Chapter 54
For Gabriella Montez time as she knew it had stopped for the moment.
Upon learning of her mother's death and the immediate attempts to comfort her grief made by her friends and their families, Gabriella's mind fell into a state of protective numbness. From that point forward, she functioned from a place within that cut itself off from feeling and was merely running on adrenaline.
One of the rescue workers had suggested that they put her under sedation and return her to the Evans' home for own well-being, but Chad and Taylor begged against it, stating that the only thing now that was keeping their friend from falling apart completely was her desire to find Troy. It was he whom she'd asked for in those painful moments after learning of Carla Montez' fate and what they were going to do to find him and Sharpay.
So, not wanting to upset Gabriella's fragile state, the adults agreed to allow her to stay under the watchful eye of Mrs. Bolton, who now clung to the young woman as if she were her child. And, although distraught by the unknown fate of her own daughter, Mrs. Evans made the decision to return to the house to check on the others and learn of Zeke's condition.
Robert McKessie volunteered to accompany Mrs. Evans so that there would be a man around to help the women and children if need be, but was reluctant to leave Taylor behind who refused to go without her friends. However, when her father saw the way that Chad hovered over her so protectively and with such devotion to her safety, he knew that no harm would come to her, assured by the promises of the other fathers who were staying to continue the search.
Chad and Taylor then turned all of their attention and focus onto Gabriella whom the mere sight of broke their hearts. They tried to get her to eat and drink from some of the supplies the resuce workers had brought with them but to no avail. All she wanted to do was pace in the snow, awaiting news that someone had finally found Troy. In fact, the only person Gabriella would allow close to her during that time was Lucy Bolton, mostly due to the depth of their mutual love for her son. Not that Chad and Taylor didn't love him too, only that in Gabriella's mind, Troy was all she had left and without him, life as she once knew it seemed pointless. Finding him meant she still had a reason to go on even without the other person she'd loved with all her heart...her mother.
When yet another hour had passed with still no sign of Troy and Sharpay, the rescuers came together back to the point of operations to re-evaluate their efforts and look for any clues that might lead them in a more successful direction. The biggest concern at the moment was the fact that they only had a few more hours of daylight to sustain them. Once that was gone, the resuce would have to cease and begin again the following day, lowering the chances of finding the two teenagers safe and unharmed.
The lead rescue worker decided to go over the events that led up to the groups' encounter with the avalanche, which had been sketchy at best upon arrival, since many had been too dazed and confused in its aftermath to recall pertinent details right away.
Mr. Evans took the initiative to explain what he could clearly remember from the excursion right up until they were met by a wall of snow that had brought uncertainty, fear, and unconsciousness. He recalled how they were all having a wonderful day with no indication of any kind that they were even remotely in the path of danger. He explained how his family had been following this trail for years on sleigh rides and had never once encountered anything of this magnatude.
All had been well until a large grizzly bear had appeared from behind a cluster of trees, almost out of nowhere, spooking the horses and causing them to bolt erratically, setting the sleighs off on an uncharted course through through the woods.
Mr. Evans explained that while they deviated slightly from their normal trek, they hadn't gone any significant distance away from the known trail he'd always used. Once the horses had been calmed and the grizzly was no longer an immediate threat, they had turned around and ventured back toward where they should be and were almost there when the rumbling started and the ground began to shake. That's when all hell broke loose.
In that split second his gut instinctively knew what was about to happen, and he had yelled out to everyone to get free of the sleighs and run for their lives. As commanded, the families began jumping out and running as instructed away from the horrible rumbling, when the wall of snow began tumbling down the mountain, the force of it's impact sending them all flying this way and that. It wasn't until right before he himself had been thrown to the ground, that Mr. Evans saw one of the sleighs on the wrong side of the monsterous snow pack unaware if anyone still remained seated inside. After that everything went black.
Then it was the turn of Lee Danforth and Jack and Lucy Bolton to recall their own details of the event, which more or less coincided with those already provided by their host.
When it came time to hear from Chad and Taylor, both confirmed what the others had stated but, surprisingly, it was Taylor, the girl with the selective amnesia, who actually provided one vital clue that no one else had.
She stated that as she was running away in the opposite direction of the avalanche's impact as instructed, she'd at one point looked over her shoulder and saw Troy and Sharpay running in what appeared to be the the other direction. But because of the chaos and terror that surrounded her, and before she could bring it to anyone's attention, she'd fallen and gone unconscious.
