Chapter 1: SIDE STORY
A sudden jolt stirred Alina, the cabin shaking as if it had been lifted in the air and dropped. Then her the floor started vibrating, the sound of thunder roaring like a distant freight train outside… the sound growing louder… unending. No lightening… just waves of rumbling beneath the cabin, followed by a surge of wind blowing waves of snow against the windows.
She clung to her covers, disoriented, unsure if she was dreaming, the thunder growing louder, crackling sounds joining it, as if thousands of branches were being snapped. The windows rattled. She could hear things falling off of shelves in the darkness.
An earthquake? Up here? Impossible! She said to herself. The thunder subsided, the wind returning to a breeze, the cabin settling down. Alina took a deep breath, slowly exhaling, her eyes growing heavy again as she drifted back to sleep.
She woke in the morning to the sound of scurrying outside her door, Serik replacing items on shelves and shuffling around the kitchen, opening the cupboards. She’d debated about it last night, and now she was certain… she’d had enough adventure for one weekend, and it was time to go home. She threw on some clothes, sliding a turtleneck slowly over her head, her long dark hair spilling over her shoulders as she pulled it down. She packed her bag with the same efficiency she’d used to unpack it, her movements precise, her mind determined. She’d come to visit up in the Rockies to unwind and reconnect with family, but now she was feeling more and more uneasy and confined.
She wished she'd had a chance to meet Zhanna in person, but she was too preoccupied with her sick friend. *Maybe she'll come down to Calgary to visit at some point*, she reassured herself as she slung her backpack over her shoulder and lifted her heavy duffle-bag, lumbering towards the kitchen.
As she approached, she noticed the pantry and cupboards were all open, Serik nervously scrolling on a notepad, briefly stopping, noticing her bags, scrunching his face, than returning to his task.
He was muttering to himself, his voice low and urgent, but she couldn’t make out the words. “Serik?” she called, her voice cutting through the hum of his activity. He didn’t look up immediately, his pen still moving across the paper, his brow furrowed.
“Alina,” he finally said, his tone distracted. “I’m just taking inventory. Just give me a few minutes. We might be here awhile.”
She dropped her bags with a soft *thud*, the sound barely stirring him. “Wha... What do you mean?” she replied.
He exhaled sharply, rubbing the back of his neck. "Didn't you hear the thunder... feel the cabin shaking last night?" he asked.
"Yeah, but I was half-asleep," she said. "Why? What was..." she started, Serik cutting her off.
“There was an avalanche last night. Boris radioed earlier. It's a disaster... over twenty-five feet of debris filling Devil's Gulch..." he said, nervously shaking his head.
Her stomach tightened as she leaned against the counter. “An avalanche? But, I… I’m ready to leave. Listen, it’s been a wonderful…” she started, Serik turning to her, confused, interrupting her again.
“Alina, sweatheart, the road is gone... miles of it. There’s no way to get down the mountain. Boris says it will take weeks to dig through the debris… trees, rocks, cabins, trucks… not just snow and ice.” He said, shaking his head, returning to his list, narrating and repeating everything as he wrote, his head bobbing nervously.
Alina stood motionless, staring out the window.
The sky was a pale, washed-out blue, the kind that made everything look distant and unreal. She pressed her fingers against the cold glass, half-expecting it to shatter under the pressure. Outside, the world was still. Too still.
Serik’s voice cut through the silence again. “We need to check the supplies. The generator’s running, and I'll check on the propane. Boris is going to stop by later to get a list of supplies we'll need, in case they need to airdrop anything to us. In the meantime, we’ll have to ration.”
She turned to him, her fingers still pressed against the glass. “How long?”
He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he moved back to the kitchen, opening the fridge, then the freezer, then the pantry, muttering under his breath, triple-checking his list. Alina slowly walked over to the kitchen, pouring herself some coffee, Serik wandering outside, now seemingly oblivious to her.
He tapped on the propane tank’s meter, then gripped the coupling on the new hose, making certain it was secure. The avalanche seems too conveniently timed, Alina skeptical about the magnitude of the disaster, wanting now even more to be heading back to civilization. She’d already stayed longer than she intended, and the cabin was quickly transitioning from remote to isolated.
She took a deep breath, the scent of pine and woodsmoke lingering in the air, and followed Serik outside. The morning sun was weak, barely piercing through the thin layer of clouds that hung over the mountains like a shroud.
Serik was closing up a shed beneath the solar panels, his boots crunching over the frost-covered ground. He moved with a purpose, his broad frame cutting through the cold air as if he were on a mission. Alina wrapped her arms around herself, her breath visible in the crisp air.
