The rest of him was starting to freeze, and Stefan bundled back under one of the skins, covering his head, trying to fold himself as small as possible, waiting to warm up. He was tired, but sleep wouldn’t come. He heard Phoebe whimpering. Was she dreaming of wolves attacking her? Did those wolves nearly starve every winter? He couldn’t imagine spending months being cold and hungry, knowing if you didn’t move to find food, you would die.
He knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep again, not with the knowledge that the wolves were right outside. Jeremy’s breathing was getting more and more wheezy, and it was hard not to listen for the boy’s next breath, to see if it was better or worse. He was unable to shut the sound out. Cecil’s breathing wasn’t much better; it was shallow and raspy, like the noise of a distant saw.
Morning came only by a lightening of the gray. The fire was nearly out again, down to embers. Stefan turned on his side, wondering if he had managed to doze a little. The movement made him want to cry out in pain. Every part of him ached no matter which way he moved. He got to his feet slowly, praying the wolves weren’t still waiting outside the door. Even if the wolves weren’t in sight, he didn’t like the thought of going out to try to find more wood, knowing an unseen wolf could be watching him. He went to the flap where Boris still lay. The wolf’s ears were alert, but he appeared more relaxed than he had in the night. Stefan lifted the edge and looked out. He didn’t see anything but snow on the ground and more snow falling.
Raine came up beside him, yawning. “When is it ever going to stop?”
“This might be one of those storms of the century people talk about,” Stefan said, trying not to think too much about the snow, but he couldn’t stop thinking about the cold, so sharp now it was like a knife’s edge against his skin.
“We have to get more wood,” Raine said.
“The wolves were right outside during the night. I don’t see them now, but we’ll have to be careful.”
They went out of the shelter and immediately spotted the wild wolves up the hill by the kitchen area, digging in the snow. The white-eyed wolf lifted his head to watch Stefan and Raine.
“They must still smell food there,” Raine said. “I don’t think we can get rid of them. What can we use to scare them off?”
“Maybe we don’t need to,” Stefan said as the three wolves stopped foraging and took off into the trees. “I wonder if they are more scared of us in the daytime. Does that make sense?”
“I don’t know. I’m just glad they’re gone.”
“We have to do something, now, this morning,” Stefan said, brushing at the snow on his face. “They aren’t going to stay gone. I’m not sitting around waiting for someone to rescue us. Do you know how to snowboard?”
“Sure, snowboard and ski. We go every year right after the Sun Valley film festival. Well, I snowboard and my mother goes to a spa. You didn’t find any snowboards, did you?”
“No, but I have an idea, a couple of ideas actually.” He didn’t want to tell her in case neither of them worked. “I’m going to go look at a few things to see what’s possible. I’ll be back in a minute.”
He went to the skimmers first, examining how the tube weapons were held on. The skimmer itself was made of some lightweight material, and when Stefan unhooked the bungee cords that held it to the trailer, he could lift up the front of it without too much effort. His skimmer-as-sled idea might work, but it was chancier than his other.
The next step was to see if they had enough of the big extension cords to climb down from the top of the cliff to the bottom. If they tied them together and knotted them at intervals, he and Raine would have handholds down. Then all he’d need was more gaffer tape and the cooler lids. With those two items he was pretty sure he could fashion makeshift snowboards. If they were going to go for help, it would be a lot faster to snowboard than to walk, even if he wasn’t that great at it.
Excited that he had a plan to carry out, Stefan went back to the shelter to find their wolves and Kep sitting in a row outside the door, sweaters wrapped around their heads and ears and tied on top in big bows. Cords were attached to all their collars, and Jeremy held the ends.
Before he could ask Jeremy what was going on, Cecil shuffled out of the shelter, his eyes bloodshot. When he saw the animals, he said, “Am I missing a canine beauty pageant, perhaps?”
“Whatever it is, it wasn’t my idea,” Stefan said.
