"I'm not getting anything," Bevin mumbled."Maybe his phone is off, but that's not like Finn.He's the kind of guy who charges his phone even when it's at fifty percent.
"Dad…"
Prince hung up on Bevin without listening to what he had to say.He turned to Monroe."I might be overreacting, but something inside me tells me I'm not.Call the local police and report a missing person.Tell them to gather a search party, or whatever they need to do.Have the staff ask around," he instructed, his voice steady even as something darker tightened in his chest.
His cellphone rang.Glancing at the screen, he saw Bevin's name, but he ignored it.Prince did not want to be distracted by his son right now.
"Yes, sir, but what are you going to do?"Monroe asked.
"I'm going to search for him."
Prince hurried out of the bar and got into his car.He drove to the cabin, changed into warmer clothes and sturdier shoes, then grabbed the keys to his Jeep, which could handle the snowy, hilly terrain than his car would, and rushed to the detached garage.Getting in, he peeled out and went searching for Finn, even though he had no idea where to begin.
Prince didn’t know why, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that Finn was hurt and possibly stuck in a snowy ditch somewhere.He knew Finn wasn’t a professional skier, so he drove to all the places he figured Finn would frequent.It was dark, and even with the moon out, it was hard to see.The slopes had been closed for hours.No lifts ran overhead, no patrol lights moved across the mountainside, and no other skiers carved through the snow.
If he remembered correctly, Finn had worn all white today, which made the search even more difficult.He could easily blend in with the snow.Prince drove to three different beginner slopes and grew increasingly worried when he didn’t see any sign of him.Bevin had not stopped calling.No matter how many times Prince ignored it, the phone kept ringing.After what felt like the twentieth call, he finally answered.
"Bevin, I haven't found Finn…"
"Dad, I picked up a signal," Bevin said, cutting him off.
Prince instantly slammed on the brakes."What?Where?"
"Not far from where you are.Earlier, the satellite hadn't updated, so I couldn't get a read, but now it's coming through," Bevin explained quickly.
"Direct me to his location, now."His hands were shaking.
Bevin directed him toward Devil's Track, a double black diamond meant for seasoned skiers.The pitch was brutally steep.Finn had no business being anywhere near it.Even Prince, who had been skiing for years, had only tried it once and said, "Never again in this or any lifetime."
"Dad, you're close," Bevin said, and in the background, Prince heard rustling, but he was too preoccupied with trying to find Finn to question what his son was doing.
"How close?"
"Dad, stop.Stop right there," Bevin said sharply.
Prince hit the brakes, the Jeep sliding slightly before it steadied.
"You've gone past it.The dot's behind you."
Prince threw the vehicle into park.
"You can't drive any farther," Bevin continued, his voice tight."The signal's above you.Maybe forty yards.It looks like he's off the main run."
Prince killed the engine.The mountain swallowed the sound instantly.No patrol lights cut across the slope.No distant voices.Just wind moving over the open snow.
He grabbed his phone, connected his earpiece, then switched on the flashlight before getting out.The cold hit him hard, but he ignored it, his focus entirely on finding Finn.The terrain ahead rose sharply, the pitch uneven and untouched.
"You're almost on top of him," Bevin said."Dad, it scares me.Finn's signal hasn't moved in all the time we've been talking."
Prince did not comment.He moved carefully through the snow, his boots sinking deep.The snow shifted under him and he slipped, catching himself before he went down.His heart slammed against his ribs.If he was struggling to stay upright, what chance did Finn have?
"Dad," Bevin whispered."You're right there."
Prince swept the bright light slowly across the slope.All he saw was white, nothing but endless white, no matter where he walked or where he shone the light.Then he spotted a faint pink stain on the white sheet, which froze him midstep.Even with the snow that had fallen earlier, it was the only thing that had not been covered up, as if some divine being had left it for him to find.Moving closer, the pink became clearer, and he could make out a shape poking out of the snow with trails of pink leading to it.
Prince breathed his name."Finn."He rushed over, sliding down the hill, ignoring any danger to himself, ignoring Bevin trying to get his attention over the phone.The only thing on his mind was getting to Finn.He dropped to his knees, threw his phone down, and tore into the snow with his bare hands, not caring about the cold biting into his fingers.His breath came faster when he saw the curve of Finn's shoulder, then his face half buried, his long lashes frosted with ice.
"Finn," he called out, brushing the snow away from Finn's mouth and pressing two fingers to his neck, searching desperately for any sign of life.For a terrifying second, Prince felt nothing but cold skin beneath his touch.Then, finally, there it was.A pulse.Faint and unsteady, but there.
