gave a few inches. After three more attempts, the door fell to the ground.

“Everyone off,” Clay ordered.

“Oh my God,” Sydney whispered staring at the pilot.

“Don’t look at him.” Victoria gave the girl a push. “Go on.”

The boy followed his sister out the door. Clay helped each of them down and whistled for his dog. He glanced around the land, looking as calm as if he were casting into a trout stream.

He held out his arms, motioning for them to move away from the wreckage. “Is everyone okay?”

Sydney nodded, too shocked to say much. Her brother bobbed his head and looked around, stunned.

Victoria rubbed her head and grimaced. “I smacked my head pretty hard.”

“Did you lose consciousness?” He stopped walking and turned to face her. Gripping her chin, he peered into her eyes. “Your pupils are fine. Did you pass out?”

The way he held her, firmly keeping her head positioned where he wanted, disoriented her for a moment. When she realized what was happening, she tried to escape his grip.

“Hold still.” He pushed her hair back and examined the injury.

Sydney sniffled, clutching her backpack. “Is someone coming for us?”

Clay dropped his hands. “I think you’re fine, but let me know if you feel sick.”

His detached demeanor made her aware of the panic weighing heavily in her chest. Her heart fluttered against her ribs. She had to coax air into her lungs. Now that they were on the ground and safe, she began to understand the enormity of what had just happened.

They’d crashed. Or crash-landed. Maybe that term was a little better of a description.

Clay turned to the girl. “When we don’t arrive in Anchorage, they’ll send out a search party. They’ll fly along the flight path and should see the wreckage. It won’t be long, but just in case, we should find shelter for the night.”

Shelter for the night. A small sound of dismay fell from her lips. A lake lay beyond the plane and to the other direction lay mountains and more mountains. There were trees and snow drifts, but shelter?

The girl’s eyes watered and she swallowed hard. “But they’re coming?”

“They’re coming.”

Victoria eyed the plane. The tail section was partly torn off. The plane lay on its belly in the snow and tilted to one side. The propeller dangled from a mass of wires. The plane was mostly white, she noted, and not very visible in the snow.

Charlie barked as he ran along a line of trees. He stopped and lifted his leg. Everyone stood silently and watched. The dog seemed completely unaffected by the crash of the plane or the fact that they were in the middle of nowhere. Finally, he finished and loped off, his nose to the snow-covered ground.

“Wow,” the boy said. “That dog really had to take a leak.”

His sister shoved him. “Shut up Ross. Don’t be disgusting.”

Clay shook his head, but Victoria caught the way his lips tilted. The boy hadn’t said a word for the entire flight. He’d sat quietly, looking grim, but now he smiled as he watched the dog. His face lit with amusement, his hands jammed in his pockets. He seemed as unfazed as Charlie.

“We need to move away from the plane,” Clay said.

“Shouldn’t we stay with the plane?” Victoria asked.

“I’m not sure if we’re on ice. I want to get you to the trees. Then I’ll come back and look for flares.”

“We don’t have cell service.” The girl stared at her phone, her eyes filled with horror, as if no telephone was the biggest problem they faced.

Her brother snorted. “No kidding.”

Clay didn’t say anything but motioned for the group to start walking the short distance toward the trees. Charlie bounded back to the edge of the trees and soon was out of site. The snow lay about five inches deep.

With each step, Victoria sank and snow filled her Mary Janes. She had to be the only one walking practically barefooted. A moment before, her feet were cold, now each step felt like walking on glass shards. The girl wore Ugg’s. The boy and Clay were both clad in hiking boots.

From a hundred yards or so they heard Charlie barking. He appeared between two trees, beckoning them to follow him. They made their way deeper into the trees, to see what Charlie had found.

“I’ll be damned,” Clay muttered.

She followed his gaze. The wall of a partially-hidden structure came into view. Charlie ran to the building and barked. He shook, his lips pulled back and his tongue lolling to the side.

“That smelly dog found something,” the girl marveled.

“Shut up, Sydney. He’s not smelly,” Ross snapped. “You’re smelly. And dumb.”

The girl was too amazed to argue. She gave Clay an astonished look. “How did he know how to do that?”

Clay, looking just as surprised, shook his head. “No idea. He’s just a pup.”

As they neared, it became clear that the cabin was uninhabited. The only prints in the snow belonged to Charlie. Still, Victoria could have cried with happiness.

Clay strode past, reaching the door first. He twisted the doorknob.

“Maybe you should try knocking,” Sydney called.

Ross scoffed and smacked his forehead. “Yeah, or calling. Try that too.”

Sydney shoved his shoulder. “Shut up already.”

Clay jostled the handle and pushed the door open. Victoria winced with each step and let out a cry of relief when she stepped inside the cabin.

“Tell me they haven’t lost our reservation.” She stomped her foot, immediately regretting it. Pain shot up her leg. “Ow, ow, ow.”

Clay moved to her side. “What’s the matter?”

She hobbled to the middle of the room and sank into a chair, not caring that it was covered in a sheet. Unbuckling her shoes, she shook her head. “It’s fine. I’m wearing California footwear, not Alaska boots.”

He knelt beside her and wrapped his hands around each foot. His touch burned her freezing skin, but after the initial sting her pain subsided.

Rubbing her feet gently, he glanced around the room. Victoria followed his gaze, trying not to moan at the way his hands warmed her feet. She should brush him away, but the warmth was the best thing she’d ever felt.

Several windows lined the walls, the curtains, festooned with cowboys riding bucking broncos. While the curtains were drawn, they allowed plenty of sunlight to filter through. Motes of dust swirled in sunshine. A pedestal table stood near the kitchen. An iron stove crouched in the corner, beside a crate of neatly stacked firewood.

“What is this place?” Sydney pulled the curtain back and peered out the window. “This cabin is like something from Little House on the Prairie.”

“I’m going to start a fire for you,” Clay said to Victoria. “Don’t let your feet get cold again.”

Ross sat down beside her and studied her feet thoughtfully. “A boy in my class lost three toes to frost-bite.”

Victoria recoiled, but before she could respond, Clay spoke. “It’s important that you dress properly in Alaska.”

Victoria fought the overwhelming disorientation that his words brought. Her feet felt a little better now but her thoughts teetered. “I was on my way to California.”

“We might be here a little while,” he said quietly.

Sydney spun from the window. “You said they were coming. You said they were sending people to search for us.”

Her voice cracked with emotion as she hugged her backpack and glared at Clay.

“You said!”

“I know.” Clay gave Victoria’s feet a gentle squeeze and set them down. They tingled. She missed his touch instantly.

He straightened. “We’re going to hope for the best but plan for the worst.”

Sydney nodded. “Okay. Okay. Like a day or two?”

“Something like that.”

“In that case,” she bit her lip, worriedly, and glanced at Ross. “We need our bags from the plane.”

Clay nodded. “Ross and I will get the bags. First, I’m starting a fire. Once the sun goes down, it’s going to get plenty cold.”