As Smitty drove over the dunes through the swirling snow, he couldn’t help but battle the deep-seated feeling that they just might freeze. Visibility was near zero and the temperature was dropping fast. He turned to Ike, who was leaning forward in the passenger seat, staring ahead.
“Starting to wonder if this is just plain stupid, Ike? Can’t see a damn thing out there. And I’m thinking we might run them over by accident.”
Ike was still dropping points on the map of his iPhone. They’d made concentric circles around the crashed Polaris and been careful not to duplicate their path. But it wasn’t an exact science, given the rough terrain. They did their best to stay on course, but even if they were off by a few feet, it would be easy not to see the kids, especially if they were hunkered down in the snow.
Ike turned to Smitty, looking worried. “Think we might’ve missed them?”
“Hard to say. Anything beyond the headlights is a dead zone.”
Ike turned toward the beams again. “Let me march out ahead and clear a path.”
“That’s going to be hard traveling,” Smitty replied. “Let’s take turns.”
Snowflakes were moving nearly sideways because of the wind, creating something of an optical illusion. It was hard to get his bearings, to determine up from down. Not being able to judge the incline of the sandhills didn’t help either. Having nearly flipped the Gator a couple of times, Smitty couldn’t help but speculate it was the reason that Ike had volunteered to walk.
It didn’t take Asadi long to realize that he had masterminded a really bad plan. If he thought getting himself going was difficult after letting his muscles rest, it was nothing compared to getting Savanah on the move. In fact, it probably wasn’t even safe. The only good thing was that he was so frozen, injured, and exhausted that the pain and misery no longer seemed real.
In what he guessed was about fifteen minutes into the journey, they’d only made it up a couple of hills. Worse than their speed was the fact that he had no idea which way they were going. In his mind, he was heading back toward the drill site, but he couldn’t be sure. There was a good chance he was heading in the exact opposite direction.
Asadi had at first tried to keep Savanah talking, but the strain was just too much—not only for her but for him. Their breathing was ragged from huffing in frigid air, and it was getting harder and harder to satisfy their lungs. Then, at the peak of the third dune, he was certain that he was starting to hallucinate. Out ahead of them were headlights.
Ike stumbled to a knee, labored to rise, and then turned back to Smitty. Maybe it was time to change their strategy. He knew the dad in the driver’s seat was unlikely to call off the search, but they were literally just spinning their wheels. The thickening powder not only made it more difficult to walk, but it was getting jammed up under the Gator and causing it to stall.
Ike turned and walked back to Smitty. “What do you think?”
Smitty kept focused ahead, desperate eyes still on the hunt. “I’m ready to switch, if you are?”
Ike held out his phone to show Smitty their progress on the map. “Man, I kind of think we’ve done everything we can do. Should’ve seen them by now. No way they made it this far out.”
Smitty looked panicked. “Then maybe we should circle inward? Take another pass?”
Ike grimaced. This was going to be harder than he thought. “Look, we haven’t checked in with the others in a while. Why don’t we head back and see if there’s any updates?”
“If there were any, we’d have heard. Can’t they get ahold of you with satellite service?”
“I think so. But with this damn weather, who knows?”
Smitty looked hopeful. “Think that’s it? Maybe they got news, and we can’t be reached?”
“Possible,” Ike admitted. “Or maybe Crowley’s got something going with a rescue team. More volunteers. Dogs and such.” He held up the map again on his phone to make the case for going back. “If they do, what we’ve plotted here can help to narrow down the search.”
The idea of working smarter, not harder, seemed to resonate. Smitty nodded in agreement, although it seemed begrudging. “Okay, maybe you’re right. Hop in and we’ll head back.”
Asadi couldn’t believe his eyes when the headlights that had been moving in their direction suddenly turned and went the opposite way. His scream for help came out a mousy little shriek. He was too dehydrated. But even at the top of his lungs it wouldn’t have mattered. Any call into the night would have drifted away with the howl of the wind.
Invigorated at the thought of rescue, he leaned into Savanah next to her ear. “Someone’s out there and they’re looking for us. We have to move quick as we can.”
His thoughts were that even if they couldn’t catch them, if they moved fast enough maybe they could follow the tracks before the snow covered them up. Although Savanah didn’t respond, he could feel her body stiffen and there was a pep in her step, unlike before. Although she didn’t open her eyes, she got into a rhythm of stepping that was in sync with his own.
Asadi leaned in again. “We’re doing it. I can still see them. Just keep it up.” With every crown of a mound, his spirits rose. And with every trough, his terror set in. They had just crested another dune when he lost sight of the taillights, or any sign of the tire tracks in the snow.
Panicked, he pulled Savanah tighter and tugged her along. “Hurry, we’re losing them!”
The quickened pace lasted a moment down the slope, but they soon lost their rhythm and fell out of step. It was she who tripped first and started the tumble, but Asadi lost balance and somersaulted down the dune. When he finally slid to a stop, he brushed the snow from his face and grasped around in the darkness for his friend.
Asadi was to the point of tears when he came up empty. He stood for a moment, took a couple of wobbly steps, then tripped over a powder bank, and went down on hands and knees. He was about to call for her when the beam of light traveled the length of his body until it rested just below his chest. Blinded, Asadi threw his hands in front of his face. But he didn’t need to see to know who it was. He’d already heard the deep chuckle. And there was only one man whom he had ever met who never ever adhered to the expression this is no laughing matter.
Ike lowered the flashlight and smiled. “Well, if you were waiting on a Saint Bernard with a keg under his neck, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed.” As he helped Asadi to his feet, he added, “But there’s a half bottle of Cutty Sark in my glove compartment that might do the trick.”
Too exhausted to even acknowledge Ike’s bad joke, Asadi looked around in search of his friend. But there was no need to fret. Savanah was already with her dad, in his warm embrace.