"Are you positive you saw them going away from the rest of the group Taylor?" Sharpay's father asked, feeling the first surge of hope since their ordeal began.
"I'm pretty sure," she answered under the numerous eyes upon her. "It was all so crazy at that moment I can't say with complete certainty that I'm right about what I saw. All I know is that it looked like they were trying to come in the same direction as the rest of us, but the way the avalanche was coming down it caused them to go in the other direction to keep out if its path."
The lead rescuer smiled and patted Taylor on the back.
"That's a good detail to recall Ms. McKessie. It opens up the possibility that we need to re-direct and expand on the locations we've checked so far. Perhaps by going farther in we may have a better chance of locating your friends."
"Do you really believe this information can help us find my son?" Jack Bolton asked, his voice tinged with hope.
"Yes sir I do. In fact, I'm going to call down to headquarters and ask that another team be sent up here along with dogs to help in our efforts. Also, we're going to re-work the maps we've been using and try to put together another area of focus. If your son and Mr. Evans' daughter did in fact go the way Ms. McKessie said, there's a chance they may have found some type of shelter on the other side, as there are all kinds of tiny caves and such in that part of the mountain."
Suddenly a thought came to Mr. Evans, one he hadn't entertained before now.
"There's a cabin," he mumbled, as his mind sought to work out the logistics from their present location.
"What was that sir?" the leader asked, as everyone turned in Mr. Evans' direction.
"I said there's a cabin in that direction. An old abandoned cabin that once used to belong to a man named Morris Greely. It's been empty for years since his death but was still standing the last time we were up here two Christmases ago. If Troy and Sharpay weren't caught up in the avalanche and made it to the other side then perhaps they found their way to it."
Jack and Lucy Bolton looked at each other with tentative hope in their eyes.
Since most of the rescue workers were young and new to the job and territory, many had no clue of the Greely cabin's existence or location. Even the leader was unaware of it. But one of the older members of their team was able to corroborate Mr. Evans' words, having begun to work for the patrol the year before Mr. Greely had passed away. It was what the rescuers needed to hear to pump up their adrenaline and give them renewed determination to find Troy and Sharpay before sundown if at all possible.
At the cabin...
Once the small cave-in had passed, the first thing Troy and Sharpay did was look for a way to prevent any more snow from coming inside the cabin.
Looking around at their pitiful offerings, they both agreed that use of the table and mattress were their only options. Placing one each against the windows, they resumed sitting back down on the hard wood floor, as the temperature in the room slowly continued to drop and the coldness of their environment began eating away at the small reserve of body warmth both had left.
Without any food or water to sustain their strength, Troy and Sharpay realized that they would have to at least find a way to keep warm if they had any kind of chance of surviving their ordeal.
Deciding to do some jumping jacks to keep alert and bring up their body temperatures at the same time, they both began bouncing up and down like they were in gym class. It was after they'd done about 25 reps, that Sharpay's foot suddenly went through a plank in the floor, causing her to fall and twist her ankle.
"Damnit!" she cried out, falling face forward before Troy could catch her. "First the windows cave in and now the floor!"
"Easy there Shar," Troy said, helping her to sit down as she grimaced in pain.
Manuevering her foot slowly while trying not to get it caught on the jagged pieces of wood that enclosed it, he suddenly felt an upward draft coming through the opening.
"Do you feel that?" Troy asked, looking at Sharpay. "Air is coming up from somewhere down below."
"Of course I feel that," she snapped irritably. "My foot is the one that's caught isn't it?"
"Do you know what that means?" he continued, ignoring her frustration which she had every right to feel.
"No Troy. What does it mean?"
"It means that your foot didn't hit a hard surface below. It means that there is an opening underneath where you're sitting at and it's allowing air to come up through it."
"And your point is?" Sharpay asked, not in the mood for guessing games.
"My point is that this place isn't entirely sitting on a firm foundation. Maybe there's a tunnel or something down there."
Sharpay laughed in her annoyance. "A tunnel? Are you serious Troy Bolton?"
He nodded and began scanning the floor where she sat, looking for evidence of his theory. His eyes picked up on an outline of what appeared to be a trap door of some kind.
"Look!" Troy said, pointing his find out to Sharpay, who suddenly realized that where she was seated had the look of some sort of hatch or cut out in the floor.
"Well imagine that," Sharpay said, impressed by this bit of dectective work on her friend's behalf. "I never even noticed it before now."
"Neither did I," Troy admitted, a feeling of hope coming over him. "Let's finish getting your foot out and then see what's down there."
