Baby It's Cold Outside. Kerry Barrett

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СКАЧАТЬ at the huge mound of snow then looked straight at me. ‘I think this is going to be a recovery operation now,’ he said in a gentle tone. ‘Not rescue.’

      ‘No,’ I said hoarsely. ‘No. I know where they are.’

      The mountain rescuers all looked at me blankly.

      ‘I’ve got a photographic memory,’ I lied desperately. ‘If you can get me up there, I can tell you where they are.’

      ‘That whole side of the mountain could come down,’ Willie shook his head. ‘It’s too dangerous.’

      ‘I know exactly where they are,’ I said. ‘Honestly. Give me five minutes – that’s all I need.’

      I didn’t have a photographic memory of course; that really was a lie. What I did have was a gift all witches shared – an ability to tune into others’ thoughts. I wasn’t very good at it, but I knew I had to try.

      ‘Five minutes,’ he said. ‘Then we’re pulling out.’

      Together we trudged our way up the sloping snow. He took the blanket from my shoulders then slung a belt round my waist and clipped on a rope, which was attached to their truck.

      ‘If it falls,’ he said. ‘We’ll find you.’

      I was shaking like a leaf but I couldn’t forget the people I’d seen engulfed by the snow. In front of me was the pile of ice created by the avalanche. It was about as high as a house at its tallest part. It loomed up ahead of me like the prow of a ship. I gulped.

      ‘We’ll go up with you,’ said one of the other rescuers. He was younger, with reddish hair and freckles all over his face. I knew him.

      ‘Bobby McGill,’ I said, remembering him as a troublemaker from primary school.

      He grinned at me, showing dimples.

      ‘Esmerelda,’ he said. I winced at my childhood nickname but couldn’t help returning his infectious grin, despite my fear.

      ‘This is Penny,’ he said, gesturing to the woman next to him. ‘She’s coming up too.’

      Penny handed me a hard hat.

      ‘Your boots should be okay,’ she said in an accent I couldn’t place exactly but thought might be from New Zealand. ‘I’ll go first, you follow and Bobby will come last.’

      I put the hat on my head, on top of my fleecy beanie, like Penny had done.

      ‘Ready,’ she said.

      I nodded.

      ‘Ready.’

      Slowly we part walked, part climbed up the side of the glacier-like ice. Some bits were steep enough that we had to use our hands to hang on, others sloped more gently. It was mostly soft and difficult to walk on, but some bits were more solid. It was hard work and my legs felt like jelly, but we carried on and eventually we stood, breathless, on top of the heap of snow.

      I could see the town down below and sent up silent thanks that somehow the snow hadn’t reached the houses beneath us. It seemed to have run out of oomph before it reached the slope down to Claddach and now the mountain rescuers were busy building up a stack of thick bags, which I assumed would act as a barricade if more snow fell.

      ‘Over to you,’ Bobby said. ‘Can you get your bearings? Where do you think they are?’

      I had absolutely no idea.

       Chapter 7

      I stared round at the blank landscape. The familiar scenery had changed so massively that I had no chance of getting my bearings. But of course I had a secret weapon.

      I turned away from Bobby and Penny, opened the witchy part of my mind and concentrated hard. At first I could hear nothing and I felt a lurch of fear. I knew I wasn’t as good as Harry was at listening in on others’ thoughts but I just hoped the adrenaline would help me.

      I blocked out the background noise, took a wobbly step towards the middle of the ice and closed my eyes. At first I couldn’t hear anything, just the general cacophony of lots of people, wondering if the snow would hold, if I was mad, what they were having for their tea. I tried harder to focus on the people I’d seen and shut my eyes.

      ‘Cold,’ I heard a voice whisper. ‘So cold.’

      I knelt down on the snow and put my hand on the crunchy surface.

      ‘Cold,’ I heard again. Louder this time.

      ‘Over here,’ I yelled. ‘They’re over here.’

      Penny and Bobby were at my side in two strides.

      ‘Right here?’ Bobby asked.

      I patted the snow.

      ‘I think the man was here,’ I said. ‘One of the walkers.’

      Bobby crouched down, pulled a tool from his belt and began carefully digging into the snow, using his hands as well.

      ‘What about the other walker?’ Penny said.

      ‘Hold on,’ I said. I pretended to be thinking but I was actually listening really hard.

      ‘Robert,’ I heard a faint voice say. ‘Where’s Robert?’

      I scrambled to my feet and crouched down again close to the edge of the massive pile of snow.

      ‘Here,’ I said.

      Penny looked doubtful.

      ‘Really?’ she said.

      I nodded firmly but she shook her head.

      ‘Surely if she’d been that close to the edge she could have got herself clear?’

      ‘Maybe she panicked.’ I shrugged. ‘Whatever happened, I know she’s here.’

      A shout from Bobby made us look up.

      ‘I’ve got him,’ he yelled. ‘Some help here would be good.’

      The other mountain rescuers began swarming up the snowy hill, all thoughts of clearing the area forgotten, as Bobby dug some more.

      Penny watched for a moment, then looked at me with narrowed eyes.

      ‘Okay,’ she said. ‘Here?’

      I nodded and she started digging too, clearing the snow away with her hands.

      I walked towards the middle of the snow again, looking out towards town. I could see an ambulance driving slowly up the hill and I was glad.

      Behind me, the male walker was pulled out of the snow. He was completely covered, his frosty eyebrows making him look like a yeti. He was shivering, but he seemed fine. One of the rescue team helped him down the slope to the waiting СКАЧАТЬ