by Lee Gregg
“There’s no joke, Sam, I swear. I don’t know where Ben is,” Drew said, but she had already turned her back to him. She headed back to camp, trekking through the deep snow as quickly as she could while the pit in her stomach grew larger.
Please, please be hiding in someone’s tent, Sam prayed. She arrived back at the campsite and saw that the entrance to Ben’s tent was half open with messy sleeping bags and half-filled backpacks spilling out. But no Ben. She unzipped Wesley’s tent quietly and peeked inside. Wesley was snoring loudly, all alone. A peek inside Wade and Cara’s tent confirmed Drew’s story. This was no joke. It was time to call Lorne.
Sam’s frustration transformed into despair and she could feel her chest tightening, squeezing her heart down into the giant pit in her stomach. She brushed snow off of a large rock, sat down and buried her head in her hands. What had happened to Ben? Where was he?
“Wesley, Cara, Wade, wake up,” she announced loudly. Three heads poked out from their tents. “Pack up. The Challenge has been cancelled. We’re heading down now.” She rubbed the glass on her watch and kicked at the snow around her, anxious to get moving. It was 2:30am and Sam had a new plan.
* * *
Ryder Conway poured boiling water into a mug and watched it swirl, like a vortex of a tornado. The clear liquid soon grew cloudy as it mixed with the powder from a packet of ultra strength nighttime flu medication. Mesmerized by the movement, he dipped his finger into the mixture to stir it further and yanked his hand back abruptly, sucking on his scalded finger tip. Smart move, bonehead, he muttered to himself. He picked up the box of generic powder packages and counted four, which made this his sixth cup. Next time, don’t cheap out on meds, he thought. He had napped throughout the day, but he was having trouble sleeping through the night and hoped the drinks would help.
He took out a spoon from a kitchen drawer, but before he could use it, five violent sneezes erupted from his body, causing him to keel over. The pain in his throat was sharp, like he’d swallowed razor blades, and every time he coughed or sneezed, the blades ripped into his flesh. But the ache in his rib cage lingered longer. The intensity of his sneezes made his ribs throb for minutes after each episode.
Ryder carried his mug back to bed, plodding slowly down the hall as hot liquid splashed onto the floor. Carefully placing his cup on his bedside table, he popped a few more extra-strength pills in his mouth, crawled under his thick comforter and let out a long moan. Just kill me now, he thought.
After three more vicious sneezes, Ryder picked up his phone. He had received a text message from Lorne. A callout to search for a lost hiker from the Challenge, Benjamin Black, who went missing near Fool’s Bluff on Black Mountain. Departure times from the base at 5:30am and 11:00am, weather permitting.
The 11:00am departure was probably because most of the Glacier Rescue volunteers who weren’t sick would be coming down from the mountain at sunrise around 8am, Ryder reasoned. The first departure time was for those who weren’t on the mountain already, those who would probably be saving the kid’s life, because even a few hours could make all the difference in the world. There wouldn’t be many of them though, so they needed every able body they could get to help with the search. But it wasn’t just anybody they hoped to find. Lorne had identified the person in need of rescue and Ryder knew the reason why.
He closed his eyes and took a few seconds to relax into the comfort of his bed. After hours of tossing and turning, adjusting and re-adjusting, everything finally felt perfect: the soft pillow under his head, the warmth of his heavy blankets on top of him, his left nostril which had cleared just enough so he could close his mouth and still breathe.
With a single huff, Ryder opened his eyes, peeled the duvet off of himself, sat up in bed and pulled on his long johns. The meeting was still a couple of hours away, but he would need all that time to get himself up and ready to help.
* * *
Sam’s group hiked down the mountain in the dark with the light from their headlamps illuminating their way. Luckily, the most direct route to the village from Checkpoint 4 was neither long nor difficult. Still, Sam hiked quickly and couldn’t stop herself from glancing at her watch every few minutes. There was no time to lose.
“What was that thing about threes in the wild?” Penelope asked.
