3.
Approximately an hour away from the location of the cabin, Ninork stopped for a quick break. Little longer, and he will be able to hold her in his arms. How will she react? Almost month passed after his departure. They had no way to stay in touch. Only communication they had – through the mind power. He dreamed of her, nearly every night.
Some were a very strange dreams. Once, he saw her without arms. No arms what so ever. Only torso, legs and head. And her smile. She never told him, what happened to her. He never asked. That was just a fact, that she had no arms. And that fact made him quite uncomfortable. At first. We not used to see people without arms. And when we do, we tend to look away. That is abnormal, to see someone, like that. Instantly makes us feel uncomfortable, fill sorry, for that unfortunate person with no arms. But in this case, she acted, as if this condition did not bother her at all, like it was okay to be that way.. And, after a while, he stop paying attention to this as well.
He was making love to her, same as before. The only thing was missing – feeling her arms, wrapped around his neck. Just for a brief moment, and then – they were swimming in the river of passion, where they both were equal. Thankfully, it was only dream.
Already turning to a slop, indication the way to her mountain valley (strangely it called Moose Valley), he felt how Earth trembled under his feet. He was not a novice hiker, instantly he knew, what that possibly could be, and he speed up with a great concern. Whoosh like sound, touched his ear and made him worry even more. “Oh no, not an avalanche!” – He thought to himself. –“I hope, that she is okay.” She is an experienced mountaineer, she should be okay. She must!
But his heart sinked, while he was thinking of all the odds and possible outcomes of avalanche at this time of year. Days were getting longer by the minutes, and sun could make snow very unstable and dangerous. Let’s hope, she know how to handle things. Obviously, she spend here quite enough time, to know her ways around.
How he was wrong. He realized it as soon as he made turn to a place, where cabin should be. There was no cabin. Only tons of snow that plowed their way down from the mountain top. No cabin. No trace of any live soul. No Light Feather. Nowhere.
He went up higher. That’s the place. He saw that huge tree that was right behind her cabin. Tree was still standing! His heart start beating faster, as he got closer to the place. Yes! There something there! That’s the ridge of the roof – still intact! He clearly could see that now, and the chimney is in one piece!
“I must find the entrance, it somewhere there!” – He thought. –“Too bad, I don’t have a snow shovel, things would go much faster! She must be trapped inside of cabin. Please, God, make her be okay!”
He worked nonstop for at least 30 minutes, tough work, but he could see the results. He cleared part of the porch and door, and now he can push it inside to open. And he did. He could not see anything there, pitch black, as all the windows were still packed with snow.
- Feather, are you here?
No answer. He did not wanted to believe it and call her name again:
- Feather, Ninork here! I am back!.
Silence was the only answer. Cabin was empty. And it means… all of it means, that she.. Is somewhere – there? Outside. May be killed. May be trapped under the snow, but still alive! He had no time to waste. But – what to do. How, where to start? But in his brain already was flashing red sign STOP, and he remember of:
“S.T.O.P: STUDY, THINK, OBSERVE, PREPARE”, from his survival book. That’s already better. He took a deep breath. He understood, that time, or shortage of it, could have a deadly outcome for Feather. But he had to pull himself together, regain strength of his spirit and do not let bad thoughts to occupy his mind. He heard the noise, it was coming from the far end of the house. The goats, how could he forget about them, maybe she is there, with them! They are alive, if making noise.
He ran to the end of cabin and open the door to the small barn, attached to the back wall. No light, of course, but he could see a mother goat and her kids, they were fine, crying, scared, but not injured. Luckily the huge trunk of the tree behind the cabin protected small man’s creation. But… no Feather.
He heard the squeal – coming from outside. Sounds, like an animal. A big animal, actually, sounds, like there few of them. He ran outside, holding his rifle in his hands. And he saw them. The wolfs. Three, must be those that killed her dog. What they are doing out there?
They did not payed any attention to him, they were busy digging in the snow, not far, may be 20 feet away. He saw blood spots on white. He froze, horrified. Then, lifted his rifle and shot in the air. Normally, he wouldn’t do it, it could have trigger another avalanche, but he had to make them run, those wolfs. And they did. They disappeared in the woods, but did not go too far, he knew that. He saw, that they also were trying to dig in the back of the cabin, where barn was, trying to get to the goats. He saw their tracks.
Next moment he was next to the red spot, digging and digging and digging. And that was her. Lifeless, cold, eyes closed. He could not hear her breathing. How long she was under the snow. Must be at least an hour. She looked hypothermic.
“I should take her to a cabin, right now!” But then, he remember something from same book, that he read, survival book. No, warming up someone with hypothermia –isn’t good idea. CPR – right thing to do, to replenish oxygen, that she lost, laying under snow.
Hypothermia is a dangerous thing. But, as his busy mind told him, searching for a solution, one degree Celsius drop in body temperature will lower cellular metabolism by roughly 5 percent, putting body in hibernation-like stage.
While, methodically proceeding with CPR, he was thinking of ground squirrels. Yes, squirrels! When temperatures dip below freezing, their heart rate (usually around two hundred beats per minute), slows to ten, and body temperature drops from 37 Celsius to just two degrees. He is not comparing Feather with squirrel, but his mind was searching for hope, and he did read something about “mammalian diving reflex”, condition that body can go, while ending up in a cold water. Blood flow, in that case, is shunted from extremities to the lungs and heart, it slows the breathing, and the brain and heart use less than a half of oxygen, they normally needed. Some sort of Semi- hibernation that stretches survival time. She was not that long under the snow, to go to that stage, but…
But wait! She moved!
He laughed loudly, looking up to the sky! She opened her eyes! Still pale, but pupils of her eyes are reacting to the bright light. Her brain is working!
- I am so cold. – Her lips were barely moving, but he understood.
- I know, I know, but we have to be patient. So very patient. I will warm you up, but have to do it slowly.
He thought of calling ambulance, but what good it could do? It would not be able to get here, and there a long way down, to a main road.
- I should make a sleigh and take you down, I must admit you to a Hospital.
- No. – She said quietly. I will not go. I would not abandon my goats. – Her voice was still weak, but firm.
“Oh Feather, what is in your past that makes you to stay away from people?” – He thought, but decided not to argue. She need to save her energy. And – warming up procedure, there we come. How lucky I am, to have a photographic memory. Let’s dig in, once more, to that survival guide book.
- Take me to my goats. – She said to him. I’ve done it before. Take me to the barn, and let me lay down with goats, their body temperature is much higher, then ours.
- Yes, but first – this. – I helped her to get up and walk to the cabin. Then undressed her, and stripped down my own closes and put on her, while still warm from my body hit.
- I have a spare once in my back pack, so, do not worry. – Only then I took her to the barn, where her friends greeted her happily. She laid down with a mother goat and babies was all over her, trying to get closer to her body. They are doing everything right, I thought, remembering chapter from that book: “In either case, the body’s priority is keeping internal organs at that ideal operating temperature. “ And that what they are doing – warming up her torso first.
One thing I did noticed, while undressing her – her hands… they did not look right to me, as if blood low abandoned them. I remembered girl without arms, from my dream, and shivered with a horror.