by Cindy Bell
“And just where do you think you’re going?” Kyle looked over at her as she pushed the door closed behind her.
“Shh, I don’t want you to wake Sonia.” Nikki frowned as she realized she had been caught.
“I still can’t get used to you calling her that.” Kyle grinned, then his expression grew more serious. He straightened up and turned to face her. “Where are you going?”
“Kyle, I just want to see if there’s something up there to find. Now I know Ashley was up there. She used one of the snowmobiles from the resort to get there. Which means she probably planned to meet someone. With the GPS record on the snowmobile, I can find the exact spot she traveled to.” She crossed her arms as she studied him. “I’m going to be careful.”
“It’s way too dangerous. Why don’t you understand that?” Kyle spread his feet apart as he blocked her way. “I’m not letting you go.”
“Kyle, you can’t stop me.” Nikki attempted to step around him.
“I can, and I will.” He moved in front of her before she could get past.
“Kyle! Please, I need to work out who did this, before it’s too late and you land up in jail.” Nikki glared at him.
“I hate it when you’re right.” He rubbed his hand across the thick hat he wore and frowned.
“You should be used to it by now.” Nikki raised an eyebrow.
“Very funny.” Kyle sighed, looked towards the mountains, then turned his attention back to her. “I’ll go with you, but the moment I see anything that looks dangerous, we’re out of there. Agreed?”
“Agreed.” Nikki smiled and elbowed him in the side. “I knew you would come around.”
“Careful, I can still push you down in the snow, and I’m pretty sure in that outfit, you’re not going to be able to get back up.” Kyle quirked an eyebrow.
“Don’t you dare!” Nikki scowled at him.
“It worked when you were ten.” He grinned.
“This is serious, Kyle, we’re only going to get one chance at this.” Nikki met his eyes. “Mom and Dad are going to be here tomorrow, they sent me their flight confirmation. I don’t want them to come here to find out that I wasn’t able to keep you safe.”
“And what if they come here and find out that I didn’t keep you safe?” Kyle stared straight back at her. “We’re in this together, sis, no matter what.”
“Yes, we are. First things first, we’ve got to get our hands on that snowmobile.” Nikki frowned as she started towards the main lobby.
“That won’t be a problem.” Kyle pulled a set of keys from his pocket. “I have access to the snowmobiles. Do you know which one it was?”
“Yes, because it’s due for repairs. Just for some body damage. Ashley must have clipped something.” Nikki tipped her head towards the lobby. “Do you think we can get it out of there without anyone noticing?”
“It shouldn’t be a problem.” Kyle looked at his watch. “The water pump turns on in a few minutes. We’ll take it out then. The noise will mask the sound of the engine.” He smiled. “Sound good?”
“How did you get to be such a criminal mastermind?” Nikki smiled.
“I had to sneak out of the house somehow.” Kyle winked at her, then led the way towards the garage behind the lobby. A quick swipe of his pass allowed the garage door to slide open. Nikki ducked under it and slipped inside while it was still ascending. A sea of snowmobiles and other equipment made her dizzy for a moment. Could she find the right one? One by one she checked each snowmobile for damage.
“Here it is!” Nikki slapped the seat and glanced over at Kyle.
“I’ll drive.” He hopped on and she climbed on behind him. He brought up the last location on the GPS. “Ready?”
“Yes.” Nikki hung on to the sides.
As the water pump started Kyle started up the engine.
It occurred to Nikki as she gripped the handles, that she had never actually been on a snowmobile.
Chapter 15
Nikki ignored a rush of nerves as Kyle drove out through the front door of the shed. He veered off to the left, away from the lobby windows. The snowmobile cut through the snow with speed that surprised Nikki. She tightened her grip and leaned her head down as snow flew towards her face. As he emerged from the trail, he skidded to a stop.
“Great.” Nikki sighed as she met his eyes. “The hard part is over.”
“No, sis, that wasn’t the hard part.” Kyle pulled his goggles down over his eyes, then zipped his jacket up so that the stiff collar shielded his mouth.
