𝙁𝙍𝙊𝙎𝙏 𝘼𝙉𝘿 𝙁𝘼𝘽𝙇𝙀𝙎

❄️❄️❄️

Avery Winslow adjusted the straps of her pack as her breath blossomed into a frosty cloud in the morning air.

Far below, the base looked like a child’s toy town, with thin ribbons of smoke snaking up from the chimneys.

She eyed the unrefined, still and uncertain ridge. It looked normal enough for these parts, but a familiar clench in her gut told her otherwise.

She felt the weight of the gadgets in her pack. Pressure gauges, heat sensors, a GPS, and extra batteries were all there, everything she relied on to stay safe.

The voice over the radio had promised an easy trek, labeling the forecast as "tolerable circumstances." But Avery had stopped trusting the word easy a long time ago.

Lately, the mountain had been acting up. Technology was malfunctioning without cause, data was defying logic and instruments were failing in ways that felt like warnings.

Her boots crunched sharply against the frozen earth as she began the climb. She moved at a steady pace, placing each step with care, eyes fixed on the ridgeline as she scanned for any sign of movement. Inside her gloves, she flexed her fingers, trying to keep the blood moving.

High along the ridge, Rowan Ashford moved smoothly, his gait almost sliding as drifting snow erased his boot prints moments after they formed. He dropped into a squat beside a fractured rock face, brushing ice aside to trace an engraving hidden beneath. The old maps no longer fit the terrain. Maybe something had shifted or been deliberately concealed.

He wasn't hunting for anything like gold. He was chasing pieces of a past the world had tried its best to bury but the mountain remembered. The ridge felt strangely alive beneath him and he had no intention of being caught off guard.

A sudden blast of wind hit Avery, stinging her face with snow and forcing her to freeze in place. All at once, her gadgets began buzzing frantically. The pressure spiked and the temperature shifted oddly, while the snow around her spun upward into the air before falling back down.

Her GPS glitched and the signal dropped to a single bar, then vanished completely.

Avery muttered, “I should have known.”

She tried to move, but her boot slipped on a patch of slick ice. Her arms moved back and forth as she scrambled for balance but the slope was steep and her boots failed her.

A strong hand caught her, steadying her before she could fall.

“You good?” a voice asked.

Avery squinted through the swirling snow at the man standing there. He was hooded and calm, his eyes quickly checking her over for injuries.

“I’m okay,” she said, dusting the snow off her coat and trying to find her footing. “I got this.”

“Didn’t look like it,” he replied. There was no edge to his voice, he was just stating a plain fact.

She took him in for a moment. His boots were dug deep into the snow and he was scanning the ridge intensely.

“I’m Avery Winslow,” she said, reaching out a hand.

“Rowan Ashford,” he said, giving it a firm shake.

That was all he needed to say. The wind howled around them, throwing sheets of snow that made it impossible to see squat.

“We should find cover,” Rowan said, his eyes fixed on the ridge. “Storm’s getting bad fast.”

Avery checked her gear one last time; the pressure readings were going crazy. “Right,” she agreed. “You lead.”

Rowan moved forward, angling his body into the biting wind.

A sudden gust knocked him sideways, but he caught himself instantly without saying a word.

Avery followed close behind, realizing she felt a little better. She wasn't exactly safe, but she felt calmer because there was something undeniably solid about him.

They walked in silence, keeping near to one another as each step became a physical fight against the ridge and the wind. Their shoulders brushed occasionally but they didn't break their stride.

“Always hike alone in this mess?” Rowan asked, his voice low enough to carry under the wind.

“I'm a climatologist. I don’t have much of a choice,” Avery replied.

She reached back to touch the equipment in her pack. “The tools need me up here, and my team is tracking everything from below. I can’t just stay down there and wait. Most of the time, I’m down at the base checking data, but up here I have to adjust the instruments myself, reset sensors and make sure the readings reflect reality and not glitches. You?”

He nodded slowly. “I chase the things people tend to miss. The weird stuff.”

Avery glanced at him, curious. “So that’s why you’re out here? All by yourself?”

“Yes.” he admitted, a tired smile on his face. Then he turned his gaze back to the path ahead, shifting his focus back to survival.

The ridge narrowed, forcing them to navigate tight ledges where the snow piled high against the edges.

Eventually, a jagged rock formation jutted out, creating a small and natural shelter.

Rowan led the way toward it just as a fresh blast of wind slammed into Avery. She reached out to grab the rock for support, and this time, Rowan offered his hand to help steady her. She took it gratefully.

“Thanks,” she said, her voice barely carrying over the gale.

“Don't mention it,” he said, nodding toward the whiteout. “Nobody stays upright out here on their own.”

Avery dropped her pack and pulled off her gloves, but her instruments were still haywire. As snow melted against her coat, her heart raced but from the sense of a shadow watching them from the ridge. She stayed quiet and Rowan didn't pry.

They fell into a silent routine, securing gear and shielding the sensors from the wind.

“So, what exactly are you after?” Avery asked.

Rowan glanced toward the ridge, his expression unreadable. “Something that shouldn't be touched and no, It's not gold, and I’m not looking for danger. It’s just… important.”

“Important,” she repeated, scanning the desolate landscape. “Okay.”

As the storm intensified, the snow began to lash against their faces. Her tools went haywire and out in the whiteout, the shadows seemed to shift.

Right there, they reached an unspoken agreement. They both knew they had a much better shot at surviving this together.

❄️❄️❄️