A Mountainous Problem

“Cold, cold, cold! Why is it so bloody cold!” That was Mikey, though with how bundled up he was, I figured he looked more like a little marshmallow than a person. Poor guy was so tiny. He was not meant for this weather.

“Oh, stop your whining,” sighed Bones, only slightly more bundled than usual, his armour still clanking loudly above everything else. He was really proud of that armour. 

“Why are we doing this? There isn’t even a mark here!” said Mikey, his voice muted by the layers of scarves around him.

“I told you it’d be fun. Give it a fuckin’ chance!”

I looked cautiously up the mountain, quite nervous about Bones’ booming voice on these snow-covered slopes. I was about to mention it, but he apparently got the gist from my nervous glances. He mumbled a quick apology.

“All right.” Bones was obviously trying to keep his voice at a normal level. I wasn’t sure why that was such a hard thing for him. “This is the place. What d’ya think, men?”

We looked out at the surrounding scenery. The sun was sparkling off the untouched snow and the hoarfrost from this morning still clung tightly to the branches. I had to admit; it was quite beautiful. To be fair, this was the type of world I grew up in, and it brought back a strong sense of nostalgia. I had to wonder if Bones did that on purpose. It wasn’t that long ago I told him about missing my home and how I couldn’t actually go back there. If I did, it would be a kill or be killed situation, and I didn’t think I was ready for that yet. So, this was the closest I could get.

“Well, you’re up, Xin,” said Bones, clapping a hand on my shoulder.

“Wait, what?” I was obviously confused.

He pulled off the cover of the cart we had been lugging up the hill, revealing a stack of skis. “You said you knew how to ski. You’re going to teach us!”

By the gods… was he serious? He couldn’t be serious. I searched his face. He was fucking serious. 

“You’re telling me none of you have skied before, and you want me to teach you all on the side of a mountain?”

Bones nodded. “Yep.”

I looked around at the rest of the men. Some were surprised, some were confused, some were ecstatic. I was furious. I clenched my fists, turned at Bones and screamed, “Are you fucking insane!”

My last word shouted back at me over and over again, bouncing off the still winter air. My stomach twisted, and my eyes went wide. Maybe it wasn’t enough to---

Whumpf.

Shit. Fuck. Shit-fuck-damn. That was not a good sound. I ran to the nearest tree, beckoning everyone with me. “Everyone, grab onto something solid! A tree, a rock, anything. Do it now!”

They just stood there, dumbfounded. Before I could say the word, another, far louder whumpf sounded, and it was obvious what was happening. 

Avalanche.

Above us, a looming cloud erupted. A low rumbling came closer and closer, and the men started running about, screaming their heads off. 

“Stop yelling! Keep your mouth closed, your teeth clenched and hold on for dear fucking life!”

Only one person listened to me. Bones. He held fast to a tree not far from me and boomed out my orders to everyone else. This time, they listened and listened well. Just in time. The ground beneath our feet started to shift, then came the onslaught. Snow came barrelling down, sweeping away our cart, but everyone seemed to be holding strong. 

Almost everyone.

Poor Mikey, with his bundled hands and arms, couldn’t quite hold on. The snow started to take him. 

“Swim with it! Stay above--”

A chunk of rock flew into my mouth. I was pretty sure it chipped a tooth. Fuck. I spat it out, and by this time Mikey was heading down the hill, but luckily close to me. I reached out, grabbed his hand, but lost my hold. The shifting snow pulled me in, while Mikey screamed at the top of his little lungs. He couldn’t swim with all that shit on him. I tried to keep us up, but as soon as that snow got over my head, I was lost.

The world spun. I didn’t know which way was up. All I knew was that I was tumbling in the icy darkness. I hugged Mikey in close, hoping to keep him safe from the tumble. 

Something struck my arm. I felt it dig in, but I couldn’t cry out. Not if I wanted to keep the snow out of my mouth. Another jolt to my ribs. That one winded me. I gasped for air and got a mouthful of snow instead. I buried my face in Mikey’s shoulder, hoping to spit out the stuff in my mouth without getting more. Lucky for Mikey, he didn’t have to worry about these things with all the scarves wrapped around him.

Finally, we stopped moving, but there was only darkness. I could still feel Mikey hugged close to me, so I cleared out the snow around our faces. As soon as I did, I heard Mikey taking quick, panicked breaths. That wasn’t good for either of us.

“Mikey, calm down. You’re fine. We’re fine.”

“Fine?! We’re buried in the snow! It’s pitch dark in here. We’re going to die!”

“Only if you keep panicking,” I growled a little more than I intended, but to be honest, I was panicking a little too. “Now, stay quiet, take slow breaths. I’ll try to figure out which way is up.”

Now, to be clear, I wasn’t a big fan of spitting, but my dad always told me that was what to do to figure out which way was up in situations like this. So, out came a loogie.

“Aw, what the fuck, Xin? That’s disgusting.”

Oops, apparently that landed on Mikey’s face. “Sorry, but at least we know which way is up. Can you start digging behind me? I can’t move.”

“Yeah, alright.”

Little by little, Mikey moved his arms back and forth. It barely felt like anything was happening at first. My heart started to race as I thought of how quickly we needed to get out of here. If it was just one of us, we’d have about fifteen minutes of air. With the two of us… I had no idea. We might run out of oxygen at any moment. I had no idea how deep we were buried, how far we fell from the rest of the guys. I knew nothing and could do nothing.

“Dude. Relax.”

I chuckled a little. Apparently, my nerves were becoming obvious, even in the pitch dark. “Thanks, Mikey.”

His arm started moving more and more, and I could feel the pressure of the snow releasing from my back. A wave of relief washed over me. I was finally able to move one of my arms upwards. Together, the two of us bore a tunnel upwards, and after what felt like an eternity, I felt my hand break the surface. Sunlight burst in, along with an amazing wave of fresh air.

“Thank the fucking gods!” Mikey cried, taking a deep breath.

“We’re not clear yet. Keep digging.”

“Right.”

We dug a little more and eventually heard the rest of the men calling out our names. Mikey screamed back, and I managed to stick my arm up out of the hole to wave them over. The ground above us started crunching and then moving, and in no time, we were out and in the fresh air. 

Mikey lowered his scarves and took a big gasp of fresh air, choking on the chill air. Still, we were both happy to be alive. Arnold, the resident first aid professional, looked me over, wrapping up a few of my cuts, but nothing was broken. Mikey was actually completely fine. Guess all that bulk was good for something. 

As we were all cared for, Bones came over and gave me a gentle slap on the back. “You’re a mighty good person, Xin. Thanks for saving my man.”

I gave a laugh. “Well, I’m not one to let friends die.” I turned my smile at Mikey, who was tearing up. He tackled me into a big hug, and everyone broke out into a laugh.

“You know what, buddy?” said Mikey as he finally let me go. “I’m going to forgive you for spitting on my face.”

“Gee, thanks.”

I heard Bones groan. “Bad news, men.”

Everyone looked towards him. He held up a broken ski, a look of absolute defeat on his face.

“Guess we’re not going skiing today.”