“Over here! We’re here!” When Jade saw the search lights in the distance, she scooped up her daughter and started running. Dez had gotten lethargic, and Jade tried to pass on her enthusiasm.
“That’s the search team. They’re looking for us. Come on.”
She followed the light, nearly choking over her joyful laughter. A few minutes later, her daughter was wrapped in a heated blanket, carried in the arms of a search and rescue paramedic. They were a little less than a mile from the highway, and Jade was positive it’d be the easiest hike of her life. Adrenaline propelled her forward. Adrenaline and the need to get her daughter to safety. She begged the man carrying Dez to run on ahead instead of waiting for her. She nearly collapsed into the arms of the other paramedic when she stepped over a major snow heave and the Glenn Highway came into view.
“The ambulance is right down there, ma’am. We’ll get you checked out and warmed up.”
“I’m not worried about that. I just want to make sure my little girl’s all right.”
A man in a trooper’s uniform stepped up toward her, wearing a familiar smile. “Well, look who finally decided to pop out of the woods.”
She tried to match Ben’s grin even though she felt ready to die from exhaustion. He wrapped an arm around her, and they walked together to the ambulance where paramedics were already getting Dez warmed up.
“I’m glad you’re all right,” he said.
Jade didn’t know what else to say, and so she lifted up her silent prayers of thanks to God who had delivered her and her daughter once again.