Snowbound- Eagle 10My heart was thumping wildly as I groped around in the snow for Princess. I dug my way out of the snow, and noticed that Jason had found his way out as well.
We both called out for Princess as soon as we could catch our breath.
I suddenly noticed a gloved hand sticking out of the snow.
"Jason! Over here!" I shouted. Jason rushed over to help me pull Princess out of the snow.
I mentally panicked when I noticed she wasn't breathing.
I knew I didn't have to give the order; Jason immediately started CPR.
I silently watched the scene as if it was a movie. I couldn't help but to feel a pang of jealousy that he was pressing his lips to hers in an effort to breathe life into her.
I wanted to be the one to save her...but I knew that Jason was the one with the paramedic skils.
It couldn't have been real. I felt as though I was having an out of body experience. Surely my Swan wasn't dead.
My thoughts drifted back to the time I thought I had killed her. She had been taken from me by the woman eating flowers. I had promised myself that I would never let anything happen to her again. And I had failed her.
I was so angry at myself for letting it happen. I was supposed to protect her…and now, those same feelings were surfacing again.
Tears began to gather around the corners of my eyes. I silently prayed that Jason could bring her back to me. At this moment, I didn't care what else happened, I just wanted Princess back.
Jason paused for a moment and peered back at me. "She's going to be ok, Mark. She's breathing again."
I breathed a sigh of relief. I could feel my knees shaking as I looked around at the deep snowdrifts.
The snow was falling much heavier, and I knew we had to get Princess to some sort of shelter.
"It's getting dark," I exclaimed as I walked over and scooped up the Swan. "We'd better transmute and find some shelter. We must be miles away from the lodge."
We trudged on through the storm for what seemed like hours. I kept my wings wrapped tightly around Princess as I walked beside Jason.
"Look over there!" He shouted. His voice was muted by the wind.
I saw a cave in the distance. At the very least we would be out of the elements for the night.
We plodded through the deep snowdrifts, making our way into the cave. I gently laid Princess down on the earthen floor.
"Here, Jase, take care of Princess while I try to block the mouth of the cave. We need to keep the wind out." I ordered.
Jason nodded silently and bent down to attend to the Swan.
After barricading us in, I returned to check on Princess. The light was growing dim, but I could still see her chest rising and falling slightly as she breathed.
"How is she?" I asked.
"Still unconscious." Jason answered grimly. "We really need to get her to a doctor. She may have internal injuries."
After hearing the bad news, I momentarily lost my temper. "What kind of paramedic are you?" I grumbled. "It's your fault we're in this mess! If you wouldn't have led her off the trail…"
"It's not like we could've escaped that avalanche! Or did you fail to realize the size of that thing?" Jason argued back in his usual sarcastic manner. "Besides, do you have a first aid kit and medical equipment on you? I didn't think so! And unless you can do better, I'd suggest you back off, Commander!"
Jason stood up and leaned against the wall in his typical Condor pose.
I glared at Jason, but chose to ignore the Condor and focus on Princess instead. I bent down and cupped my hand around Princess' face.
"Hang on Princess. Don't leave me." I kept silent watch over her for a while. It was quiet inside the cave except for the howling wind outside.
I momentarily glanced over at the brooding Condor. I knew that Jason didn't like this helpless feeling any more than I did, and that he was hurting inside as well.
Things looked bleak.
I turned and guarded my face as the tears began to trickle down. It killed me to see Princess in this condition.
In an unexpected twist, Jason reassured me. He could see how worried I was.
"It'll be ok, Skip. Her implants will heal her and she'll be fine. You'll see." He walked up and placed his hand on my shoulder as we watched for any sign of improvemnt in the Swan.
For the moment, Jason and I were no longer adversaries. We were brothers..