Nikki followed suit. It crossed her mind that maybe they should turn back, but she bit back her words. It was too late to turn back, and she felt this was the best way to keep Kyle out of jail. As they whirred past the cabins decorated with sparkling lights and garland for Christmas, she realized that it was Christmas Eve. She hadn’t even thought about the holiday with everything that was going on. She wanted more than anything to be spending the holiday around a fire with her family and friends close to her. Instead, her brother and her were going up the side of a dangerous mountain. He pulled off to the side of a particularly steep trail, and turned to her.
“It gets treacherous from here.” Kyle looked at the GPS. “It’s not far, ten more minutes up I think.”
“Good.” Nikki nodded.
“But we can’t go this way.” Kyle tipped his head towards the trail. “See how loose the snow is? That’s from a recent slide, we could get stuck in it.”
“That way?” Nikki pointed to a trail that veered off to the right.
“I’ve never been on it before.” Kyle frowned. “We need to take it slow. I don’t want to get stranded up here.” He eased along. “Only a few minutes ahead, Nikki!” Kyle glided in the direction the GPS showed him. A few minutes later, he pulled into a clearing. On one side was a wide-open slope of snow, on the other was the solid rock face of the mountain. Nikki climbed off the snowmobile and stared at the mostly empty surroundings. Only one tree rose up out of the snow, and it was fairly small.
“Fir Mountain.” Kyle looked over at her. “I brought you here, even though I know how dangerous it is, and there’s nothing here.”
“There has to be.” Nikki frowned. “I know it. Maybe she hid something here.”
“Where?” Kyle gestured to the snow all around them. “There aren’t exactly a ton of hiding places.”
“She would have put it somewhere that would be easy to get to, and easy to remember.” Nikki started towards the tree. “There!” She pointed to a crook in the tree that was piled with snow. Its other branches only had a small amount of snow on them, but it looked to her that someone had packed snow into the crook between two branches.
“Let me take a look.” Kyle began to brush the snow away.
“Is there something there?” Nikki leaned close to him in an attempt to see what he uncovered.
“Yes, there’s something.” Kyle pulled a small, metal box, the size of a postcard, and about six inches deep, out of the snow. “But it’s locked.” He frowned as he looked up at her. “The lock seems pretty solid.”
“So, she went to all the trouble of taking this up the side of a mountain, hiding it in the snow, and locking it up tight. There must be something very important inside.” Nikki took the box from him. “Do you think we can break it open somehow?”
“I don’t have any tools with me. I think we’re better off heading back, we can pry it open when we get there.” Kyle glanced up at the mountain above him. “I don’t like the way that pile of snow above us looks. We need to get going.”
“Okay, let’s head back.” Nikki climbed on the snowmobile behind him and tucked the box into her coat pocket. As he started the engine, she heard a strange roar. She glanced over at Kyle, just as he jumped off the snowmobile and lunged in her direction.
“Nikki!” Kyle shouted her name as the roar got louder. When his body collided with hers and knocked her off the snowmobile, she didn’t know what was happening, but she knew that it was bad. He pulle
d her up to her feet. “Run!” He hung onto her arm as he half-dragged her towards the mountain. Finally, she realized that a wall of snow had begun to slide down the side of the mountain. She gasped as it dawned on her that there was nowhere to run. Kyle thrust her ahead of him towards the mountain. Only then did she realize that there was a slim opening. He wedged himself in behind her, just as the wall of snow crashed down along the side of the mountain. Within seconds the opening of the tiny cave was completely blocked by snow.
“Kyle!” Nikki gasped again as snow spilled into the cave.
“It’s all right.” Kyle wrapped his arms around her. “The snow will pack down before it can fill the cave. It’s going to block us in, but it won’t get much farther into the cave.”
“I can’t believe it!” Nikki stared at the wall of snow. She’d never seen anything like it before.
“I warned you that it wasn’t safe up here.” Kyle pulled her farther back against the inside of the cave. “We could be buried alive right now.”
