“Let’s backtrack and see if we can figure out where these came from.”
They skied along the edge of the clearing and found the place where the second tracks emerged. Then they followed the trail back into the woods. The tracks wound in and out among thetrees, sometimes crossing the boy’s tracks, sometimes taking a different path. Lily was following Scott and almost collided with his back when he stopped suddenly. She lurched to one side to avoid running over his skis.
“What is it?” she asked.
“It’s a campsite.” He moved forward, and she was able to see around him. The snow was beaten down, and someone had built a lean-to covered with pine boughs, snow thick on top of the boughs. Directly in front of the lean-to was the remains of a campfire, a thin tendril of smoke rising from the ashes. “They must have been here last night,” she said.
Scott leaned over and fished something bright yellow from the snow. A candy wrapper. He walked to the lean-to and looked inside. “Looks like a couple of people spent the night here,” he said. “There are depressions in the snow.”
He took out his radio and attempted to transmit, but all they could hear was static. “Let’s get out from under these trees,” he said, and skied past her.
She followed him away from the campsite. By the time she reached his side, he was talking on the radio. “I’m sure someone spent the night here. Two people. And the two sets of ski tracks look like a kid and an adult.”
“We can try to get some other searchers into the area.” Lily thought she recognized the voice of the sheriff. “But there’s another storm cell headed this way. Forecasters are saying it could drop another three to five inches of snow.”
“Let us follow the tracks a little farther,” Scott said. “They can’t have left the camp very long ago. The ashes of the fire are still warm.”
They set out once more. The two ski tracks traveled in an almost straight line across the snow, on a slope that grew progressively steeper. If not for the seriousness of their mission,Lily might have enjoyed the almost unblemished powder and the crisp air.
The two humans might have skied for hours, but they had to stop to water the dogs and give them something to eat. She and Scott drank from their water bottles and ate gorp and beef jerky. “Where do you think they’re going?” she asked. “I mean, besides farther into the woods? Are there any roads out here?”
“I’d have to check on a map to be sure, but I think this is all designated wilderness. No roads. The only town is the ghost town of Pandora. I think there are some summer homes there, and a general store that operates in the summer months. But I’m pretty sure you have to cross two ridges to get there from here. Not an easy trip to make any time of year, but especially in winter.”
“Jackson isn’t strong enough to ski all day in this terrain,” she said. “He’s just a kid. And he’s not especially big for his age.”
“At least we know as long as he’s moving, he’s alive, and the exercise will keep him warmer.” He stowed his water bottle and adjusted his pack. “Come on. You’re right about a kid not being able to ski all day. And he’ll ski slower. That should give us a chance to catch up with them.”
“If someone found Jackson and decided to spend the night rather than try to make it back to the resort in the snowstorm, why didn’t they turn around this morning and head for the resort?” she asked. “Why move farther away?”
“I don’t know,” Scott said. “Maybe they got confused? We’ll have to ask them when we find them.”
“What are we going to do if we see them?” Lily asked.
“I don’t know,” Scott said. “I guess that depends on how they act.”
They hadn’t gone much farther before it began to snow again—big flakes, drifting gently down at first, but gradually getting heavier and heavier, until it was like standing in a swirl offeathers. “Hurry,” Scott said. “The snow is going to fill in the tracks.”
Lily tried to hurry, but she was exhausted, and the snow clung to her goggles, so that she had to pause every few feet to wipe them clear. At last, Scott stopped. “I can’t see the tracks anymore,” he said.
“We have to stop, for the dogs’ sake, if not our own,” she said. Both dogs lagged behind now, tongues hanging out, fur coats caked with snow.
“You’re right.” He pulled out a water dish and filled it for the pups.
Lily looked around them. She had no idea where they were. Scott’s radio popped and crackled. “Scott, are you there?”
“I’m here,” Scott answered.
“Were you able to follow the tracks?” the sheriff asked.
“We were, until it started snowing hard. We can scarcely make out anything now.”
“The storm came in faster than we expected,” the sheriff said.
“I don’t think there’s anything more we can do out here right now,” Scott said.
“Can they pick us up?” Lily asked. Now that she was standing still, she was shivering, and fatigue dragged at her, as if she were hauling a sled full of bricks behind her.
“The helicopter is grounded until the weather clears,” the sheriff said.
