When at least Scarlett’s team pulled into White Mountain a full hour later than she had hoped, she was pleased to see Lauren waiting outside.
“I had a feeling you might be coming in just behind me.” Her friend greeted her with a hug, which was especially welcome because of the extra warmth it provided. “How are you holding up? How is your team doing? How are you doing?”
Scarlett broke down in her friend’s arms. She was too tired now. She had been strong for too long. A good cry could fix everything if she let it. Everything except the fact that her best dog was no longer at her side. “It’s F-f-f-Fred!” she wailed.
And Lauren patted Scarlett on the back and helped get her team situated next to her own. The two groups of dogs were excited to be reunited, even if it was just for a short while.
“I’m on hour three of my required eight hour layover here,” Lauren said once the dogs were well situated. “You’ve got a full eight hours to go before you can race on to Nome. We’ll give Fred some extra love before I call Shane to arrange Fred’s return home. Okay?”
Scarlett agreed, unhappy about the need to stop and rest, but also relieved to be spending it with her best friend in the whole world.
“I cried my first time, too,” Lauren said with a comforting grin. “You know last year? I think these big, burly lumberjack types do, too. They just hide it a little better.”
Tears still mottled Scarlett’s cheeks when Henry pulled into the checkpoint later that evening.
“Ignore him. Don’t pay him any mind,” Lauren warned. “That’s what he wants—to psych you out, but he doesn’t realize what a smart cookie my bestie is.”
Lauren’s team left several hours before Scarlett was allowed to resume her race. Once her friend had checked out, she spent the rest of her break next to Fred on his mound of straw. She told herself it was to ease his upset about missing the next part of the race, but truthfully, she just couldn’t stand the thought of Henry glaring at her.
Because, yes, even now, his eyes followed her movements around the track points, the trails, wherever the two came into contact. It made her feel hot, like melting ice—and she just didn’t need that now. She’d have to work even harder to compensate for Fred’s loss.
There could be no distractions, especially since the weather was deteriorating fast. By the time Scarlett and the remaining dogs resumed their trek, snow and sleet were coming down in dangerous sheets. So far, she’d been fairly lucky to have had such a temperate race. But now, Mother Nature seemed to want to make up for the miles of fair weather with this sudden onslaught.
The Iditarod was known for putting both dog and musher through their paces, taking them to the brink—and now it seemed that the race itself wanted to test her. Well, she’d been studying for this test her whole life, and like the ancient motto of the postman, she was determined that neither snow, sleet nor dark of night would stop her from finishing right.
The trail conditions weren’t ideal, but even still, several options stretched out before her. Left was the hillier trail, full of narrow paths into the sea. To her right, several rivers flowed out to the ocean. This time of year they would likely be frozen, but she didn’t want to chance it. She opted to take a higher path to circumvent the rivers and any possibility of an ice break.
It would be a tight fit, but she’d rather be smushed than drowned. Few mushers were ahead of her right now, which meant it was up to her to find her way. Shane’s voice briefly echoed in the back of her mind, but she pushed it aside and headed into the foot hills.
With a few false starts, she found her path and the dogs eagerly took to it. As the team raced on through the winds and sleet, Scarlett tapped on her headlamp to make sure she could see. Her line of sight didn’t extend past Lenny running beside Wendy in Fred’s place.
She needed to rely on the lead dogs now. They could see where she couldn’t, and hopefully the bond they’d formed during training would be enough for them to anticipate her choices. That was what she needed most now—faith.
And so she prayed for a safe passage, quieting her mind to everything but the words whispered to God above. She’d chosen this, or He’d chosen it for her. Either way, they would get through this together.
Scarlett squeezed her eyes tight for the briefest of moments, trying to visualize the finish line, her and her team crossing it safely and to victory.
The sled jolted at a sharp turn, startling her eyes back open, although Scarlett still couldn’t see more than a couple arms lengths. She leaned the other way to balance the sled, keep it on track. Had Fred been there, it would have worked. But they’d left Fred back in White Mountain, and Lenny just didn’t have the experience to overcome such a large blip.
The young husky balked, and that slight moment of hesitation was all it took to send the sled hurtling over the edge of the slope, a sinking anchor dragging Scarlett and the dogs down into the ice.