“I’m sorry, Kyle.” Nikki clung to his hand as she peered at the heavily packed snow. “Is there any way for us to get out of here?”
“Don’t worry. You told Mrs. Whitter that we were coming up here right? She at least knows that was your plan?” Kyle shrugged. “I’m sure she’ll sound the alarm if she doesn’t hear from us.”
“Actually.” Nikki winced as she looked at him. “I didn’t tell her. I knew that if I did, she would want to come with me. I couldn’t take a chance that she could be hurt. That something like this could happen.” She blinked back tears. “That’s why I didn’t want to wake her this morning.”
“I thought you just didn’t want to because it was too early.” Kyle groaned. “Nikki. It’s an important rule, if you’re going to go out onto the mountains, you always let someone know where you’re going. Are you telling me no one knows we’re here?”
“I’m sorry.” Nikki took a deep breath. “But try not to worry, we’re going to find our way out.” She willed herself to be strong and have a positive attitude for her brother, even if pure panic had begun to build up within her.
“How?” Kyle threw his hands up into the air. “How do you think we’re going to get out?”
“Maybe we can call—” Nikki cut herself off as she realized how ridiculous that was. Of course there wouldn’t be any service. She checked her phone just to be sure.
“Nikki, nothing is going to get through that snow.” Kyle walked over to the snow and began to dig into it. “Even if we were able to get through it, there is a ton of snow piled on top of it, it would only make it start sliding again.”
“What are you saying, Kyle?” Nikki’s eyes widened as she stared at him. “Are you saying we’re never going to get out of here?”
“I’m saying.” Kyle took a breath as he met her eyes. “I’m saying that it could take a while before anyone notices that we’re missing. We don’t have any food, or water, and it’s going to get colder and colder. I’m sorry, Nikki, I’d like to tell you that everything is going to be fine, but it’s not.”
“I did this.” Nikki sank down to her knees as the weight of their situation struck her. “I made us come up here. I wanted to protect you, but all I’ve done is put you in the worst possible situation.”
“Nikki.” Kyle crouched down in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders. “It’s not your fault. I chose to come with you. I knew the risks, better than you ever could. I should have stopped you.”
“What are we going to do, Kyle?” Nikki bit into her bottom lip in an attempt to keep her chin from trembling.
“Let’s look around.” Kyle turned on the flashlight on his phone. “Maybe there’s something in here that can help.”
“I’ll look, too.” Nikki turned the flashlight on her phone on as well. A sinking sensation threatened to knock her back to her knees as she realized that the battery would only last so long. Then they would be surrounded by darkness. The cave was barely big enough for both of them to sit in comfortably. There was nothing on the stone floor or walls that would help in their situation. She began to dig through her purse, but knew there wouldn’t be much there that could help either. When she started going through her pockets her fingers bumped into the small, metal box.
“Kyle! Maybe we could use the box to carve out a tunnel in the snow? I know you said it will keep sliding, but it’s worth a try isn’t it?” Nikki pulled out the box to show him.
“The only way it will work is if the slide was contained mostly to the side of the mountain. If we’re able to get a hole through it, then we might be able to get out.” Kyle frowned. “But it’s risky.” He took the box from her. “It’s our only shot, though.” He slammed the metal box against the ground.
“Kyle! What are you doing?” Nikki gasped as the box clanged against the stone.
“It’ll work better if it’s empty.” Kyle picked up the box again and slammed it back down against the ground. “You can’t pick a lock, can you?”
“No.” Nikki frowned. “Here, try this.” She grabbed a piece of rock. “It might break the lock free.”
“Thanks, I’ll give it a shot.” Kyle slammed the rock down against the lock. A second later the lid of the box popped open.
Chapter 16
Sonia jerked awake. Her heart raced. She had no idea why, until she heard the dogs barking. Both dogs were at the door of the cabin, and both barked so loudly that she had to cover her ears.
“What is it? Nikki? What’s going on?” Sonia got to her feet and called to the dogs. “Enough, quiet!”
