Winter Tales

Chapter 13 - Trapped

A/N - Since you guys are so awesome (thanks for all the votes, your comments, adding my stories to your reading lists or simply just reading & sticking with it!) and because I feel inspired by my own wonderful skiing trip that I am currently on, here is the next part already. Enjoy!

++ Jordan's POV++

An involuntary groan escapes my lips. My whole body feels...trapped?

I force my eyes open.

When and – more importantly – why did I even close them in the first place?

Everything around me is dark at first. But once my eyes adjust a bit to my surroundings, I realise that the dark is actually kind of white-ish. Slowly, consciousness gains the upper hand and with that, gradually my understanding for what is going on increases. A tingling sensation travels through my limbs and I notice two things: my arms are wrapped tightly around something, and my left knee hurts like a bitch.

I ignore the second thing, since I don't want to deal with that right now, and focus on the small body that I am holding in a vice-like grip instead.

Lily.

Once that realisation has manifested itself in my foggy brain, it is like a wave of recollections and instant flashbacks invades my memory at once.

We got caught in an avalanche.

While my mind is still processing this, my body automatically switches into survival mode. Life-threatening situations are what I have been trained for ever since I joined the military. I slow my previously rather erratic breathing and my heartrate instantly goes down, too. Then I take a couple of deliberate breaths to determine the level of oxygen around me.

I almost choke when I suck in some snow. That was as pretty dumb move, I realise, since my whole face is more or less covered by snow. However, I notice with relief that the pressure on my head is not too bad, making me hope that the amount of snow around and above me might not be too alarming.

Next, I try to move my arms to figure out just how stuck we are. Luckily, I manage to shift around quite easily, so I push against the snow to test if it gives way. It takes a bit of effort, but it doesn't take me long to create some wriggle room.

Once one of my arms is completely freed, I make quick work of removing the snow from where I assume my little sister's face is, making sure to clear her airways and to carve out an air pocket around her head to allow her to breathe more easily. Since I am not yet able to turn my body enough to be able to look at her, I have to rely on touch alone to figure out if she is okay. I put my hand on her neck to feel for her pulse but quickly realise that I have no chance to do that with my thick gloves still on.

I am just about to pull the glove off with my teeth when I feel a movement in my hold.

"Lily?"

My voice is strangely hoarse, which makes no sense to me at all.

Surely, we have not been stuck under the snow for much more than a few minutes?

"Jo-Jo?"

Relief washes over me at the sweet sound of her voice.

"I'm here. I've got you," I reply and squeeze her against me to show her that she is safe with me.

"No! Jordan!" Lily yells, startling me.

She must only now have noticed that something is wrong.

Was she unconscious, too? Is she hurt?