Sharon Dunn - Zero Visibility

“What’s going to happen to her?” Merci couldn’t hide her anguish.

“I don’t know. He must have come back for the snowmobile, thinking that would get him and the others off the mountain. They might get a little ways, but even that won’t be good in the deeper snow.”

“But why would they take Lorelei?”

He shook his head. “Maybe he thought it would be easier to get away if he had a hostage.”

Merci nodded. “He did say if I came close, he would hurt Lorelei.”

“The others must have been waiting for him in the trees. You can’t fit four people on that snowmobile. He might let her go once he thinks he’s gotten far enough away.”

Her eyes widened with fear. “That would mean she would be wandering out there in the cold.” She brought her fingers up to her mouth and shook her head. “Or he might just kill her when she is not useful to him anymore.”

Judging from what he had seen so far, that was a possibility. He kept the thought to himself. Merci was worried enough.

“She went outside in the middle of the night like she was not in her right mind. I remember reading stories in history class about pioneer women who just walked out in the cold and died because the struggle for survival just got to be too much for them.”

Still feeling a little wobbly, Nathan rose to his feet. “She was kind of falling apart.”

Merci shuddered, then lifted her chin. A look of resolve came over her face. “We have to rescue her.”

He didn’t disagree, but they were no match for armed men. If they were to get any distance at all, they needed a break in the storm. “We don’t have any way to defend ourselves.”

“She saved my life when they attacked us in your truck.” Her eyes pleaded. “We have to do something. Maybe they’ll just let her go in the woods.”

That would be the best case scenario. “We might be able to bring her back to the cabin, but not if the thieves are close by.”

Her jerky movement as she ran her fingers through her hair revealed how anxious she was. “Maybe the police will try harder to get up here now that they know what we are dealing with.”

He hated hitting her with more bad news, but he needed to tell her the truth. “The phone line is not working. I wasn’t able to make that second call.” He braced for her reaction.

Merci sucked in a sharp breath before responding. “We have no way to contact anyone?”

“Do you have a cell phone?”

She shoved her hands in the pocket of her purple coat. “I thought I put it back in my pocket when we were at the car, but maybe I didn’t…or it might have fallen out of my pocket outside.” She rose to her feet and looked up at him. “What are we going to do to help her?”

His mind reeled, searching for possible solutions. “If they came back for the snowmobile thinking it would help them escape, they’ll get bogged down in the snow eventually.”

Merci’s eyes brightened. “So they would be on foot. That means we might be able to catch them and get Lorelei back.”

Nathan nodded. “If we get a break in the storm, we can follow the tracks. I have snowshoes and warm weather gear.”

She moved away from him and collapsed on the couch. “It’s not a smart plan, is it?”

“It’s the only viable plan we have.” He paced. “We’ll only go out a short distance. When the snowmobile becomes unviable, they might head back toward the cabin. We’ll have the element of surprise on our side.”

She laced her fingers together and bent her head. She stared at the floor for a long time as though she were mulling over what they were about to do. “We can’t leave her out there. And we can’t just wait here and hope they come back and that she is with them. You saw what those men were capable of.”

“There is a lot of ‘ifs’ to this plan.” He shook his head. “Taking her just doesn’t make a lot of sense even if she was some sort of insurance policy to get away. Maybe this isn’t a simple robbery. Is your friend rich?”

Merci shrugged. “I really don’t know her that well.”

“But you took a ride with her.” He hadn’t intended to sound accusatory.

“I was desperate. I had a terrible finals week. Someone stole textbooks out of my dorm room. I failed chemistry. My dad sent me a letter saying he and mom weren’t going to be in the States for the spring break. He thought it would soften the blow if he sent a care package, too. The final insult was that my car broke down two days before I was supposed to leave. All I could think about was how being with Aunt Celeste would make the world seem right again. I was checking the Share a Ride bulletin board when Lorelei came up to me and said she was driving to western Oregon and could drop me off.”

College students caught rides with fellow students all the time. Still, it seemed a little impulsive on Merci’s part. “So how well did you know her?”

“We weren’t best friends or anything.” Merci gathered her long hair in her hand and twisted it while she talked. “We’re in the same dorm, and we had a marketing class together last year. We worked on a project together. She’s a serious student.”

Nathan walked to the window and stared out at the deep snow. The wind wasn’t as bad as it had been earlier and the snowfall was lighter.

Merci came up behind him. “We have to do this, Nathan. She saved my life. There is no one else to help her. I’m afraid for her.”

He hated putting Merci in harm’s way. But going alone would be foolhardy, too. His resolve solidified. They had to at least try. “I have an extra pair of snowshoes. I don’t have another coat, so you will have to wear the one you have. Let’s see if we can find all the winter gear we can.”

In twenty minutes, Nathan gathered together everything he thought they might need and filled their backpacks with food and water. When he looked out the window, the storm seemed to be breaking up. There was less snow and wind.

Merci followed Nathan out onto the porch. Darkness still covered the sky, but the wind had stopped blowing. He took a moment to show her how to strap the snowshoes on. “Step lightly. Don’t waste energy pulling yourself out of the snow.”

She nodded, her face filled with trust. “Is that it?”

He picked up a silk balaclava that had been his

brother’s. “Wear this under your hat. It’ll keep your face warm.” He slipped it over her head.

“And it makes me look like a ninja.”

He smiled, grateful for the moment of humorous relief.

“Stay close. The wind isn’t bad now, but it’s important that we always be able to see each other. I’ll slow down if I need to. Are you sure about this?”

The trusting green eyes gazed up at him. “I couldn’t live with myself if something bad happened to her, knowing that I didn’t at least try to help her.”

“Me, either,” He said before taking in a prayer-filled breath. “Let’s do this.”

Nathan clicked on his flashlight and took the lead. Merci followed in his tracks. Snow swirled out of the sky. When he looked over his shoulder, she was keeping up, but the distance between them had increased.

The snowmobile tracks were easy enough to follow, making clear grooves as the snow got deeper and deeper. They were only about half a mile from the cabin when they found the abandoned snowmobile stuck in the snow.

Nathan lifted his head and shone the light. “Footprints lead off this way.”

Merci came up beside him, breathing heavily. “Do you suppose the other two thieves were waiting for them somewhere?”

“Maybe.” He studied the two sets of prints partially drifted over from snow. “I can tell you one thing. He’s not taking her back to the cabin.”

Merci came up beside him and shone her flashlight. “There’s not any blood. No sign of struggle. She must still be okay. Where are they going?”