Read Online The Shuddering by Ania Ahlborn - Free Book Online
Authors: Ania Ahlborn
Tags: english eBooks
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was making it hard not to launch into a tirade that would end in a statement she’d been wanting to make since last season: I’m never going snowboarding again. She reached into the snow and unsnapped her bindings, struggling to step off her board without toppling over. “I’m walking,” she announced through clenched teeth, hefting her board up by its leash and tossing it onto her back.
“Are you serious?” He looked surprised, but his little laugh of disbelief only made her angrier.
“I’m serious,” she snapped, shoving one foot into the snow ahead of her, the knee-deep powder sucking her leg down like quicksand. Less than ten steps forward and she was already gasping for breath. She held back her tears, pressing on, determined to get off that damned mountain so she could never return.
“Look, we’ll just get back to the main trail, okay? It’s not far.” Jake unstrapped his own board, but rather than following her downhill, he turned toward the trees. She stopped, watching him waddle toward a thick grouping of pines, their branches bent low with snow.
“And if it’s deeper in there?” she asked. “People die in snowdrifts, you know.”
“Well, what do you want to do? Freeze up here?”
“Yeah,” she said. “That’s exactly what I want to do.” Sighing, she relented, begrudgingly turning to follow him into the thicket. “This is…your fault…you know,” she said between gasps for air. “We…should have just…gone…to…the…lodge.” Each word punctuated another exhausting step, but Jake continued forward, not saying anything. After a few minutes she had to stop; bending at the waist, she tried to catch her breath. “Wait,” she said, lifting a hand to signal she needed a break. “I can’t.” Her lungs were on fire. Every inhale of icy air felt as if she were swallowing fire. Her feet ached with numbness. Her fingers prickled with pain. For a second she teetered on the brink of panic. What if they didn’t get out of here? What if they did get swallowed by a snowdrift as soon as they set foot in those trees? There were signs posted along the mountain to stay on designated trails—there had to be a reason for those. What if people died doing this? “Hey,” she said, wincing against the pain in her chest. “Hey, maybe we should go back the way we came.”
“What?” He shook his head at her. “I thought you wanted to get out of here.” He hovered just beyond the trees, extending an arm outward to push a snow-laden branch to the side.
“I do,” she insisted. “I just…I don’t know. I have a bad feeling.”
“It’s called first-degree frostbite,” he told her, ducking his head to peer into the wooded area.
“Great,” she said as she continued forward. “That makes me feel so much better.”
“It looks fine,” he assured her. “Totally cool. We’ll be back on the trail in a few minutes.”
She looked up just in time to see him duck into the trees. And then he quite literally disappeared. Her eyes went wide as his snowboard stuck in the snow. “Jake?!” Her heart launched itself into her throat. She tried to run forward, terrified that her worst fears were being realized. It looked like he had fallenstraight down, like the snow had swallowed him whole as soon as he breached the perimeter of those pines.
“Oh my god, Jake? Can you hear me?” No reply. Tears sprang into her eyes, hot against the bitter cold. Her board slid out of her grasp, sliding down the slope of the hill as she ambled forward, panic choking her every breath. But when she reached his snowboard, that panic bloomed into terrified confusion. His tracks ended abruptly. He was nowhere to be found.
She stumbled headlong into the woods, turning around in an attempt to face every direction at once. “Jake?!” His name was little more than a hysterical shriek. “If this is a joke, it isn’t funny!” But something about the situation assured her that this wasn’t a prank. It was too cold.
“Are you serious?” He looked surprised, but his little laugh of disbelief only made her angrier.
“I’m serious,” she snapped, shoving one foot into the snow ahead of her, the knee-deep powder sucking her leg down like quicksand. Less than ten steps forward and she was already gasping for breath. She held back her tears, pressing on, determined to get off that damned mountain so she could never return.
“Look, we’ll just get back to the main trail, okay? It’s not far.” Jake unstrapped his own board, but rather than following her downhill, he turned toward the trees. She stopped, watching him waddle toward a thick grouping of pines, their branches bent low with snow.
“And if it’s deeper in there?” she asked. “People die in snowdrifts, you know.”
“Well, what do you want to do? Freeze up here?”
“Yeah,” she said. “That’s exactly what I want to do.” Sighing, she relented, begrudgingly turning to follow him into the thicket. “This is…your fault…you know,” she said between gasps for air. “We…should have just…gone…to…the…lodge.” Each word punctuated another exhausting step, but Jake continued forward, not saying anything. After a few minutes she had to stop; bending at the waist, she tried to catch her breath. “Wait,” she said, lifting a hand to signal she needed a break. “I can’t.” Her lungs were on fire. Every inhale of icy air felt as if she were swallowing fire. Her feet ached with numbness. Her fingers prickled with pain. For a second she teetered on the brink of panic. What if they didn’t get out of here? What if they did get swallowed by a snowdrift as soon as they set foot in those trees? There were signs posted along the mountain to stay on designated trails—there had to be a reason for those. What if people died doing this? “Hey,” she said, wincing against the pain in her chest. “Hey, maybe we should go back the way we came.”
“What?” He shook his head at her. “I thought you wanted to get out of here.” He hovered just beyond the trees, extending an arm outward to push a snow-laden branch to the side.
“I do,” she insisted. “I just…I don’t know. I have a bad feeling.”
“It’s called first-degree frostbite,” he told her, ducking his head to peer into the wooded area.
“Great,” she said as she continued forward. “That makes me feel so much better.”
“It looks fine,” he assured her. “Totally cool. We’ll be back on the trail in a few minutes.”
She looked up just in time to see him duck into the trees. And then he quite literally disappeared. Her eyes went wide as his snowboard stuck in the snow. “Jake?!” Her heart launched itself into her throat. She tried to run forward, terrified that her worst fears were being realized. It looked like he had fallenstraight down, like the snow had swallowed him whole as soon as he breached the perimeter of those pines.
“Oh my god, Jake? Can you hear me?” No reply. Tears sprang into her eyes, hot against the bitter cold. Her board slid out of her grasp, sliding down the slope of the hill as she ambled forward, panic choking her every breath. But when she reached his snowboard, that panic bloomed into terrified confusion. His tracks ended abruptly. He was nowhere to be found.
She stumbled headlong into the woods, turning around in an attempt to face every direction at once. “Jake?!” His name was little more than a hysterical shriek. “If this is a joke, it isn’t funny!” But something about the situation assured her that this wasn’t a prank. It was too cold.
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