Chapter 1

"Clover, a blizzard is coming! Take us down the mountain now, or we'll all die here!"

One of my coworkers glanced at the sky and immediately knew something was wrong.

Clover Ainsley shook her head. "Elliot hasn't returned yet. Let's wait."

Snow fell in heavy flurries, and the roaring wind made everyone uneasy.

"What's the point of waiting?" someone snapped. "Didn't he say this mountain is like home to him? Let him come down on his own!"

"Right. We should've been off the mountain an hour ago, but he went off taking pictures. He can take his chances all he wants, but why pull the rest of us along?"

Their complaints died down under Clover's icy glare.

"If you don't want to wait, go ahead. I'm not stopping anyone."

One of them shot back, "You make it sound easy, but you're the only one who knows the way. You're the guide. If you don't lead us, no one will make it down."

"Then shut up!" Clover snapped. "If Elliot doesn't come back today, I'm not going anywhere. You're all shameless. We climbed this mountain together, yet all you care about is saving yourselves."

The words hit like a punch, and everyone flushed with anger. A friendlier coworker tugged at my sleeve. "Rowan, you need to talk some sense into your girlfriend."

I shook my head. "She's right. Elliot went up the mountain with us. We can't just leave him behind."

Everyone's faces drained of color.

"Rowan, how can you be so irresponsible?" one shouted. "We trusted you when we chose your girlfriend as our guide, and now you two are teaming up against us? When we get back, we're telling the supervisor everything."

Clover, however, seemed pleased. She leaned into my arms and whispered, "Who are you threatening? If you say another more word, I'm leaving you out here."

All of us were staff at the Frostpeak Research Institute, sent to collect samples from the glaciers on this mountain.

When the sampling site was first announced, I recommended Clover. The day before we left, she pointed out that the mountain's terrain was complicated and that we needed a second guide. That guide was Elliot West.

Elliot had mentioned he needed extra money, so he came on as a part-timer. Being a local, he knew the mountain like the back of his hand.

At first, everyone liked him. He was outgoing and cheerful, keeping spirits high on the drive up.

However, that changed when we got onto the mountain.

Even though his job was to guide us, Elliot treated it like a vacation. He goofed off with Clover, taking pictures and stopping every half an hour to rest.

Unlike them, we came to get the work done, not to have fun. Every extra moment waiting set our schedule back.

When some of my coworkers finally complained, Clover had no choice but to let Elliot wander off for his photos while she led the rest of us to the sampling site.

After collecting the samples, snow began to fall. Someone suggested going down, but Clover made us wait over an hour. No one dared say a word after that.

The storm grew worse. The wind shrieked and snow lashed at us. Just as someone was about to step forward on their own, Elliot finally appeared. "Clover, I knew you'd wait for me."

Clover let out a relieved breath, but before she could support him, a piercing cry broke out.

"Avalanche!"

Tons of snow tore loose from the cliffs, tumbling down like a white tidal wave straight toward us.