“You think it’s really that bad?” she called after him, her voice carrying in the stillness.
He turned, his expression unreadable, the wind tugging at the edges of his jacket. “Do you want to see it for yourself?” he asked, his tone almost defensive. “Go get your coat. We can take the truck... at least as far as the fire road is open."
Alina bundled up, remembering to grab her camera as well.
The SUV rumbled to life, its engine coughing before settling into a steady growl. Alina climbed into the passenger seat, the windows frosted, the cab chilly. The tires crunched over the frozen ground as he slowly pulled out, turning the truck toward the road.
As they approached the gulch, her jaw dropped as she looked in the distance, the mountainside wiped clean. A quarter mile from the Devil's Gulch, the partially cleared fire road was completely buried, a pile of fallen trees plastered with rocky ice and snow, nature reclaiming the only road out.
Serik pulled over, the two of them getting out of the SUV, carefully starting to navigate through the rubble field, the quarter-mile trek hampered the ragged snow-covered debris field, the damage so severe, not even snowmobiles would be able to navigate down to Field.
Alina was horrified to see the number of cabins swept off their foundations, belongings scattered everywhere. She'd never seen anything like it before.
Serik called out, listening for the muffled screams from any victims still trapped. Alina joined him, the reality of the situation starting to settle in... they were cut off from civilization, but there were people in far worse shape beneath the ice and snow. The wind howled through the ravine, whirlwinds of ice and dust carrying a sense of urgency.
Alina’s boots sanks into the snow with each step. The air was thick with the scent of pine and damp earth, mixed with something metallic... blood, maybe, or just the cold biting at her lungs.
Serik moved ahead, his voice sharp as he called out, *"Anyone here? Can you hear me?"* His words echoed off the jagged walls of the gulch, bouncing back like a ghostly reply as the gulch came into view.
The first thing that caught Alina's eye was a half-buried park ranger vehicle, smashed, sticking out of the snow between two boulders at the bottom of the ravine. Other vehicles similarly crushed came into view as the snow momentarily settled. She couldn't bring herself to ask what was no doubt on Serik's mind as well... how many people were buried at the bottom of the ravine?
Serik shook his head in disbelief. "The last time we had anything even close to this, there were people who weren't found until the Spring thaw," his voice low and sullen. “The wilderness is majestic in the movies, but can be unforgiving in reality."
Alina shivered, not just from the cold but from the eerie silence that followed. She adjusted the strap of her camera, her fingers numb inside her gloves. She hadn’t expected this. She hadn’t expected any of it. Her camera’s shutter clicked softly in the stillness. The images would look surreal on film... trees snapped like twigs, cabins reduced to splinters, the entire landscape rearranged by nature’s whim. But in person, it was something else entirely. The weight of it pressed against her chest, making it difficult to breathe.
Serik had been digging through what appeared to be the remains of a roof as Alina moved closer to the stony precipice of the ravine. Seeing a shadow shift at the bottom of the ravine, she stepped closer to the edge, peering down from the rocky shelf. The loosened stones shifted beneath her boots, the ground shaking beneath her.
As Alina started falling forward, Serik lunged, clutching her wrist.
“Zha…!” He started to scream, the word snapping in his throat as he jerked her backward. They hit the snow hard, the ledge collapsing in front of them, rocks crashing violently into the gorge below.
For a moment, neither of them moved, Alina’s heart hammering against her chest, clinging to him, their eyes open wide in shock, staring forward.
“Oh, my god… holy shit… I almost…” she panted, overwhelmed.
“It’s okay.” Serik said, breathless, still gripping her wrist. “You… you’re safe.” She clenched her eyes shut, biting her lip as Serik leaned in to hug her, Alina resting her head against his shoulder.
She’d packed her bags, determined to leave that morning. Now, she couldn’t stop looking at the crushed vehicles below, half-swallowed by snow, timber and rock.
They both started to sob quietly, Serik staring at the sky, Alina still shaking as her fingers clung to his jacket.
A few minutes later, light snow began to fall, Alina remaining motionless as the flakes settled on her hair.
“We should get back to the cabin,” Serik said quietly. She nodded slowly as he helped her to her feet, his arm lingering around her shoulders as they walked back towards the SUV.
The drive back to the cabin was silent except for the low hum of the heater. Alina, quietly lost in unfocused thought, stared out the window at the white blur of trees, gently rubbing her sore wrist, her pulse still fluttering beneath her skin.
