They could serve as the immediate action team.
While Isaiah flew them over the harsh winter terrain of the backcountry, Cade communicated their plans, even as he wondered how and why someone would be in the remote area, especially after last night’s storm.
The call had come in three minutes ago. Cade set his stopwatch to track the critical first fifteen minutes. They only had twelve left, if the witness had made the call immediately. Cade went over a list in his head, glad they always carried equipment in the helicopter for such an occasion. Probe. Shovel. And they each wore a transceiver at all times, in case the unthinkable happened and the helicopter crashed. There was also bivouac gear in the event they were stranded on the mountain.
Maybe today would be the day he could save a life instead of recover a body.
Eight minutes.
Cade tensed, praying that the area would be stable, that he would know where to search. Even if they arrived in time, there were safety issues to consider. They’d need to examine the crown and path for debris, look for ski poles, gloves, goggles—anything that might tell them where to look.
Right around the ridge, Dead Falls Canyon came into view—a deep chasm, rugged and lethal, in the heart of avalanche country. Cade tensed at the ominous sight. Breath forced from his chest as though he were the victim crushed in the slide.
Isaiah sucked in air. “A big one.”
“No kidding.” Cade looked at the crown where the avalanche began, then down over the resulting debris field. “Six, seven hundred feet wide. Eight hundred long.”
“Could be ten, twelve feet deep in some places, Cade. What do you want to do?”
“Get me down there.”
“You sure it’s safe?”
Is it ever? But whoever was buried, if they were still alive, would die if he didn’t do something now. He hadn’t been there to save his father that day and he’d never forgiven himself.
“I’ll take my chances.” Five minutes left on the stopwatch.
He swallowed. It could take him longer than that to find the victim much less dig them out.
“Someone’s waving at us down there,” Isaiah said.
“The witness,” Cade mumbled under his breath when he spotted someone layered in winter wear. He wasn’t digging, but maybe he could give a few more details about where the victims were last seen on the slope.
“There’s no place to land here,” Isaiah pointed out, hovering the helicopter over the snow. “I’ll need to toe in, touch one ski down while you grab your gear. I’ll find somewhere to land, if possible, and hike over to help you.”
Cade stared at his friend—a man he’d grown close to over the past three years. “Don’t set her down. Don’t even think about joining me until you assess the avalanche danger.”
Isaiah didn’t have a degree in glaciology like Cade. Didn’t have the years of training under a mentor like Cade’s father that Cade had.
Of the two of them, Cade was far better prepared—and it still might not be enough. At thirty-three, he didn’t have near the experience or training he needed. He’d lost his father much too soon.
“Understood?” Cade stared him down.
“Aye, aye, captain.” Isaiah saluted him.
Three minutes.
Isaiah touched the helicopter down long enough for Cade to grab the trauma kit, gear up with his equipment and step out. The landing zone was tight, and Cade kneeled next to the helicopter, the whop-whop-whop of the rotor blades drowning out all other sounds. He gave Isaiah the thumbs-up and watched the helicopter lift off and away.
The witness headed in Cade’s direction and, in turn, he hurried toward the man, hoping to get the needed information. In the meantime he turned his beacon from transmit to receive and prayed for a signal.
Cade wanted to know what the witness was doing out here in the first place when the avalanche danger was considerable, but there was no time. Two lives were in the balance.
His ski mask hiding everything but his eyes, the man pointed to a place between the trees a few yards away. Not good. “Over there. I think I saw them—a man and a woman—go down, but it’s hard to tell where they ended up.”
Knowing the range of his beacon, Cade nodded and hurried to where the man pointed, moving down the center of the debris field, listening, looking for that life-saving signal. And then he locked on to that precious sound.
There was a chance...
He marked the spot.
Please, God, let me save this one.
He’d trained for this moment so many times—learned how to locate a beacon and dig quickly. He knew how to assemble his probe without wasting precious seconds. But rarely had he had the chance to use this particular set of skills with the real possibility of finding a survivor.
Two minutes...
Cade hoped to be a hero today, even though he’d never live up to his father’s reputation. Pulse pounding, he reined in his chaotic thoughts, shut out the fear and panic. Stayed focused on the tried-and-true rescue strategies that worked.
Heart bursting, he assembled his probe—an eight-foot collapsible rod. He drove it into the packed snow, hoping to feel something—someone—beneath the surface. He kept searching and probing until finally the probe hit what felt like pay dirt only a few feet down.
A few feet and not ten or twelve or twenty.
God, please...
He tossed his probe to the man who’d witnessed the avalanche. “Start probing for the other victim.”
Cade’s breath hitched as he thrust the shovel into the snow, hoping he’d made the right decision to send the other man away. Then Isaiah appeared by Cade’s side and helped with the digging.
Within a couple of feet they reached a hand.
Thirty seconds left on the clock and counting...
Sweat poured from Cade in spite of the cold, in spite of the fact that he was in top physical condition for his job. Together, he and Isaiah created a tunnel into the snow, searching for the face that connected to the hand. No time to stop to check for a pulse when seconds counted.
There!
“Establish an airway, stat!”
They dug the snow out and away from the pinched features of a young woman so that she could breathe. Vivid blue-green eyes blinked up in surprise and relief, sending his heart into his throat. She was still alive—though he wasn’t done saving her yet. If they didn’t free her completely and soon, she could still die in her icy grave from hypothermia or internal bleeding. Also, Cade couldn’t forget she hadn’t been alone.
“You search for the other victim. I’ve got this,” Cade told Isaiah. “I could only get one beacon signal, though.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. I can dig her out.” But he couldn’t tolerate letting someone die when they could save both victims. Even though they’d passed the first fifteen minutes, victims had been known to survive up to two hours on rare occasions. For the first time in a long time, Cade was on the scene in time and every choice he made could save.
Or kill.
Isaiah left his side. From his peripheral vision, Cade saw him set his beacon and assemble his probe to search for the other victim. But where had their witness gone?
Great.
Failing to keep track of the witness would be a mark against him within the search and rescue team