Charlie's training kicked in, driving out the pain in her shoulder. One thought, pure and absolute.
Get to Viv.
Charlie stood. Viv was frozen in shock, the oxygen canister still clutched in her hand. Rowan was reaching for her from the other direction. Duke stumbled backward, his face white with terror.
And then there was Maddie.
She stood perfectly still staring up at the avalanche coming toward them. Her face was calm. Peaceful.
Then she turned and gave Duke a triumphant smile that saidI don't care if I die as long as you die too.
“Move!” Charlie yelled.
Her shoulder screaming and her vision blurring, she grabbed Viv and threw her body over her principal, trying to get them both down, trying to create any kind of shelter.
“Arms over your face and deep breath now! Swim! Here we go!”
Charlie filled her lungs as the avalanche hit.
The force was unimaginable.
Like being hit by a truck. A freight train. The fist of God.
Charlie felt her body lifted, twisted, tumbling. She held onto Viv with everything she had. Her shoulder wound screamed bloody murder but she didn't let go. Would never let go.
The world turned to gray-white chaos and crushing force and the sound of the mountain tearing itself apart.
Air pocket. Need to maintain an air pocket.
Charlie got one arm up over Viv's head, the other over her own face, creating a small space between them as the snow tried to rip them apart.
Then the snow compressed.
Everything stopped.
Silence. Absolute silence.
Charlie was completely buried. The snow pressed against her from all sides, packed tight by the avalanche's force. She couldn't move her legs at all or move her arms more than an inch or two.The air pocket she'd created was maybe the size of a basketball, shared between her and Viv.
Her left shoulder was on fire. Wet warmth spread—her blood.
But I’m alive.
“Viv?” Charlie whispered through her clenched teeth while still holding her breath, acutely aware of not wasting precious oxygen. Her voice sounded strange in the tiny space. Muffled.
Dead.
“Viv, can you hear me?”
Viv made a tiny movement against Charlie’s chest.
“Charlie?” Her voice was barely audible.
“I've got you.” Charlie's relief almost overwhelmed her. “Hurt?”
“I don't... I don't know. I can't move. Charlie, I can't move?—”
“It's okay,” Charlie soothed. “We're alive. Someone will find us.”
