I owe it to my brother, to Martyn, to Rez, to survive.
I hold on to that thought as we drop and rock. Our small bubble car is buffeted by the winds, at the mercy of the storm. I cling on to Florence, pulling her into my chest, my maternal instinct showing itself as I plant a kiss lightly on her forehead and reassure her it’s going to be OK.
She looks up at me through heavy eyelids and blinks, still shivering, but she cracks a smile. Relief. Florence is starting to come round, she’s managed a few words. I need her lucid when we reach the bottom because we’ll have to hit the ground running. The thought of what’s waiting for us at the other end fills me with dread. Have they assembled a team? What if we don’t make it to the terminal? If we get stuck halfway down?
Stay focused. Stay present. It’s going to be OK.
Passing through the clouds, it’s instantly calmer on the other side. Less windy, the snowfall gentle. Spruce trees and rocky ledges sprint past as we sink lower, the cable car terminal rushing up towards us.
I breathe out sharply.
Almost there.
The cable car slows to a crawl as it loops around the platform. The doors open automatically and I hold my breath, bracing for an ambush.
But there’s no one. Only the clanging of metal, the wind howling as it passes from one side of the midway terminal to the other. I help Florence out, bowing into the gale as we make our way to the far side.
We’re less than a metre from the car that will take us down when the engine fires up behind us. The clunk clunk of the bull wheel vibrating, a grinding noise filling the valley as it pulls the car we’ve just got out of back up the mountain.
Tinx found a way into the control room, they’re coming for us.
I look around urgently, trying to find something to sabotage the pulley or the engine. I notice there’s a diesel backup if the electric goes down and the steel cable is far too thick to cut through.
The black bubble begins to climb, quickly approaching the cloud ceiling; within seconds, it’ll have vanished. My stomach turns to liquid, I almost can’t watch.
Clunk.
The engine shudders into silence. The car stutters and then jerks to a halt. It swings in the wind, an eerie squeak squeak as it rocks from side to side. Ariel must have fended them off again – for now.
A shot of adrenaline.
‘Let’s go.’ I haul Florence up, her feet dragging as we cross the terminal. But as we near the rock face, I hesitate. The stillness comes to meet us.
‘What’s happening?’ Florence slurs.
‘I don’t know.’ I slow. ‘This feels wrong.’
Florence groans.
‘Why’s no one here?’ I look around anxiously.
Tinx would have warned them by now. Where is FreezeLAB’s security team on the ground? Wolf, Cooper, did they really go home for Christmas? It’s impossible to know if they’re working for Ariel or for Tinx and the pharma, but I can’t take the risk.
I look across the terminal grid to our only way off this mountain. Doors open, an invitation to step inside, and all my hairs stand on end.
‘I don’t like this.’
She moans, leaning into my shoulder. ‘I feel sick.’
‘It could be a trap. What if they’re waiting for us at the other end?’
Her legs buckle and I pull her upright.
‘Come on, hang in there.’ I hear the tremor pass through my voice as I desperately search around, my gaze hovering over the ledge. We’re 1,600 metres above sea level with a sheer drop into the valley.
I try to quieten the panic but fear is taking over and it’s hard to do anything. My head is throbbing from where they knocked me out. If it weren’t for the adrenaline, I would have collapsed by now.
Is there another way off the mountain?
A distant memory trickles back to me. Something Rez told me when we first arrived. Could that be the answer? I glance sideways at Florence; her mouth is slack, she tips her head back and I catch her in time.
‘Hey, hey, stay with me.’
Her head rolls into the crease of my arm. The weight, it’s becoming unbearable, I don’t have the strength to carry her much further and the easiest thing would be to risk the ride down. If I make this choice and it goes wrong, Florence will die. She’ll freeze to death. What should I do?
I inhale a steadying breath and it stings my lungs. Someone’s life is in my hands and it’s painful.
Then I drag Florence sideways, taking us away from shelter and into the snow.