The image of her best friend, Melinda, frozen in the avalanche, assaulted Sadie’s mind and made her shudder. She couldn’t allow her fear to let someone else die. Rowdy whined at her feet and licked her fingers. She balled her clammy hands and stared down the opening.
What would she do if one of her dogs balked? She’d ease them into it, that’s what she’d do. Huffing out a sharp breath, she swallowed. Well, she’d just have to ease herself into it too.
She motioned for the dogs to search. “Go. Go find Bjørn.” Her voice came out tight.
The dogs yipped and took off into the crevasse. Taking a deep breath, like it would be her last, she followed after them. Her feet slipped on the slick ice. Each step farther into the cold coffin twisted her stomach into a tighter knot.
The dogs’ barks echoed around her, confusing her as the trail turned deeper into the ice. How far had she gone? Twenty feet? A hundred? The farther she went, the colder it grew. She pulled the sleeves of her sweatshirt over her hands.
A thunderous pop boomed around her, and she froze. Was the glacier shifting? She frantically darted her gaze above her and to each side, her breathing becoming more and more rapid. She didn’t want to be trapped again. Didn’t want to die encased in ice and snow like Melinda.
“Rowdy.” Her voice, barely a whisper, cracked. “Bjørn. Help.”
Her legs shook so violently they wouldn’t hold her. She crouched to the ground, tucking her face between her knees. Her pulse roared in her ears, like the roaring of the avalanche had filled her with terror all those years before. She was there again, tumbling and twisting in frigid cold and burning metal. A scream filled the space, and she didn’t know if it was Melinda’s or her own. The ice pressed down on her like concrete blocks, and she couldn’t breathe.