“A person can survive for three minutes without oxygen or in frigid water, three hours without shelter in harsh environments, three days without water and three weeks without food,” Sam replied.
“If Ben fell or got buried in snow, he wouldn’t have had a chance,” Drew said. His gaze settled on Ben’s avalanche airbag, which he was carrying on his chest.
Sam had had the same thought earlier, but she didn’t want to respond to Drew. She didn’t dare tell anyone what she thought might have happened. And how she was responsible. Unless…maybe she wasn’t. “Hey, were you guys drinking or doing drugs?” It was a longshot, but worth asking, and for a brief second she let herself hope it wasn’t her fault.
“No way! We had mac and cheese for dinner and then we passed out. I mean, c’mon, we’d been hiking all day.” Drew rubbed his neck. “But what if something extreme happened? Like a cougar?”
“Shhh, Drew! Not so loud. Wesley might hear you,” Penelope said, peeking over her shoulder at the rest of the group lagging behind. “And he doesn’t have his tent, water bottle or food either. Drew’s carrying those in his bag right now. But you know, he is a Black. His clothing is probably top quality.”
“He still doesn’t have shelter and the conditions on the mountain are definitely harsh,” Drew said, his forehead creased with worry.
The trio fell silent and Sam increased her pace. She didn’t know how much time she had, but she knew she had to hurry. She had to find Ben fast, to help him and to save him. He was her responsibility when he went missing; she was the leader of the group. But it was more than that. It was the possibility that it was her mistake that had caused Ben’s disappearance. No, it wasn’t just a possibility. The more she thought about it, the more confident she was that it was a fact. Ben was gone because of her.
Sam mulled it over and over in her mind. Their camp at Checkpoint 4 was near Fool’s Bluff. The same area she was in when she had found her dog. The same area where she had been putting up avalanche hazard barriers. As hard as she tried to think back, she couldn’t recall whether she had completed her task before being distracted by Wesley. If Ben had become disoriented, he could have easily ended up there. After all, his footprints pointed in that direction and it made sense that he would walk downhill from the point where he had dropped his neck warmer. So, if Ben had wandered down into the avalanche hazard zone because there was no barrier to stop him…Yes, it was definitely her fault. This was her mess and she had to clean it up before anyone found out.
What would people say if she didn’t find Ben? She imagined what life would be like once everyone knew and felt the noodles she’d had for dinner roiling her stomach, threatening to come back up. Dad already hates me and can’t stand to be around me. Everyone else is going to hate me too. She’d be kicked out of Glacier Rescue for sure. “Sorry, Sam. Y’know, you’re a liability now and we need people we can count on, eh,” Lorne would say. He’d try to be nice about it, of course, but he wouldn’t be able to look at her. Nobody would. She’d walk along the Ice Bridge and all eyes would look away in disgust. Stay away from her, they’d think, she killed two people. But, as horrible as it would feel, she would understand. Because Sam knew she wouldn’t want to — she wouldn’t even be able to — look in the mirror if the worst was to happen to Ben. No. That couldn’t happen. She wouldn’t let it. She’d rather die on the mountain looking for Ben than come back down without him.
Sam dropped her group off at the community center and after briefing Lorne to make sure that he had all the information he needed for the callout to other rescue members, she made her move. She had been planning her next steps the entire hike down the mountain. She knew it wouldn’t be easy. T
here would be a lot of questions, from a lot of people. Her dad, other members of the police, the Black family, even the members of her group. It didn’t matter. She would answer questions when Ben was safe or she wouldn’t be around to answer any questions at all. Ever.
Sam surveyed her surroundings, taking note of what everyone was doing, who they were talking to and which way they were facing. And then she did it. Quickly and quietly, she slipped out into the cold and started hiking back up the mountain. It had been over three hours since Ben went missing.
13
Ryder Conway yawned as he walked into the Glacier Village Community Centre. He found Lorne hovering over a large topographic map of Black Mountain. Flopping into a chair, he let his heavy backpack slip off his shoulder and hit the floor with a loud thud.
