Cold gnashed its teeth on Peter Marshall’s face. He heard George scream and the crunch of her body as she landed on an ice ledge nearby.
“George!” he called. “Can you hear me?”
“Yes.”
She was just two metres below him. Gingerly she reached down to touch her leg which throbbed.
“I’m sorry,” Marshall continued.
“What about?”
“I never meant it to happen!”
“What are you on about?” George barked. “I think I’ve broken my leg.” She yelped as she hit a tender spot.
“I should have never let Alex come. I think she’s pregnant,” Marshall babbled.
George frowned. What in the world was he talking about? In fifteen years of marriage he had never been unfaithful. Her mind flicked back to the days before the expedition. No telltale signs of an affair …. that she could see. She calmed her racing heartbeat and winced as pain stabbed through her leg.
Recalling Marshall’s tendency to ramble in important situations, George tried to get closer by shuffling along the ledge. A spike of ice caught her leg. She screamed. Panic gripped Marshall.
“Are you okay?”
“Mmm,” she moaned.
Thinking she had screamed because of what he had said, Marshall kept going. “She’s a sweet kid. Looks up to me. I don’t know what I’m going to tell James.”
George stopped. “James?”
“….The young man she’s been dating. The baby’s father.”
A light smile played on George’s lips. Thank goodness she had not reacted. The pain of losing Marshall would outstrip any spasms coming from her leg.
“He’s at the USAF base at Eielson. They met at a Washington State Cougars game a few months back.”
She shuffled forward and saw the beacon’s dark outline against the snow. Holding her breath she examined it in the dim light and, releasing a relieved whistle, she sat up. The beacon was undamaged. She sent it out into the night.
Cursing his stupidity Dawson picked up the overturned Primus. The flame was out. As much as he was furious with Alex, he couldn’t leave her to die. He refused to be like his father, Kramer who had gambled away millions and left his mother to die in squalor. He looked at Alex, eyes closed, pale. Her vulnerability reminded him of his mother. He would do the ‘right thing’. Above all he would be a better man to Alex than Professor Marshall who had walked away without looking back.
Dawson remembered the emergency first aid kit. He went over to the balloon and ferreted around, his stomach clenched into a tight knot. He dragged out the hypothermia blanket and tucked it around Alex and tenderly held her head in his lap. She couldn’t leave him, not like this. He placed one hand on either side of her face, hoping, praying for signs of life. Alex let out a faint whimper.
Back at the Research Station, Marcus gave a loud whoop as he turned to Henry and Sam.
“I’ve just seen a flare.”
Jess Gillon, NZ.
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