She was still out of sorts when they got back to the cabin. "I... I think I'm going to take a shower now if that's okay," she said as Serik poured himself a couple of fingers of bourbon. "I need to warm up."
He nodded, his gaze distant. "Of course. I'll get some soup going for us in the meantime."
She hesitated at the bathroom door. "Serik... how long do you think we'll be stuck here?"
He exhaled through his nose, swirling the amber liquid in his glass. "Hard to say. A week, maybe two. They'll get the road cleared eventually, but you saw it... it won't be quick."
Alina nodded, closing the door behind her. The bathroom was small but cozy, with a clawfoot tub and a window overlooking the mountains in the distance. She turned on the tap, the water sputtering at first before settling into a steady stream. She stripped off her clothes, dirty and torn by her ordeal, her body still shaking as she stepped under the shower.
The heat stung her skin at first, exhaling slowly as the hot water doused her hair. She closed her eyes, the events of the morning replaying in her mind... the avalanche, the crushed vehicles, the way Serik’s grip had saved her from falling. Her fingers traced the faint bruise forming on her wrist where his hand had clamped down.
She took deep breaths, trying to calm herself, until suddenly the water turned ice-cold, making her gasp, quickly turning around and shutting off the water, her hands shaking from the cold. She crossed her arms, shivering, her teeth chattering as she wrapped a towel around herself, her long dark hair dripping onto the floor.
As she stood in front of the mirror, trying to dry herself off, she started to feel woozy, her eyes fading in and out of focus. She gripped the sink, calling out.
"Serik...?" No answer.
Her vision blurred, the edges of the mirror warping like a funhouse reflection. The cold from the shower had seeped into her bones, but now it felt like something else... something deeper, heavier. She stumbled forward, her knees buckling as she reached for the door handle.
"Serik!" she called again, her voice weaker this time.
She opened the bathroom door, leaning against the doorframe, a cold surge of air hitting her from the open side door. Serik was crouched down next to the water heater, a long lighter in his hand.
"It’s the pilot light on the heater that’s out. Pesky thing. Just gets blown out sometimes. It's old. Here, look at this," he said, Alina crouching down to look as he guided the lighter into a small access panel on the side of the heater. He explained to her how it works, being very specific, Alina struggling to follow his lesson, her head throbbing from the gas leak.
"Most important. Don't ever light this with the windows and door closed," he warned. She was shivering from the cold draft slithering through the cabin. "Leave a gas leak going in a closed cabin, you're one match away from blowing the whole place up," he continued.
"That's why I always keep the side door open when I'm working on it. And why I'm going over this. You're going to be here for a while, and need to be safe."
She nodded weakly, her teeth still chattering, the cold air from the open door making her shake harder. The pilot light flickered to life, and Serik closed the access panel, standing up with a satisfied nod. "There. That should do it." He turned to her, noticing her trembling. "You're freezing. Come on, let's get you warmed up."
He guided her to the hearth of the fireplace, draping a thick wool blanket over her shoulders. "Damn, you're still shivering," he said, his voice low with concern. "Sit tight. I'll go get you some soup."
Alina pulled the blanket tighter around herself, her fingers still numb.
The warmth of the fire was slow to reach her, as if the cold had burrowed deep into her bones. She watched Serik move about the kitchen, his broad shoulders tense beneath his flannel shirt. The cabin still had the lingering scent of the gas leak, or maybe it was just the sharp tang of adrenaline still clinging to her.
Alina closed her eyes, pressing her fingers to her temples, trying to steady herself. The room seemed to tilt slightly, the firelight flickering in a way that made the shadows dance in unnatural ways. Serik returned with a steaming bowl of soup, the rich aroma of beef and herbs filling the air.
"Here," he said, kneeling beside her. "Try this. It'll help."
She took the bowl from him, her fingers brushing against his. His callused hands were warm, comforting. She sipped the soup carefully, the heat spreading through her chest, loosening the tightness in her muscles.
Serik watched her, his dark eyes sharp with concern. "Better?"
Alina nodded, her fingers tightening around the bowl. "Yeah. Thanks."
He exhaled, running a hand through his thick, salt-and-pepper hair. "You had me worried there for a minute."
She managed a small smile. "I’m fine. Just a little cold... and a little jittery, that’s all."
She glanced down at herself, realizing she was still wrapped in the blanket, her hair damp against her shoulders. "I'm going to get dressed. Thank you for the soup... and fixing the water heater." She shuddered as she stood up, making her way down the hallway, the blanket dragging behind her.