“Anyone else respond to the callout?” he asked, rolling a cough drop from one side of his mouth to the other.
“Sunny and Fiona,” Lorne replied, glancing up from the map. “You don’t look so hot, Ryder. You sure you’re up for it?”
“Figured there wouldn’t be many. Everyone’s still up on the mountains for the Challenge, right?”
Lorne nodded and looked outside. “Storm came fast. Winds picked up quick. We didn’t see it coming. Got overrun by medical emergencies here.”
Ryder watched Lorne walk over and lean against the window. He felt an urge to throw an arm around his friend’s shoulder. Lorne looked suddenly tired, dark bags hung under his eyes and his shoulder seemed to melt against the glass. Ryder leaned forward to rise to his feet, but he felt a tickle in his nasal passages and sneezed twice instead. He sank back in his seat and sucked on the cough drop, enjoying a moment of relief as it cooled the fire in the back of his throat. “You worried about the search?”
“I’m always terrified that we won’t be able to bring someone back in alive.” Lorne walked back to the table briskly and rearranged a few random papers, refusing to meet Ryder’s gaze.
“You know what I mean. You mentioned the hiker’s name in the callout.”
“Did I? Well, that’s not so unusual, is it? Things have been crazy here, I didn’t put that much thought into it. We’ve had callouts in worse weather.” Lorne shuffled the same papers around again and scratched his head, making his already messy hair stick straight out in the back.
“Have we?” Ryder mimicked Lorne’s tone. “Well, I can’t recall one other callout where a name was mentioned. But, hey, if you say you’re not scared of retribution or hoping for a big fat thank-you cheque, I believe you.”
“You think I’m making a mistake, Ryder? We can still call it off.” Lorne’s voice had lost its aloofness. He was now speaking soberly and finally making eye contact.
“Not my call. That’s why you get paid the big bucks,” Ryder joked. Everyone knew that Lorne spent every spare penny of his pension on keeping Glacier Rescue running. “But seriously, nobody answers a callout unless they are able and willing. Anyone who doesn’t check off both boxes has got nobody to blame but themselves.”
“You and I both know that’s not true.”
“Well, you made the call and I’m here,” Ryder said, crushing the last sliver of cough drop between his molars. He got up and walked over to the window, stretching his arms and letting out a big yawn along the way. “What’s the latest forecast, anyway?”
“Well, looks like the storm could get really intense. Visibility could drop to zero and then there’s the wind chill factor. Who knows how low that could drop. But, if we get up there and back real quick, we just might be able to avoid the worst of it. Problem is, the boy could be anywhere in this area.” Lorne circled a large area on the map. “That’s a lot of ground to cover for three people.”
* * *
Sam arrived back at their campsite at Checkpoint 4 in good time. The group had slowed her down and she travelled much more quickly on her own. She veered west, following the route she had taken hours earlier when tracking Ben, although there were no longer any tracks to follow. The entire area was covered with fresh snow. Passing the large fallen tree limb, she continued forward until the mountain sloped slightly downhill. Then, she was there. She had returned to the avalanche hazard barrier she had installed two days earlier.
She was at the same viewpoint, but there was no view of the village, the valley, Mount Blue or endless peaks. It was pitch black and the thick, snowy fog seemed to dissolve the beam of light from her headlight. Gale-force winds pushed Sam to her knees as she inspected the barrier. Slowly, she crept along the entire ridge until she saw it. A gap where she should have installed the last section.
She looked downhill into the area where her satellite phone had fallen just days earlier. A lump formed in her throat. She had made such a stupid mistake and now Ben was missing. The evidence was clear. Her actions had caused pain, suffering and death. But now, Mom wasn’t her only victim. Thanks to her stupidity, Ben was one too. So many idiotic mistakes, she thought. Fatal mistakes. But where was his body? Without a body, there was still a chance he was alive and a way for her to fix her mistake. But if she did find Ben’s body, the least she could do was bring him back to his family. She wasn’t going to leave him on the mountain to be discovered by other hikers, where, eventually, his remains would become a part of the mountain, like all those people who had tried to summit Mt. Everest and not survived. She couldn’t let people use him as a route marker. “Turn left when you come up on the Ben Black boy, then it’s just a short hike to the top of Black Mountain” she imagined people would say. No way. She couldn’t let that happen. He deserved a proper goodbye, to be given the chance to rest in peace, and it was her responsibility to make sure he got one since she had failed at keeping him safe as his group leader, failed at doing the one thing Dad, Mom and Lorne had instilled in her.