Jeremy pointed up toward the trailers. “Raine thinks she can find some pyrotechnics that aren’t dangerous. There is a kind that just makes loud noises. She said if she found some she could scare off the other wolves to get some more firewood, but she wanted me to cover our guys’ ears so they don’t get scared too.”
“She’s in the prop trailer? She didn’t take Cecil’s lighter, did she?” Jeremy still wore faint traces of the paint that had spilled in there. A lighter could be disaster.
Cecil held it up. “No, I told her last night it’s almost out of fluid.”
Stefan’s relief lasted only seconds.
“She made a torch instead,” Jeremy said. “It was awesome! She took the leg of a chair and wrapped one of the sweaters around it. When she lit it, it really sparked!”
Chapter 19
Escape
“No, no, no! Cecil, keep everybody where they are!” Stefan yelled as he took off to the trailer, forcing himself to run, expecting to see an explosion at any second. When he got to the prop trailer, he climbed up to the opening, screaming Raine’s name. At the top he peered down into the opening and saw a wavering glow. “Raine, get out of there!”
“I will,” she called. He couldn’t see her, but he could tell from the light she was just out of his view. “I found some flares, but I’m still looking for squibs. They’re the ones that make the noise.”
“Raine, get the torch out of there now! It’s dangerous!”
He was about to try to squeeze in to get it himself when the torchlight moved toward the opening and he could see Raine. She lifted it above her head as she climbed up far enough so that her head and shoulders were out in the open. “Don’t get all agitated,” she said. “I’m being careful.”
He grabbed the torch from her hand and plunged the flaming part down into the snow. It sputtered, then went out.
“What did you do that for?” She gathered up some snow like she was going to throw a snowball at him.
“There’s paint spilled in there that’s probably flammable. If a fire started and spread, the pyrotechnics would go off and you’d be blown to bits. No more Raine. That’s why I did it.”
“Oh,” she said. “I didn’t think of that. I was just trying to help. I really, really just want to get out of this place.” Stefan was surprised at how down she sounded. It wasn’t like her at all, and he tried to think of something to say to make her feel better.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “I need your help on something else. You said you knew how to snowboard; well, here’s what we’re going to do.” He explained his idea and then said, “But we need long cords and more gaffer tape. Can you climb back into the camera trailer for more cords? I can knot some handholds in them while you use the gaffer tape to start making boot holders on the cooler lids. When we get to the bottom of the cliff, we’re going to have to tape our boots all the way on, but it will go a lot quicker if there are already some tape pockets in the right spots to begin with.”
“I can do that,” she said, more enthused again. “I don’t know how well it’s going to work, but I’m willing to give it a try. Cooler lids! And no stunt people to do it for me! This is great!” She took off toward the camera trailer and then stopped. “Wait, what’s your lead foot? If I’m going to make snowboards, I want to get that part right.”
“I lead with my left,” Stefan said, heading back to the shelter. While Raine was back in the camera trailer, he’d have to figure out how to tell Jeremy and Cecil about the plan. He hoped that after the last time they’d left the two of them alone, Jeremy would be cautious eno
ugh just to stay put in the shelter.
Only Jeremy was outside the shelter when Stefan reached it, busy untying the sweaters from the wolves’ heads. Kep still had his on, but he was trying to shake it off. “I saw Raine get out the trailer without anything, so I guessed the fireworks idea is off, right? Couldn’t she find any?”
“No. Listen, Jeremy. We have a plan. Where’s Cecil?”
“He went inside to lie down. He said he was really, really tired.” Boris, restless, circled around Jeremy, winding his leash around the boy’s legs. “Here, can you hold the leashes and untangle him?” Jeremy asked, holding the ends out to Stefan. “It’s hard to untie the sweaters and hold on at the same time.” Boris took that moment to give a hard pull, which jerked Jeremy’s legs out from under him. The boy fell to the ground and the wolf pulled harder. The knot holding the cord to the collar came undone. The wolf immediately ran off in the direction of the kitchen area. Phoebe strained at her own leash and Stefan didn’t act quickly enough to grab it. Jeremy lost hid hold and she ran off after Boris, the leash dragging behind. Kep barked and tried to follow, but Stefan managed to catch the little dog. “Come back!” Jeremy yelled, trying to get up.