She closed the bedroom door behind her, realizing she didn't have any clean clothes. She'd noticed a bunch of women’s shirts of differing sizes hanging in the closet. She found a flannel shirt her size, along with an old pair of denim jeans. As she buttoned the shirt, she felt something rough in the breast pocket, reaching in and pulling out some old flower petals… dried Gentians.
She smiled, imagining that Zhanna had picked a few from her secret railcar garden and had forgotten them in her pocket.
Alina carefully folded the petals and tucked them back into the pocket, the soft fabric of the shirt warm against her skin. She ran her fingers over the embroidered initials on the pocket... *Z.K.* ... almost feeling like she was in the room with her.
The thought made her feel less alone in this unsettling, isolated cabin.
She pulled on the jeans, the cuffs a little short for her height, then sliding on a pair of wool socks from the dresser. As she wandered back into the living room, Serik was stoking the fire, the flames dancing against the walls of the hearth, the heat making him sweat. He turned as she entered, his gaze lingering on the shirt she wore.
“It's been a while since I've seen that shirt,” he said, his voice softer than before.
"I hope Zhanna won't mind... all of my clothes are dirty. I'll need to wash some of them tomorrow," she responded. "I didn't mean to assume..." she trailed off, suddenly self-conscious.
Serik waved his hand dismissively, his expression unreadable. "She won't mind. It's just old clothes. I actually gave that one to her." He turned back to the fire, poking at the logs with more force than necessary. The flames crackled in response, sending up a shower of sparks.
Alina stood up, stretching, "Well, thank you." She made her way to the kitchen, ladling some more soup for herself. She was startled at the sound of radio, Boris calling for Serik. "Hey, man. We just got word from Zhanna. She's still down in the valley. She's safe... the cell tower down there got knocked out by the avalanche, so she won't be able to call you until she finds some Wi-Fi somewhere. Over?"
"Got it. Thanks for letting me know, Boris. Let her know we're fine, too, if you hear from her," Serik replied, his voice strained. He turned off the radio, exhaling heavily, his shoulders tense. Alina watched him for a moment, the silence between them thick with unspoken words. She sipped her soup, the warmth spreading through her, but the tension in the room was making her skin prickle.
Serik stood abruptly, his chair scraping against the floor. "I need to check the generator," he muttered, his voice rough. "Make sure the power stays on."
Alina nodded, watching him disappear into the back room. The cabin felt suddenly too small, the walls closing in around her. She finished her soup, the bowl clinking against the counter as she set it down.
"We're going to be okay, Alina," Serik said as he walked over to the sink to wash his hands. "This isn't the first time we've been snowed in. We just need to stay organized," he said, speaking slowly to her. "They know we're up here, and if this gets dragged out, they'll send up a helicopter to drop off supplies. Like I said, it isn't the first time I've been snowed in up here."
The discussion about the cell tower made Alina pull out her phone, surprised to see a Wi-Fi hotspot was available, asking Serik for the passcode. "I'd really like to get a message to my family and my roommate, letting them know I'm stranded up here, okay?" she asked, a tinge of frustration in her voice.
"I don’t want them to worry about me."
Serik hesitated. "It's been acting up for a week. I don't know if its the snow or the wiring. I've got to go out and check the panel on the dish," he started to explain.
"It's really important to me that I contact them, alright?" she replied, not letting the request be dismissed.
"Okay, you can go ahead and try. The passcode is *mountainMISKA24*. I don't think it will work, so don’t expect much... the satellite service here is spotty at best." he explained, moving to the window, staring out at the blanket of white covering the valley behind the cabin.
She excitedly typed in the code, a wheel on her phone screen spinning for minute before finally saying CONNECTED. She quickly tried to open her email, only to get another error message.
NO NETWORK. She stared down at her phone, frustrated by her false hope.
The screen flickered, the battery at 12%. She tapped the refresh button again, the spinning wheel mocking her. "Damn it," she muttered, her breath fogging up the screen. She turned to Serik, who was still staring out the window, his reflection a ghostly blur in the glass. "It's not working."
He didn't turn around. "Told you it wouldn't," he said, his voice flat. The fire crackled behind them, the only sound in the heavy silence.
Alina exhaled sharply, her fingers tightening around the phone. "I just want them to know I'm okay," she said, her voice quieter now.
The weight of the situation was settling in... no road out, no signal, no way to let anyone know she was even here. She rubbed her temples, the throbbing in her skull intensifying. "Even if I could reach them, I don’t know how long we’re going to be stuck here."
