Natalie kept her head down, her jaw tight, focusing on her footing and the rhythmic crunch-squish of their steps. They crested the ridge and saw the ravine spread out below, a steep cut in the forest floor, littered with rocks and the gnarled bones of fallen trees. The slope was slick, almost vertical in parts. Water coursed down in small rivulets, turning the mud into something treacherous. They paused at the edge.
"It’s down there somewhere," Olivia said, pointing to a shape barely visible through the mist and trees. It lay motionless against a rock, barely more than a silhouette. Too big to be a coyote. Too lean for a bear cub.
Mason squinted. "Wolf."
"We’ll have to go down together," he added. "Natalie, you and I first. Olivia, guide us by radio. Davey, hang back until we get eyes on the injury."
Olivia nodded, adjusting the frequency. Her hands were steady, but her eyes held a flicker of hesitation. Natalie clipped into the rope line, her gloved fingers trembling just slightly. Mason checked her harness, his touch firm but careful.
"You good?" he asked.
"Let’s get to him," she said.
They began their descent, inching down the slope as the wind picked up. Rocks shifted beneath their boots. Tree roots jutted like bones from the mud. Mason moved ahead of her, every movement precise, his body tense but sure. Natalie followed close behind, trying to match his focus. The injured wolf lay wedged between two boulders, its hind leg bent at an unnatural angle. Blood had soaked into the earth, mixing with the water and mud into a slurry of crimson. Mason crouched beside it, hand outstretched.
"Still breathing," he said. "Bad fracture. Maybe worse. We need to stabilize it before we move."
Natalie dropped to her knees, her pack already open. She pulled out the field wrap kit, rain lashing her back as she worked. Her hands moved quickly, instinctively.
"Stay with me," she whispered to the wolf. "You’ve made it this far."
They worked in tandem, Mason holding the wolf’s head, Natalie wrapping the limb. Their movements were fast, practiced, wordless.
Then a sudden sound behind them, a scrape, a gasp.
Natalie looked up.
Olivia had been climbing down to deliver the splint bag. Her foot slipped on the slick rock. Time slowed. Natalie saw her hand reach for a branch. Watched it break. Olivia tumbled, her body twisting midair, her arms flailing. She struck the slope with a sickening thud and slid further, disappearing behind the rocks.
"Mom!" Davey's scream echoed through the trees.
Natalie froze, heart slamming. Mason surged to his feet.
"Stay with the wolf," he ordered.
Then he was gone, scrambling down the slope after Olivia, rain hammering the forest like war drums. The forest swallowed them both. And Natalie sat there, her hand still on the wolf, her lungs frozen with fear. The storm had fully arrived. And nothing, not even the mountain, felt steady anymore.
The banshee howled around them now, louder and more relentless. The forest had turned wild, the trees groaning beneath the weight of the wind, rain falling in angry slants through the canopy. Natalie crouched low beside the injured wolf, her breath coming fast, heart hammering against her ribs as she watched Mason disappear down the slope after Olivia.
"Mason!" she called, her voice swept away by the wind.
But there was no reply. Only the thunder of the storm, the sharp scent of blood and wet leaves, and the shiver of cold that settled deep into her bones. Davey was frozen above them, halfway down the ridge, knuckles white on the rope line, eyes wide with panic.
"She fell," Natalie said, her voice sharp now, cutting through the storm. "She’s down there. We need to move."
He didn’t answer. She made the call herself.
"Davey, listen to me! Your mom needs you. Mason is with her. I have the wolf. You’re the only one who can help."
That seemed to snap him out of it. With a grit of his jaw, he began the descent, every movement jagged with urgency. Mud slipped beneath his boots. Branches clawed at his arms. But he didn’t stop. Natalie turned back to the wolf. Argus, no, not Argus. This one was different. Younger. Lighter coat. She placed her hand on its side again. Still breathing, but shallow. She tightened the bandage around its leg and whispered, not knowing if the animal could hear her or not.
"Hold on. We’re going to get through this. Just stay with me."
Down below, she heard Mason shout. Then Davey’s voice, cracked and desperate.
"Mom!"
Natalie dared a glance over the ledge. Olivia lay sprawled on the slick rocks, her leg bent in a way that made Natalie’s stomach twist. One of her arms was cradled awkwardly across her chest. Her face was pale, her mouth open in a moan of pain. Mason knelt beside her, steadying her head, shielding her from the worst of the rain with his body.
