Page 4 of Mountain Refuge
The frigid air wracked me. Despite my gloves, hat, and coat, I was beyond cold stepping out of the warmth of the car.
I could barely see. The wind, snow, and darkness prevented me from seeing more than a few feet in front of me. I closed the door so the kids were protected. We were almost out of gas. They didn’t have that much heat left.
A figure stood in front of me, bundled up so completely that I couldn’t make out a face or features. However, I knew he wasn’t Corbin. Corbin was over six and a half feet tall. Unless he’d shrunk in prison, this guy wasn’t him. The person in front of me was slightly taller than I was, but that might have been because he was in proper snow gear and I was hunched over against the winter storm. I cupped my gloved hands around my eyes to protect my face and to help me see better, but it didn’t do much.
I didn’t know who this person was but they were out in this blizzard too and it was obvious though that they were prepared far better than I was.
“Help us!” I pleaded, my voice a shout to be heard over the raging storm. My nose and ears hurt so badly that I feared frostbite, even though I’d only been standing out here a minute.
The man looked around me and into the car. His pounding on the window had knocked some snow loose and he could see inside a small gap. I didn’t know if he could see Henry, but Lydia’s blonde hair was very distinctive. The light was still on inside the car from when I’d opened the door.
The man stepped back. He took a backpack off his shoulders that I hadn’t realized had been there. He pulled out what looked like a large rectangle of aluminum foil, but I knew better. It was a Mylar blanket for keeping in body heat. He handed it to me; I quickly donned it. It was big enough that I could carry the kids and still close it around us.
I feared for a moment that the man was just giving us the blanket and then leaving. But he’d been walking to a snowmobile I hadn’t seen or heard. Thank God. We were getting out of here. I didn’t know if the man was with mountain rescue, the police, or just a passerby, but in that moment I didn’t care. I didn’t know if the kids’ door was frozen shut, but I knew mine worked. I quickly climbed back inside to get them ready.
Lydia said nothing as I climbed over the seats, the foil blanket crinkling as I went. She was already working on getting Henry out of his seat. I knew we couldn’t take all of our stuff with us. The cash had come in a backpack, though, and I quickly transferred as much of Henry’s baby supplies into it as I could fit. His needs were more important than mine or Lydia’s at this moment. Feeling guilty about that thought, I threw Lydia’s newBarbieinto the bag too.
Once I saw she was bundled up, I instructed Lydia to climb into the passenger seat. She did without question. I leaned over and kissed her forehead. She was my good girl. I was so proud of her, I hardly had the words.
Henry woke as I picked him up. Unfortunately, his crying and needs would have to wait. I couldn’t change or feed him right then. After I got his coat, hat, and boots on him, I handed him to Lydia. As I climbed into the driver’s seat, I was careful I didn’t hit them with the overstuffed backpack.
I opened the door and, by some miracle, the man was still there. He had brought the snowmobile closer to the car and was waiting by the driver’s door. I stepped back out into the glacial winds. I wasn’t even sure if it was still snowing at this point. The wind made it impossible to tell.
As soon as I was standing, I reached in and grabbed Henry from Lydia. I felt awful for ignoring his tears, but survival was more important than his current discomfort. I brought him out into the cold but, before I could cover him under the Mylar blanket, our rescuer took him from my hands. For a fleeting moment, I panicked. I couldn’t let a stranger take him.
But then I saw what I’d previously missed. The man had unbundled his jacket. He had many layers on. He took a squirming and crying Henry and placed him against his chest. Then he zipped my son up inside his jacket. I feared Henry wouldn’t be able to breathe under the heavy coat, but despite the layers I could still hear his cries. That brought me comfort.
Henry was protected.
Now I had to get Lydia. She handed me the backpack. Her eyes were resigned and held depths no seven-year-old should have. She understood this was a life-or-death situation and she was doing all she could to help me. My little angel.
I drew the Mylar blanket as close to my back as I could and put the backpack on. I hoped it would help keep the blanket more secure for the ride we were about to take.
I picked up my little girl. She clung to me of her own accord, allowing me to keep my hands free and draw the blanket around her completely.
“Is this everyone?” The muffled voice came from beside me. He had some sort of thick ski mask over his face and across his mouth. Over his eyes were snow goggles.
I nodded, not sure I could speak.
The man went to the snowmobile and straddled it. He indicated behind him. I had a hard time walking but was able to make my way over to the vehicle with Lydia. I was so cold, despite Lydia’s heat and the blanket, but I needed to be strong for my kids. I needed them to survive.
I climbed onto the back of the vehicle.
“Get closer,” I was instructed. It was so hard to hear him. I knew as soon as we started moving, I wouldn’t be able to take any directions. “Squeeze her between us. Hold onto me as tight as you can.”
“Th-th-the ba-baby?” I struggled to ask. I couldn’t hear his cries anymore and still feared suffocation.
“He’s fine!” was the answer I received.
Lydia curled her legs up between us and tucked her head under my chin. I brought myself as close to the man as I could with her protected. He had her back while I had her front. I took a second to tighten the blanket around her. Then I brought my arms around the man.
I didn’t know how to tell him I was ready, so I tapped his torso where my right hand had landed. He must have felt it or just sensed we were as ready as we were going to get, because we suddenly lurched forward.
The wind was brutal as we started out. I could barely breathe with it blowing so hard into my face. I had to duck my head down into the man’s back to protect myself. While I couldn’t see where we were going, I hoped my tighter huddle protected Lydia more.
I lost track of time. I was concentrating so hard on making sure Lydia was protected from the harsh weather and that mygrip on the man’s coat was secure that I wasn’t paying attention to how long we were driving. Eventually, though, we stopped.
I was slow to lift my head. My muscles were so tight and cold that it hurt to move. Light drew my attention, and I finally looked to my left to see a snow-covered cabin in the middle of a small clearing. We were surrounded by trees otherwise.
