I was stumbling now, blindly even as the light of the flashlight tried to get through the near blanket of snow piling down around me. It wasn’t pretty anymore—it was terrifying and the thought that I was on another planet, isolated and alone was more than just an idea. It was my reality.
Taking one more step landed my leg into the grip of something out of a horror flick and my screams reverberated through the valleys, echoing for miles.
“Oh shit! Oh shit!” I howled, grabbing my leg. With shaking hands, I raised the phone and almost fainted with shock as I saw the black, steel jaws of a bear trap around the fur of my boot. It had been white lining but the blood seeping through was staining it red faster than the driving snow around me.
“Oh Jesus,” I gasped, forcing myself to my feet through the pain. Adrenaline had kicked in and I was trembling violently but my survival instinct overrode all else and I knew I had to keep moving.
Shit just got real.
If I was discombobulated before, I was delusional now and for all I knew, I was limping around in circles, blood flowing hotly beneath my pants and pooling inside my boot.
I have no idea how far I went but at some moment, I realized that I had left my phone on the ground where the bear trap had snapped me.
A new fear gripped me then.
If there was a bear trap, there would be bears, wouldn’t there?
Would they smell my blood? Would they come to feast on my carcass when I inevitably passed out?
I was barely walking now, the snow sweeping over my feet as I stumbled like a drunk man toward the cabin ahead.
Wait what?
I had to be hallucinating. Ice had formed on my eyelashes as I froze in my spot and gazed beyond the flatlands toward a long, log cabin that seemed to stretch on forever.
It didn’t make any sense but nothing happening to me in that moment did. I was going to die if that place didn’t exist anywhere else but in my mind.
With the last ounce of energy I could muster, I made my way forward, gasping as dizziness overwhelmed me. My eyes were nearly frozen shut and I couldn’t feel my fingers underneath my mittens but none of that compared to the pain radiating from my leg.
As I lumbered up to the structure up ahead and fell inside the door, I had a terrible feeling that I was going to die anyway.
6
Dan
My heart was still racing even as we approached our residence and I knew it wouldn’t stop until we were safely inside and shielded from the pelting snow and sleet pouring down on us.
It was a miracle we’d made it home from the expedition at all and no matter how much time I’d spent in Iceland, I’d never really get used to the unexpected brushes with death we seemed to encounter by the way of weather.
Jim stopped the van in front of the cabin and we all hurried into the cabin, exhaling in unison as we fell inside the door. The equipment could wait on the truck. Our safety came first. Our gear was used to inclement weather, even if we weren’t.
“Guess we’re going to be off for a few days,” Jim commented and there was a murmur of consensus among us as we shook the snow off our burly bodies and hung up our coats in the mudroom.
“I’ll get the fire going,” I said to no one in particular as our crew dispersed in different directions to find the warmth they sought.
I heard someone banging around in the kitchen but suddenly a cry of alarm caught my attention.
“There’s someone in here!” Jim yelled from our shared dorm.
“What?” I asked, hurrying toward his voice. “Who?”
The thought that an intruder would be in the middle of nowhere was absurd but what would they take?
My question was quickly answered as I swung my massive frame into the room and paused mid-step, gawking at the bloodied, unconscious girl in my bed.
“Sweet Jesus!” I muttered, regaining myself. “How the hell did she get in here?”
Instantly, I saw from where the blood was pouring and anger spiked through my veins when I realized what was on her leg.
“You idiot!” I yelled at Jim who hovered near the unconscious girl. Her skin was as white as the snow which fell outside, a stark contrast to her ebony hair which lay dripping over a mouth of surprising redness.
“How many times have I told you that those bear traps are an accident waiting to happen?”
I dropped to my knees and barked at Harry to grab the medical kit from the bathroom.
“Yeah but the polar bears,” Jim whimpered and I glowered at him.
“Does she look like a polar bear to you, Jimmy?”
I didn’t listen for a response and I looked at the wound around her leg. I needed to pry the clamp off her before she got sepsis. There was no way of knowing how long she’d been there or how hurt she was just by looking at her.
Harry returned and handed me the kit as I struggled to unhinge the jaws from her leg.
“Be careful,” Jim muttered and I shot him a scathing look.
“I wouldn’t have to be careful if you’d be more sensible!”
“I’m sorry,” Jim muttered and I softened, knowing it was never his intention to hurt anyone. That didn’t change the fact that there was a woman bleeding to death in our dorm.
“Stand by with towels. Blood is going to go everywhere. She’s lucky the brunt of it caught her boot. I don’t think there’s much damage to her bones.”
Jim did as he was instructed and slowly, I pulled the trap off her calf, my dark eyes darting up toward her face to see if the pain would rouse her but she remained in a deep, slumber and it scared me beyond reason.
As I predicted, gushes of red began to spurt from the wound and we were on the blood, holding towels to her as I managed to slip off her boots.
“Her pants need to come off too,” Harry offered and I nodded.
“Get out,” I told them. “I’ll deal with this.”
No one moved as they looked at one another as if they weren’t sure they should go.
