‘No!’ she shouted, grabbing hold of his arm and pulling him back towards her with surprising force. She supposed it was panic that had given her strength.
Sympathy and pity filled his eyes, but he tugged her hand away from him. ‘I know you are scared. But I must try to find Sten. He might be buried in the entrance.’ He looked back at the mouth of the cave, and the rush of snow still rolling in.
Embla tried not to take offence at his assumption that she was a coward; she might have thought the same thing in his position. Grabbing his arm again, she tugged insistently to stop him from leaving.
‘No! Look!’
He followed her wild gesturing, his eyes widening when he saw Sten cowering against the rock on the opposite side of the cave. Runar gave a sharp whistle, and with a frightened whimper the dog darted over to them.
They crouched together in the hollowed space. Man, woman, and beast, holding on to each other for safety and comfort as the daylight was eventually extinguished and the cave filled with icy air. Eventually the sound of the roaring waves stilled, and an eerie silence filled the hollow space.
Runar shifted away from her. ‘I will light a torch... There should be a basket of them nearby...’
She heard muffled fumbling and a couple of curses as he moved away to look for them. Clutching Sten tightly to her for comfort, she realised the dog was trembling.
Stroking his fur, she whispered, ‘All is well, my darling Sten. Runar will keep us safe.’
It was the sort of thing she might have said to the children, and it oddly gave her confidence to focus on someone smaller than herself, even if it were only a dog.
‘Ah, here they are!’ said a cheerful Runar, who sounded distant in the echoing chamber. ‘Now where did I put my flint?’
‘It was by the campfire last night,’ she called out, trying her best to be helpful, and then cringing because she knew it wasn’t.
Runar didn’t seem to mind her pointing out the obvious. ‘I should have one on me somewhere. I always carry a couple because I lose them so easily. I wonder if I put one in my boot...’
Unsure if he were replying to her or talking to himself, she decided to stay silent. The scratching of a stone in the darkness was answer enough, and soon there was a spark and then a torch flaring up.
For a moment, there was nothing but his face in the darkness, and she found it oddly reassuring to look upon the grizzly, unkempt appearance of the stranger she had come to rely on. She doubted anyone else in Gudvangen would be so resourceful a companion in such adversity. Eventually, her eyes adjusted to the gloom, and she saw their little camp was now covered in a thick layer of snow and ice, including big balls of white the size of her head.
She looked towards the mouth of the cave, and immediately regretted it. There was nothing but snow and icy rock filling the entrance.
‘It’s fully blocked,’ said Runar, but there was no panic in his voice.
Did he not realise what this meant?
She did. They would die in here, of starvation or lack of fresh air, whichever came first.
‘We should start digging.’ Embla got to her feet, looking around her for anything that could be used as a tool. She grabbed a slim log from the woodpile.
‘No point. It would take us months to dig our way out. That was a huge ice sheet that fell on top of us. I would not be surprised if half the mountain came with it too. There may be several large boulders blocking our way.’
‘But we will starve if we stay here. We must at least try!’
He pointed at the frozen hare strapped to his waist. ‘No, we won’t.’ At her exasperated look, he added, ‘Besides, there is another way out of this cave. It takes a while...but I will have you safely out of here before the end of the day.’
The fear and tension melted from her shoulders, and she smiled up at him, truly grateful that he was with her.
‘That is a relief! I did not see a tunnel—but I wasn’t paying much attention when I first arrived. And, well done on picking up the hare. That was fortunate indeed! Our journey home would have been miserable without it, but now we have something to eat before we set off. Do you think we can light a fire? Are there any more vegetables in your stores?’
She began to hunt around the baskets and boxes that Runar kept at the sides of the cavern. ‘I will make us a stew that will fill our bellies until nightfall... What an adventure I shall have to tell the boys. They will never believe it!’
She giggled to herself, thinking of their shocked faces. Her heart was already swelling with pride. She would stride into the Hall safe and sound, the wild hunter at her side. Even a blizzard and a snowslide could not break her! For once, everyone would admire her spirit rather than her obedience.
But...what if Runar refused to come with her? Would she be able to find her way back from another part of the mountain on her own? She had struggled to find her way on even a familiar path...
‘Will you walk with me back to Gudvangen?’ she asked, not caring anymore if he thought her weak. ‘Please say you will... I am sure you would appreciate some fresh bread and honey cakes when we arrive, and I want to give you something... As a thank-you.’
A hot blush had filled her cheeks, and although she’d tried not to sound desperate, she feared she had failed. Peeking up at him, she saw his face had fallen from his earlier good humour.