The sound of thunder cracked behind her. She turned her head just as a large tree branch flew directly at her, hitting her climbing helmet and knocking her backwards over the edge and down into the steep bowl below. As the storm raged on around her, Sam’s body lay in the deep snow, motionless.
* * *
Drew paced the floors of the community center, waiting for someone to tell him what they were doing to find and rescue Ben. The old guy from Glacier Rescue was studying maps, monitoring a bunch of screens and talking into his phones, but how was that going to help Ben? Nothing was happening. A few people had come and gone hours ago, but shouldn’t there have been more? There were no big search parties organized, no police officers, no medics. Their group had come down from the mountain hours ago. What were they waiting for? He knew he should have stayed up there and looked for Ben himself. Adults were so unreliable.
Wesley, Penelope, Cara and Wade had all passed out on the sofas in the reading room, but Drew couldn’t nap. He pulled out his phone and for the fifth time since he’d come down from the mountain, he watched the video he had taken on the first night of the Challenge, wondering if it would be the last video ever taken of Ben. His vision suddenly blurred.
Drew wiped his eyes and approached Lorne. “Excuse me sir, can you tell me what’s going on? Isn’t anyone going to go out to look for Ben?”
“You were in his group, son?” Lorne put one hand on Drew’s shoulder and motioned to a screen with three red dots. “We have a small search party up there now. They left about an hour or so after you came down.”
The tension in Drew’s shoulders eased with relief until he studied the screen closely. “Those circles represent people, not teams of search parties, don’t they? Otherwise they’d be more spread apart?”
“That’s right, son.” Lorne picked up a tablet and tapped on it to refresh the weather forecast for the area.
“Three people? Only three? How are they gonna find him? You need more people out searching!” Drew’s voice was louder and all trace of the soft, polite tone he’d used at the start of the conversation was gone.
“They’re the only ones who answered the call. Most of our search and rescue volunteers are on the mount
ains leading other teams for the Challenge.”
“Well, I volunteer then! Geez, I could’ve been looking for him myself this whole time! Maybe I would’ve found him by now.”
“Sorry son, but we can only allow qualified volunteers to join our search, ’specially in this weather. And if it gets much worse, we’re going to have to call them back in. We can’t risk people getting injured if it’s not safe to be out there.”
“If it’s not safe for you guys to go out with all your resources, how safe can Ben be all by himself? Without shelter or anything? You can’t just leave him out there alone. You do know who he is, right? Benjamin Black? Of Black Mountain? I’m sure his father, Jefferson, won’t be too pleased if he learns that you didn’t do all you could to save his first-born child.”
“I am well aware of who we are dealing with, son. But, I’m sorry. There is only so much we can do. Truth is, I’m not even sure we should have sent a group up in this weather in the first place. Maybe they’ll find him before the weather turns worse. Or maybe the weather will get better. We just don’t know right now.”
“Drew!” Wesley’s eyes bulged wide open as he ran towards Drew and Lorne. A charging wire dangled from the phone he held out towards them. “Drew! Somebody took him! Ben was kidnapped! Look!”
Drew took Wesley’s phone and read the text message aloud, “‘We have Ben Black. 1 million for his safe return. Reply within 1 hour to confirm willingness to pay. No police.’ What the— Wes! When did you get this? What did your dad say?”
“I...I just got it. Lemme call him now.” The call went unanswered. Wesley started to text, but was interrupted when his phone rang. “Dad? Oh, but where’s—but—so—no—? But wh—? Okay. Bye.”