“Guys get out. If she wakes up and sees seven men looming over her without her pants—”
“Oh!”
“Yes. Let’s go.”
“Come on.”
“Nothing to see here.”
They all moved out of the room with lightning speed, except Graham who lingered.
“You can go too, Graham,” I told him without turning around. “I’ve got this.”
He didn’t say anything and when I turned to look at him, he had a peculiar look on his face.
“What?” I demanded.
“You know what,” he replied but without another word, he, too, left the room. I didn’t have time to think about Graham and his weirdness at that moment. This woman’s life was in my hands.
“Come on, honey,” I breathed. “Wake up.”
Tenderly, I removed her stained, soaked outer pants and then her long johns, followed by her drenched socks.
Gooseflesh prickled her fair skin and I managed to apply pressure to her wound as I slipped off her jacket.
She was breathtakingly lovely and I had to wonder how she’d gotten out there by herself. Someone had to be missing her. I knew I would be.
Carefully, I disinfected the deep gouges but my initial assessment had been correct. Nothing was broken. It was a flesh wound, nothing more.
It only took a few stitches and some alcohol to stop the bleeding and I gave her a shot of Demerol, knowing that when she woke, she’d be in excruciating pain.
Satisfied with my handiwork, I yelled for Jim again.
“Help me move her onto another bed so I can change these sheets,” I told him. “And we need to find her some warm clothes. It’s a small wonder she doesn’t have hypothermia.”
“Where the heck did she come from?” Jim asked, echoing my own thoughts from earlier. “There’s not a town for miles!”
“We’ll ask her when she wakes up, I guess.” I looked around for a purse or bag, my eyes resting on a knapsack on the floor.
“Is that hers?�
“I guess.”
Together, we lifted her and placed her on the next nearest bed which was Bash’s and Jim giggled.
“This will be the first time Bash has ever had a girl in his bed,” he joked but I wasn’t amused. It wasn’t the time for jokes, even though I knew it was Harry’s defense mechanism.
“Jim, go find her some clothes.”
His smile faded and he hurried to oblige as the others slowly filtered back inside.
“Is she awake yet?” Harry wanted to know, his usually amused expression somber. “Is she going to be okay?”
“Yes,” I replied with conviction. I had no doubt in my mind that she was going to be fine.
“We just need to keep an eye on that wound and she’ll be fine.”
“What can we do?” Bash asked, his small voice barely over a whisper. I could see that having the girl in his bed unnerved him but his heart was good. He wouldn’t make it about him, not when someone’s life was at risk.
“Pray?” I suggested. “I gave her something for the pain but she’ll come around soon.”
I hoped.
All around me, my companions hung their heads and silently wished her well as Jim returned with a pair of his own flannel pajamas.
“Will these do?” he asked and I could read the contrition on his face.
“Yeah,” I said, offering him a brief smile. “You’re scrawny.”
Jim scoffed and the others laughed but quietly as to not wake our sleepy beauty.
Come on, princess, I begged her. Wake up so I can see your eyes.
It was only then that I noticed Graham still standing off to the side, frowning at all of us and I stifled a sigh of worry.
I hoped he wasn’t going to make matters unpleasant.
7
Sasha
In a dream, I saw the forms of six men hovering over me, a haze of muscle and scruff. The smell of a burning fire filled the air and I blinked, smiling fuzzily at them, my clouded eyes focused on the man front and center.
He was tall, or so he seemed, even sitting at my side, his chocolate eyes shadowed with concern beneath a mass of thick lashes.
He sported a short beard and I think I heard his voice before I identified even the unruly curls on his head.
I couldn’t quite make sense of the words falling from his full mouth but I found myself fascinated by the movement of them.
Slowly, the others came into better view as my trance-like position seemed to lift. I realized then that I couldn’t be dreaming or if I was, it was very lucid.
The man at my side abruptly stopped speaking and he leaned in close to meet my gaze, his irises lightening as he realized I was looking at him.
“She’s awake!” he said and the other men clamored in closer to look at me. Suddenly, I wasn’t floating above them on a cloud but very aware of the fact that I was in a strange place, surrounded by strange men.
I struggled to sit up but a wave of voices called out to me in unison.
“Oh no, hon, just relax!”
“Don’t try and move.”
“You’ve been through an ordeal.”
Their words meshed together in a chorus but my eyes were fixed on the coffee-colored ones in front of me.
“Bash, get her some water,” he growled softly, leaning in closer to me. “How are you feeling?”
I sank back, unsure if my fear was founded. Instinctively, I understood that being in such a situation couldn’t be good but a feeling of peace stole over me as I read nothing but deep concern around the room. Abruptly, I remembered how I’d gotten there.
“Oh shit!” I cursed and there was a titter of nervous giggles in the room. I looked down and saw the blanket covering my body, felt the pain throbbing in my right leg.
“It’s all right,” the sitting man told me with tenderness. He couldn’t seem to stop staring at my face as I pulled the thick quilted comforter aside and peered at my lower body. I was wearing a pair of too-large pajamas and I could see the white of a bandage sticking out through my foot. I realized that I’d been dressed by one of these men but the information didn’t bother me as much as it probably should have.
