There was something incredibly sad about that, and I didn’t like the image in my mind of Sophie all alone on Christmas day in her apartment, but I sensed that she didn’t want to dwell on it. So, I changed the topic to work, and the two of us spent the rest of the two-hour plane ride discussing the safe subject of sports equipment.
When we arrived in Colorado, I carried the emergency bag and checked my work email on my phone while Sophie stood in line to retrieve the keys for the rental car that she’d arranged in advance. When we walked out to the parking lot to pick it up, thick snow was falling from the sky.
It was much colder here than it had been in Missouri, but I brought a coat in anticipation of the chillier weather. My breath left my lungs in a white cloud and the sky above us was an ominous gray. I glanced over to see that Sophie’s own coat was thick and puffy, which was a blessing as it completely covered her curves.
I tossed the emergency bag into the backseat of the sedan and got behind the wheel. It was a late-model Ford, and the navigation system told me exactly where to go as I carefully pulled out onto the road. We got plenty of snow in St. Louis, so I knew that I needed to watch my speed and make sure that I left extra room between myself and the car in front of me.
I didn’t want to admit it to Sophie, but I was starting to wonder if the winter storm had arrived earlier than anticipated as we headed north and the snow started falling faster and thicker. As I drove up the mountain toward where the lodge was located, the worse my visibility became, until I wasn’t even sure that I was firmly on the right side of the road.
Sophie was quiet beside me, and I realized that I was leaning forward, my shoulders tense as I gripped the steering wheel so hard that my knuckles turned white. The wind blew hard against the car, making me feel like I was fighting against mother nature herself as I drove closer to my destination. The storm was worse here on the side of the mountain, and the navigation system lost its signal, so I could only hope that we were getting close to the lodge.
Yeah, I might have made a mistake by insisting we come here. But it was too late to go back. We were closer to our destination now than the city we’d just come from. At least, Ithinkwe were. I was practically blinded by the snow.
“Connor...I’m getting a little worried,” Sophie finally said. Her voice was soft but underscored with unmistakable distress.
Yeah, no kidding.She never called me by my first name, so I could tell how serious this situation was.
“It’s okay. We’re almost there,” I said, not sure if I was trying to convince her or myself.
“Are you sure?” She squinted at the windshield, which was being pelted with fast and furious falling snowflakes. “I can’t see anything.”
“There!” I nodded to a dark shape directly ahead. It was hard to make out exactly what the building was, but I was encouraged, and relieved, by the sight of it, all the same.
“What is that?” Sophie leaned forward in her seat a bit more, as if that would help her to see better. “It’s way too small to be the lodge.”
“Maybe it’s one of those storage sheds or some kind of outbuilding. I’m sure the lodge isn’t far down this road.”
As optimistic as I tried to sound, we didn’t get the chance to find out. Suddenly, the car hit a patch of ice. My stomach dropped and I let out a string of curse words as we slid to the side of the road, my foot on the brake and turning the steering wheel in the opposite direction having no effect on our projection.
Sophie let out a soft cry of surprise as we came to an abrupt stop, the front of the car in a small ditch. My seat belt tightened, and my breath left me in a rush, but I immediately turned to Sophie, checking to make sure she wasn’t hurt. Her wide eyes met mine, and I saw fear there.
“You okay?”
“Yeah,” she said, biting on her lower lip. “But Connor...are we stuck?”
I gritted my teeth and tried putting the car in reverse. When I applied the gas, I could hear the tires spinning against the snow, but we didn’t move.
“Damn it,” I yelled, slamming my hand against the steering wheel.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sophie retrieve her cell phone from her purse. “It looks like the GPS isn’t the only thing without any signal,” she said.
I pulled out my own phone, confirming that I had no bars, either. I was tempted to yell again, but that wasn’t going to do us any good. We needed to figure out our next move.
“Okay, here are our options,” I started, thinking out loud. “We can stay put and hope that someone comes along and finds us before the gas runs out and we no longer have any heat.”
Sophie frowned, looking as doubtful about that plan as I felt. The only thing up on this mountain was the lodge and Sophie had told me that it was closed for the next week. No one would be coming up here, especially with this storm. Maybe someone would come looking for us after a while, but I didn’t think the half tank of gas in the car would keep it running until that happened. And when the gas ran out, the heater wouldn’t blow and we’d freeze.
“Or, we can get out and go to that building up ahead. It’s not far, and if we get lucky, it will provide some protection from the storm.”
“But we don’t even know what it is,” she said doubtfully. “It could be a shack with absolutely no insulation or any way to keep warm.”
“Yeah, but I think it’s still our best option.” I glanced back at her, fear and frustration mingling. “I mean, what else do you suggest we do?”
“I’m not arguing with you. I just don’t know what the best thing is to do,” she replied softly, making realize that I was lashing out at her when this was far from her fault.
“I’m sorry,” I said, running my hand through my hair and forcing myself to calm down, considering I was the one who’d gotten us into this situation. “Don’t worry. We’ll be okay. We just have to make it to that building, and we’ll figure everything else out from there.”
She nodded, then added, “Don’t forget the emergency bag.”