Serik finally turned away from the window, his jaw set. "Alina, I'm sorry this happened, and I know you're worried. I worry about Zhanna, too," he said, walking closer to her. He rubbed his beard, exhaling through his nose. "But we’ll be fine. We’ve got food, water, heat. We just need to stay calm and be smart about it, okay?"
Alina nodded, but the unease in her chest wouldn’t settle. She glanced at the radio hanging on the wall. "Can we radio someone down in Field to let them know I'm up here... maybe call my parents?" she asked, her voice wavering slightly. "Just to let them know I'm safe?"
Serik hesitated, his fingers tapping against his thigh. "The radio's only good for short-range communication, Alina. Field is too far out of range for us to raise anyone directly. The main radio tower was at the ranger station in Devil's Gulch, and that's..." he trailed off, shaking his head. "Even Boris' radio up at his station can barely make it to the river. Getting the satellite to work is our best option, trust me."
She folded her arms, leaning against the kitchen counter. "Okay. I... I trust you."
There was a heavy knock at the front door, Serik turning, puzzled, walking over to answer. Boris and a younger man carrying a steaming chainsaw stood in the doorway, snowflakes accumulating on their shoulders.
"Hey guys. We were just clearing some fallen branches down the road and thought we'd stop by. This storm is looking pretty bad," Boris said, shaking the snow off his jacket. "You guys doing okay?" he continued.
"We were down at the gulch earlier. Jesus, what a mess. The ranger station..." Serik started.
"Gone. That and the radio tower," Boris responded solemnly. "Two people missing so far, including one of the junior rangers. Dayton and I were down there early this morning, trying to survey the damage," he continued, motioning to the man with the chainsaw as he set it down on the stoop. "He's part of the skeleton crew working down at the timber mill over the winter."
Serik shook the young man's hand, nodding.
"How can I help?" he asked. Boris shook his head.
"We're calling it quits for tonight... gotta wait out this storm," Boris responded. "Can't see shit out there, and it's getting darker," he lamented. "We'll be heading back down tomorrow morning, though. We also need to clear some open terrain in case they need to send in supply copters." he added. "Zor's back at the station, trying to figure out how to get the radio relays to work again."
As she hovered over the sink doing the dishes, Alina was lost in thought... the ravine, her family, her uncertainty over what to do next... all the while not noticing the young man peered over at her. As she took a deep breath, Dayton quickly redirected his attention back to Serik, quietly nodding along as Boris explained the situation.
She wrestled with what to tell her family... how she'd ended up there, when she'd be returning home. None of them knew where she was, or that she'd even left Calgary. She dreaded being judged again.
"You be safe tonight, and let me know if you need anything, alright?" Boris said as he zipped up his coat. Alina casually waved her hand, watching as the two men stepped out into the storm, the wind whipping snow into the open doorway, Serik following them outside. The door closed with a thud, the low hum of the generator the only thing breaking the silence.
Alina dried her hands on a towel, her mind still racing. She needed to somehow send a message to her family. She pulled out her phone, the Internet still unavailable. She walked to the window, noticing Serik brushing off the dish and tinkering with a nearby panel, shaking his head.
She nervously pressed refresh continuously for a few minutes, finally tossing her phone on the couch in frustration, crossing her arms as she stared at the flames.
She knew Serik was doing his best... but his lack of progress was unnerving.
As he re-entered, kicking the snow off his boots, brushing the show off his jacket, he cleared his throat with a deep cough. "Okay... I just got a signal for a minute. Try it now." She quickly grabbed her phone, refreshing the screen. After another minute of the agonizing spinning wheel, as subtle smile crossed her face.
“Connected. Fuck, thank god.” Alina said, immediately opening WhatsApp. Part of her was upset that she hadn't received any messages. No messages from her sister... her parents... it was as if no one even noticed she was gone.
"Everything working okay now?" he asked, walking over to the couch.
“Uh, thanks, Serik. Seems to be okay,” she said, clicking her sister's ID as she got up from the couch, battery nearly out of power, with only a single bar of signal strength.
She paced by the window, starting to type a message to her before suddenly stopping, staring at her phone.
The app displayed her last message sent to her as… 2 hours 15 minutes ago.
“Wait… what?” She said aloud, knowing that she hadn’t used her phone in days.
Just as she returned to drafting the message, the screen flickered, the battery icon blinking at 3% before the screen went black. She tapped the power button frantically, but nothing happened. A cold knot formed in her stomach.