After all, these guys had saved my life. If they’d wanted to harm me, they wouldn’t have taken such care with me.
A glass of water was pressed into my hands and I took a long sip before handing it to the dark, mysterious stranger beside me. He placed it on a nearby table and turned back to me.
“How’s your pain?” the man asked me and I refocused my attention on him, a million questions of my own on the tip of my lips.
“I-I’m okay,” I said slowly, realizing that I meant it. Aside from the fog which was slipping away from my mind, I meant it.
“Where am I?” I demanded, finally managing to pull my body upward and stare at the men. “What is this place?”
“I’m Dan,” he offered and nodded over his shoulder. “These are my friends and business associates.”
He listed off a bunch of names but my head still wasn’t clear enough to gather them all. I did remember the one who stood in the doorway, however, staring at me with naked bale in his eyes.
Graham.
“And you are…?”
“Sasha,” I told him, turning my attention back to his face. “Sasha Snow.”
There was another titter of amusement.
“That’s appropriate,” the light-hearted one jested. Harry. His name was Harry.
Dan shot him a look to shut him up.
“I-I’m sorry I broke in here,” I told them, my eyes darting from face to face but no one seemed angry that I was there.
“Never mind that,” Dan told me gently. “All that matters is that you’re okay now.”
“I-who are you guys?” I demanded, the fact that I was still alive stunning to me. “What are you doing up here?”
Dan chuckled but there was a deep sadness in his eyes.
“It’s a long story,” he mumbled but Harry volunteered the information that he seemed to be reluctant to offer.
“We’re best friends,” the almost hyper blonde told me. “We used to play football together in college.”
“Harry…” Dan said warningly but that didn’t stop him from continuing.
“We got into a bus crash a few years back,” Harry rushed on as if he worried that Dan might stop him from finishing his story. “We were the only seven who survived and we made a pact to stay together after that.”
I blinked, touched and horrified by the tragic details.
“We’re contract drillers,” Dan finished. “We’ve been in Iceland for almost a year now.”
I gazed around the dorm for the first time to really look at it and I saw it was breathtaking. I recalled how big the place had seemed from the outside but the interior was the stuff you only read about in books.
“I-is this where you live then?” I asked lamely, my eyes falling back on Dan’s face. He nodded and shrugged.
“For now,” he replied. “Just rest now, Sasha. I’m going to see to some food for you.”
I opened my mouth to protest that I wasn’t hungry but before I could utter a word, my stomach growled mercilessly.
Dan was already at the door, gesturing for the others to follow him.
“Let her rest, guys,” he ordered and there was not one word of complaint as they all shuffled out of the room, leaving me alone to ponder my predicament.
My eyes settled on a window I hadn’t noticed earlier and they widened when I saw that the panes were caked in white.
The storm hadn’t let up since I’d arrived.
How long ago was that?
I hadn’t thought to ask.
Even though I’d been instructed to relax, my curiosity got the best of me and I rose from the too-comfortable mattress. There was nothing lumpy or uncomfortable about the driller’s beds. In fact, the entire cabin was state-of-the-art from what I could see. The interior walls were made of smooth stone and as I limped out toward the main part of the cabin, I saw it was tastefully but expensively decorated.
Business must be good, I thought, ambling through the halls. The house went on forever, it seemed and eventually I entered a computer lab with mounted screens. Every single one was blank.
“The storm knocked out our communications,” Dan said from behind me and I whirled, gasping guiltily. He smiled and I exhaled.
“I-I’m sorry,” I muttered. “I wasn’t snooping. I was just—”
“You’re free to roam,” Dan told her, holding up a tray of something unidentifiable. “When you’re strong enough.”
I grinned weakly and followed him back toward the dorm, my eyes still taking in every detail of the cabin. I paused at the bay window and choked.
“I-is that a helicopter?” I demanded.
Dan snickered.
“Yes,” he replied. “But again, it’s not going to do you a lot of good right now. If not for the backup generator, we’d be in complete darkness right now. Come back to bed and eat something.”
I didn’t argue and when I was settled back under the quilt again, Dan lay the tray on my lap.
I eyed the slop in a bowl warily but I didn’t want to be rude so I took a hearty bite. It was as awful as it looked.
What do you expect with seven men and no women? I thought, stifling my ungratefulness. It was warm, it was food and I needed it, no matter how flavorless it was. Whatever it was.
“Thank you,” I managed to mumble.
“We’re not really cooks,” Dan chirped and I blushed with embarrassment, wondering if he could read my thoughts.
“No,” I agreed, shoving aside to the food to stare at him with warm, thankful eyes. “You’re my guardian angels.”
Our eyes locked and I felt a rush of emotion fill my body, overriding the pain which had returned to my leg.
“You’re in pain,” he commented. My brow furrowed in surprise.
“How can you know that?”
“I have some training as a medic,” he replied. “Every team needs one and that fell on me.”
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