The dogs quietened down, but still whimpered near the door. Sonia noticed that there was no sign of Nikki in the cabin. She discovered a note on the kitchen counter.
Gone out for a bit, will be back soon.
Sonia narrowed her eyes as she read over the note again. It couldn’t be more vague. Where had she gone, and when? It only took her a few minutes to figure it out. Nikki had gone to Fir Mountain. She was sure of it. But she had no idea when she had left. The clock on the wall declared it was already a little after nine. Sonia took out the dogs, then started the coffee pot as her heart continued to pound. If she had gone up the mountain, what if something had happened to her? She gritted her teeth as she realized that Nikki had been careful not to wake her up, or mention her plans to her. Which meant she’d planned to do this without Sonia’s involvement. As an hour slipped by, her worry increased.
Sonia gazed out the window as snow continued to fall. There was a time when she considered it beautiful, but now it was really getting old. The more snow that fell, the less chance there was of the roads being opened.
“Where are you, Nikki?” Sonia frowned. She tried her cell phone, and again was sent straight to voicemail. Either Nikki had turned her phone off, or she had no service, or something worse. She shuddered at the thought. “No, she’s fine. I’m sure she’s fine.” She began to pace back and forth. She placed a call to Kyle. His phone also went to voicemail. Desperate, she decided to send a text to Quinn. She knew that Nikki wouldn’t be happy when she found out, but Quinn was the only person she trusted to help. She placed a call to the local police as well. After that, she tried to reassure herself that everything would be fine. But with each snowflake that fell, her stomach twisted. Coco was dying for a walk. Nikki would know that. She would also know that Sonia couldn’t handle walking both of the dogs for longer than it took for them to take a break. So why wasn’t she back?
Sonia wrung her hands and continued to pace. A sharp knock on the door made her jump. She turned towards it. Maybe Nikki had forgotten her key? As she pulled open the door, she smiled in anticipation of seeing her friend. Instead Ken peered in at her.
“Weather turned. I just wanted to make sure you were okay over here.” He stepped into the cabin.
“I can’t talk now, Ken. Nikki is missing. I need to find out what’s happened to her.” Sonia pulled her phone out of her pocket. Maybe the police had found something, maybe Quinn had.
“Maybe I have some idea.” She took a sharp breath, then met his eyes. “Can you take me somewhere on a snowmobile, Ken?”
“Of course, I can.” He smiled. “Where do you want to go?”
“Fir Mountain.” Sonia narrowed her eyes. “I’m sure that’s where she went. I’m really worried about her. I think she might have gone off by herself. What if she’s hurt?”
“Try not to worry.” Ken reached for her hand. “Nikki is a big girl, she can handle herself.”
“You don’t understand, she’ll do anything to protect her brother. What if she’s taken things too far? I need to call and check with the police again.” Sonia started to call.
“You won’t be needing that.” Ken snatched the phone out of her hand.
Coco leaped to his feet and began to bark at Ken.
“Quiet him, now, or we’re going to have a problem.” Ken remained in front of the door as he pocketed Sonia’s phone.
“Shh, Coco.” Sonia crouched down and ran her hand along the dog’s fur. “It’s all right.” She gulped down the fear that flooded her as she looked in Ken’s direction. It was clear to her that everything was not all right. Nikki had been right, Ken was a dangerous man.
“Good, go on, sit down.” Ken gestured to the couch. “I’m not going to hurt you, Sonia. Not if you don’t give me a reason to.”
“Ken. Why are you doing this?” Sonia watched as he headed for the kitchenette. She was tempted to jump up and run for the door, but she knew that he could beat her there.
“Where is that wine I brought you?” Ken rummaged through the kitchen.
“It’s chilling.” Sonia bit into her bottom lip to hold back a gasp.
“Great. Perfect.” Ken pulled the bottle of wine out and smiled as he gazed at the label. “It’s my favorite.”
Sonia’s eyes widened as she recognized the label. She hadn’t really looked at it the night before. It was the same brand as the bottle of wine in the picture on Ashley’s camera.