Whiteout

Chris Hanks reached over and zipped my parka collar up to my chin.

"Kate, stay put and behave yourself while I'm gone. I'm taking Todd up ahead to scout for a better spot to catch a signal. You're not as strong as the rest of us. Stay here and save your energy."

The old me would have believed every word without question. But right now, the comments were still scrolling.

[Don't fall for it! He's not scouting anything! He's going to check the escape plan with Angelina Bloom!]

[The lighter! Watch the lighter in his pocket! It's key evidence later!]

[Stay calm and start recording, girl!]

I forced down the tremor building in my chest and slid my hand into my inner pocket, my fingers closing around the spare mini voice recorder I always carried for geological fieldwork.

Chris turned and walked toward the far end of the ice cave, Todd trailing behind him.

In the corner, Angelina Bloom — an intern who'd joined the team only two months earlier — sat hugging her knees, shivering. The second she saw Chris approaching, her eyes welled up.

He crouched down in front of her, his back to me, and murmured something I couldn't make out over the howling wind.

Then I saw it: he pulled a silver windproof lighter out of his inner pocket. I'd given it to him on our first anniversary. Our initials were engraved on the bottom. He'd once sworn, in front of everyone, that lighter mattered more to him than his own life.

Now, he was pressing it into Angelina's hand without a second thought.

She took it, then looked up and shot me a glance — deliberately.

[Textbook homewrecker provocation, right there.]

[Don't blow up yet. Let her keep it. It's way more satisfying when that lighter ends up in a storm drain later.]

I softened my footsteps and crept closer, using an ice pillar for cover. Chris's low voice reached me in broken fragments.

"Angie, just hang on a little longer. I've already switched on the rescue chopper's locator beacon. The second it gets here, we're leaving."

Angelina's voice cracked. "But what about Mrs. Hanks? The helicopter can only take two people this time..."

Chris cut her off immediately. "She's got the blanket and the chocolate I left her. She won't die. This cave's easy to spot — the main search party will see her the moment they get here. If we leave her behind as a marker, we can slip away before the chopper's position gets flagged. Otherwise, once that avalanche on the mountain behind us comes down, none of us are getting out."

Angelina was still sniffling. "But Chris, what if the avalanche hits early? She'll be all alone and terrified."

Chris patted her shoulder, his voice going even softer. "It'll be fine. She's got years of field experience. She knows how to keep herself alive. You're different. This is your first time on the ice. I can't let you take that kind of risk."

This was the man I'd loved for ten years. Using his supposed faith in my competence as an excuse to shove me into a death trap without a flicker of guilt.

[Got it! Got it on tape!]

[Don't cry now. You only get to make them cry once you survive!]

[The core data chip's still on you. Chris is about to crash and burn hard.]