Stefan scanned the surroundings but didn’t see the wild wolves. “Let those two go for right now. I want to tell you and Cecil about the plan.” He held out a hand to help Jeremy up. “Kep, you’ll just have to stick with us.”
They went inside and Stefan thought Cecil had gone back to sleep.
“Come back outside,” he whispered to Jeremy. After Stefan explained the plan, Jeremy asked, “How long do you think it will take?” Stefan could tell the boy was scared at being left, so he tried to sound reassuring. “It shouldn’t take long at all. It’s all downhill. We’ll be back with help before you know it.” He wasn’t going to tell Jeremy or Raine the weak link in his idea. Even once people knew they were in trouble, there was still the problem of rescuers getting back to the lodge. He just hoped that because the wind had died down, a helicopter could make it up to Cecil.
Jeremy still looked scared, so Stefan said, “Why don’t you finish getting the sweater off Kep and take him inside so he’ll stay warm.” The little dog had given up trying to get his sweater bow off himself and lay in the snow with a resigned look on his face. He perked up when Jeremy picked him up and licked at the boy’s face as Jeremy carried him inside.
Phoebe and Boris were still up by the kitchen area, sniffing the ground and the debris, like they were examining every inch the wild wolves had walked on. Phoebe found a bone and settled down to chew on it. Stefan debated with himself about whether he should go get the wolves and put them back on leashes. If the white-eyed wolf came back, he didn’t know what their wolves would do, but he also knew Phoebe and Boris were hungry. If he tried to pull them away from where they smelled food, they might decide to snap at him. Dogs could give a person a nasty bite if you tried to take their food away from them, so it made sense wolves might do the same.
He headed back to the cliff edge instead. They’d just left Jeremy’s harness where he’d taken it off, and it was already under a few inches of snow. Stefan kicked the snow off it and picked it up, untangling the end of the cord from the tree branch and trunk. He didn’t want it getting in the way when they needed to tie on the climbing rope.
Raine brought him enough cables and cords to climb down a much taller cliff than the one they stood on. At least they had one supply in abundance. His rumbling stomach reminded him of what they didn’t have.
“I’m going to work on the snowboards,” she said, “and get Jeremy to collect some wood so they’ll stay warm while we’re gone.”
Intent on knotting the cords, Stefan lost track of time. When he was done he had a climbing rope knotted about every foot. He tied one end around the tree, satisfied the plan would work. As soon as Raine was ready, they could get going. It felt good to know they’d be getting away.
Raine had just brought the snowboards to him and they were examining the boot pockets when Jeremy ran up. “Cecil’s really sick again!” he yelled. “Hurry!”
The look on the boy’s face was one of pure panic, and Stefan knew it must be bad. The three of them took off for the shelter. Stefan pushed through the flap to find Cecil huddled on the ground clutching his chest and moaning. Stefan felt alarm wash over him. What was he supposed to do? He knelt down and saw that Cecil was having trouble breathing. “Jeremy, find something to put under his head. Cecil, let me help you lie back, you’ll breathe better.” Raine helped him prop the old man up. Stefan desperately searched his brain for an idea of what to do. He couldn’t think of one.
“It’s okay, Cecil,” Raine said. “It’s okay.”
They all stayed in place for what seemed like hours, but was probably only a few minutes. Stefan hadn’t noticed Kep earlier, but now the little dog came up and joined them, staring at Cecil right along with them. Slowly Cecil’s breathing eased, and his face smoothed out like the pain was going away. He closed his eyes and spoke in a voice so soft Stefan had to lean in close to hear. “I’m so sorry, children. I’m afraid my heart is not quite up to this adventure.”
“It’s okay,” Raine said again. “We’ll be out of here soon, someplace nice and warm.”
Jeremy brought over all the skins and they covered Cecil up. He kept his eyes closed, murmuring something that sounded like “thank you.” When it looked like he was comfortable, Stefan pulled Raine and Jeremy outside.
