I awoke to flames crackling and dancing before my face. Smoke stung my nostrils. Hushed and worried voices speculated and disagreed. I lay on a pair of spongy pads, wrapped like a mummy in poly towels under two layers of down sleeping bag.
A young man in a rain jacket with a bandanna tied over his head swore into his phone.
“What’s wrong? Can’t you reach them?” A girl with a rope of braided red hair that dangled nearly to her waist looked on with concern.
“No bloody signal whatsoever. Should have gone with Vodaphone.”
“Aye, this could’ve been us, you know. Climbing that face. What if we had had an accident?”
I tried to speak, but only grunted. I wasn’t entirely back just yet.
“Sean! He’s conscious!” said the girl, her freckled face leaning close to mine.
“Where am I?”
“You’re in a bothy,” said the girl. “We found you face down on the path and brought you back. You’re lucky we made an early start for Ben Macdui.”
“Ben who?” I said, rising.
“Lay back down. You shouldn’t be moving.”
“Hypothermics are susceptible to heart arrhythmias when jostled,” said the guy. “Says it right here in my book.”
“Here, have some of this.” The girl handed me a plastic mug filled with steaming broth.
“We saw you lying there, your body all dark with your hood up. Thought you might be the Greyman, sleeping.”
“It’s true,” said the girl. “I was afraid. I felt this aura. It was so strange. I wanted to run.”
“Greyman?”
“The Am Fear Liath Mòr. Guardian of passes and portals. Folk tale, but I know of some who have felt his presence here. Imagine how relieved we were to roll you over and find you were just another ill-prepared American tourist.”
“Tourist? Hey, listen. I ain’t no tourist. I’m anything but that.”
“Whatever. You need medical help, regardless. Sean’s going to hike to the road in Braemar. I’ll stay with you, in case you run into any problems. I’m CPR certified.”
“But I’m going in the other direction. To Aviemore.”
“Not today, you aren’t.”
My head pounded. I sat up and shrugged off both sleeping bags. I had one microfiber towel wrapped around my waist, another draped over my shoulders like a shawl. I only retained my skivvies. “Where are my clothes?”
The girl nodded to a clothesline set up over the hearth.
“They’re soaked. Might take all day to dry them, clammy as it is.”
“Listen, I need to get to Aviemore.”
“In time,” said Sean. “First thing’s first.”
“No. I need to leave now. I feel fine. I’m not hypothermic anymore. I’m warm.” I didn’t tell them about the pulsing headache that made it feel like my brains were squeezing between the plates of my skull.
“You can’t. You’ve got no dry clothes. If I can only get a signal we could have a mountain rescue team up here to help you. Perhaps a helicopter.”
“Helicopter? Christ! No way can I afford that.”
“It’s okay, this is Scotland,” said Sean. “With the NHS, you don’t have to worry about paying. If you need a rescue, you get a rescue. There’s no bill.”
