Hatch's
slow speed had as much to do with cargo as it did the terrain and weather. MacIntosh was back-to-back with her. He straddled the rear of the ATV to maintain control of Lawson and keep him as stable as possible while Hatch navigated the terrain. Although the ATV was equipped with all-weather tires, a fresh burst of snow added to the slickness and worked to blind her. The headlights of the ATV threw the snow’s white glow only inches in front. Hatch tried to balance safety with survival, knowing Lawson's life was diminishing with each passing second.
"Where are we going?" MacIntosh called out over the howl of wind and roar of engine.
"You know where the ATV trail is?"
"Those are old mining trails."
"Whatever they are, that’s how I plan on getting us out."
"Why can't we just shoot straight across?” MacIntosh said. “It drops off into a plateau, low land. You drop right off the glacier. It's faster."
"Not anymore. Unless you're Evel Knievel, this ATV isn’t making it across. I heard them talking about the roads. It might not be much better."
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. First, we gotta make sure there’s no more trolls under it. I know I hit Grizz."
"I know you did,” she said. “But I like to confirm when a threat is neutralized. I don’t like having things hanging over my head. Don’t like looking over my shoulder."
"Neither do I. Didn't see him move after the fire and I didn't see him when we were out. If the bullets didn't kill him, I sure as hell hope the fire did."
The left tire caught a hard edge of ice that jerked the ATV. The backend fishtailed and Hatch fought to correct it.
"Is he okay?" she called back, not looking.
It was getting bumpier by the minute. Just as Hatch prepared to slow, the front two wheels of the ATV disappeared into an invisible hole. The blue-white and fresh snow made the glacier top glow, creating a visual washout, obscuring all potential hazards. One of them now gripped the front axle of the ATV, and before Hatch had time to even attempt to navigate them out, she was airborne.
Hatch wasn’t able to see what happened to the ATV or anything else because a split second later, the top of her head slammed into the ground.
She landed on a steep decline and was sliding fast. The same ridges and jagged bumps that she had navigated with the ATV were now striking the exposed skin around her cheek and face. Hatch felt like she was skiing, snowplowing her way down a double diamond.
She extended her arms out in front of her, trying to slow her speed and mitigate the damage from the ice scraping and tearing at her skin. She then reached down with one hand, trying to activate the button to initiate the crampons, hoping to gain traction on the slippery slope and stop her rapid descent. The speed of the ATV when she had been tossed had only added to the speed at which she traveled now. She hoped to stop herself before she went into a deeper crevasse than the one that had sent them airborne.
Ice shaved off the ground and filled the inside lining of her jacket. The cold sting of the jagged pieces felt like a thousand hornets. She activated the left crampon and slammed down her foot. She was moving too fast to catch, and she moved faster by the second. All she could hear was wind and ice, and the scraping of her clothes and skin over the unforgiving landscape, until she came to a dead stop when a jagged shard of ice met her like a brick wall.
Her body twisted violently. Hatch was spinning now. A searing pain shot from her left shoulder. She worked to control her arm, but it banged loosely about. She was moving again until the side of her head collided with a rock.
Her eyelashes fought a losing battle to stop the relentless hurricane of sleet and snow that filled her view. The white then shifted to dark and she felt a warmth. She fought against it, but it was pulling hard.
She felt tired, and her eyes closed again. She fought to open them. As her vision started to fade and her eyes blurred, the last thing she saw was the shadow looming over her.