“Change of plans. Jeremy, do you know how to snowboard?” Jeremy shook his head. “Okay,” Stefan said. “It doesn’t matter. We’re all getting out of here. Cecil needs a hospital. We can’t wait any longer. Even if we can’t get across the bridge yet, someone in those houses on this side of the river should be able to call for help, maybe get a helicopter. We’re lowering the skimmers down the cliff. Once they’re down, I’ll be in one with Cecil and Jeremy, you’ll have to take the other. Raine can snowboard.”
Jeremy and Raine just stared at him.
“Um, Stefan, you know the skimmers don’t really work, right?” Raine said. “They’re just props. They don’t fly. They don’t do anything. We can’t skim across the snow in them.”
“I’m not crazy. I figured out a way to use a skimmer as a sled. We need to hurry, though. The sooner we get Cecil to a hospital, the better it will be for him.” That much he remembered from his mom talking about her job.
“Cecil is much bigger than Jeremy. Do you really think we can lower him down?” Raine asked.
“He’d be too heavy to lift up, but all we have to do when we lower him is make sure we don’t let the cord slip out of our hands. We’ll make him a harness and we’ll tie one end to the tree just in case. It will break his fall if something goes wrong.”
“That makes sense,” Raine said, “if we can make him a harness that holds together.”
“What should we do first?” Jeremy asked.
“We see if we can get the skimmer to the edge of the cliff. Come on!”
They raced over to the trailers and unhooked the bungee cords that held the skimmers in place on the trailers. As Stefan had hoped, between the three of them they managed to carry the props over to the edge of the cliff.
“We need the tarps from the shelter too,” Stefan said after they had lowered the second skimmer to the ground.
“Jeremy and I will get them. I have to go get something to get Kep down too. I’m not leaving him here.” Raine and Jeremy went off in the direction of the shelter, and Stefan hoped whatever she thought up, it wouldn’t take too much time to find. They couldn’t have Cecil wait for the dog.
Stefan began to make the harness for Cecil, first examining the one he’d made for Jeremy to remember how he’d done it. It didn’t take long, and by the time Jeremy was back, he was done and had tied one end around the tree trunk.
With the tarps and the cables, Stefan figured he could make a sling for the first skimmer. With the skimmer resting on the tarp and the cables run through the holes wher
e the bungee cords had been, it would be the quickest way to get the prop down below. Jeremy helped him while Stefan explained what they were doing. “We’re going to send you down first, then Cecil. After that we’ll send the skimmers. We’ll need you at the bottom to get the tarp off from around them. Cecil can get in one to stay warm while we come down. Okay? If anything goes wrong, you just take off with Cecil.”
“I still don’t understand how I’m supposed to use the skimmer,” Jeremy said. “It doesn’t steer.”
“It’s like a sled without runners, so you’re going to steer with the side weapons.” Stefan stopped working with the tarps to show Jeremy what he was talking about. He unclamped one of the fasteners on the tube and let the back end of it drop into the snow. “The tube pivots around on this bracket. When you push it down into the snow, it will turn the skimmer in the same direction. If you lift up it up out of the snow and push down on the other one, you’ll turn in the other direction. It’s like how you use a canoe paddle to turn a canoe. The canoe always wants to turn to the side you’re paddling on.” At least that was the way the skimmer idea worked in Stefan’s head. He didn’t know if it would actually work. “All you have to do is zigzag down the hill so you don’t pick up too much speed. Do you think you can do that?”
“I think so,” Jeremy said, “but I’ve never been in a canoe.”
“That’s okay. It’s easy.” It wasn’t really, without a little practice, but there wasn’t time for a lesson.
Raine came back as they were about to lift one of the skimmers onto the tarp.
“Did you find what you need?” Stefan asked.
One of the costume sweaters was around her neck and she grabbed hold of a sleeve of it. “I’m going to tie Kep up in this and then tie it around my neck like a baby carrier.”
Wolf Storm Page 15