Once Sharpay was free and clear, she scooted back from where she was sitting. The outline was even more prominent to the eye now, indicating that the piece of floor was movable and didn't require a hook or latch to pull it up.
Taking hold of the opening her foot had produced, Troy raised the section of flooring and peered down into the darkness.
"Can you see anything?" Sharpay asked, leaning forward to watch what he was doing.
Luckily for Troy, the area of floor he'd removed was positioned a little to the left of the skylight, which allowed some form of visual as to what he was seeing. The first thing that caught his eye was a rope ladder hanging on the side of what appeared to be a tiny man-made chamber.
"There's a rope ladder down here," he said, straining to see to it's end. "I don't think it's a tunnel. Looks like some sort of ..."
"Some sort of what?" Sharpay asked excitedly, ignoring the pain in her ankle that had already begun to swell.
"A storage area or maybe even a pantry," Troy replied. "I can almost see to the bottom, barely, but can't make out what's down there. I'll have to climb in to be sure."
"You can't do that," Sharpay warned, not liking the idea of his going into some hole in the ground he might not be able to get out of. "What if you get stuck or something? Then what would happen to me?"
Troy laughed. "Glad to see you're so concerned for my well being Shar."
She laughed too. "I'm sorry. That did sound selfish didn't it?"
"It's okay. I know what you meant. Anyway, I'd at least like to see what's down there. Who knows what I might find. Besides, it isn't all that deep."
"Who cares if it's deep. The question is is it safe?"
"Sharpay...you and I are trapped inside an abandoned old cabin up in the mountains after running for our lives from an avalanche that we hope to God hasn't wiped out our families and friends, and you're worried about my being safe in a hole the size of a Porta-Potty?" Troy asked, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Okay fine. Just promise you'll be careful while you're down there and if it doesn't feel right come back up immediately," Sharpay ordered more out of fear for his safety, than her usually tendency to be bossy.
Troy laughed, shook his head, and then proceeded to climb onto the rope ladder and make his way down into the semi-darkness below. It took him less than a minute to reach the bottom. He looked up Sharpay who was looking down from up top.
"Just like I figured...it's some sort of pantry/storage area. You can't tell when you're up there but it's way more room down here than you'd expect. Not a lot mind you but enough to move around a little."
"What's down there? Can you make it out clearly enough to tell?"
Troy strained his eyes trying to focus in on what few things he could see with the faint amount of light afforded him. He reached out a hand onto one of the few makeshift shelves and began to feel his way around the outline of an object that it took him only a few seconds to realize felt like a lantern.
"Hey Shar, does this look like a lantern to you?" He called, holding it up for her inspection.
"That's exactly what it is!" She exclaimed excitedly at the prospect of them possibly having some better lighting. "Check around and see if you can find any matches to light it with, that is if it still works."
Troy moved his hand slowly along the shelf and to his surprise found a small box of what he believed were matches after shaking the contents against his ear.
"What are these?" he asked, holding them up to the faint light.
"Matches!" Sharpay cried happily. "Hand them and the lantern up to me and I'll see if we scored a miracle or not."
Troy did as asked and then went back to his scavenger hunt. A few minutes later he climbed back up into the room to find Sharpay and the lantern seated on the floor, both looking battered and defeated.
"What's wrong?"
"This stupid thing has no oil in it so it's useless," she pouted, appearing as if she were on the verge of tears.
Troy gave her a tiny smile, reached into his pocket and handed her a small container. Sharpay took it and when she saw that it was lantern oil, she wanted to to throw herself in his arms with happiness.
"Great!" She exclaimed. Maybe now we'll at least have some decent light in here. Did you find anything else?"
He shook his head and went to sit down beside her as she put oil in the lantern. The matches were nearly unusable but after striking about five of them, one sparked a flame and much to their surprise lit up the lamp, bringing a stronger glow of light into the room.
"This must be how the cavemen felt when they first discovered fire," Troy joked, glad to see some of the tension ease in Sharpay's still too pale face.
She laughed in spite of the pain in her ankle and the rumbling of her stomach that was beginning to ache with hunger.
"Too bad you didn't find any food down there," Sharpay said disappointedly, able to see him much clearer now, as the light overhead began to signal that early evening was approaching by the dim shadow it barely cast.
"Nope. No real food...but I did find this..." Troy said, reaching a hand into his other pocket and pulling out a bar of chocolate and an orange.
"Where did that come from?" Sharpay asked, looking at the candy as if it were filet mignon. "You just said there was nothing to eat down there."
"There wasn't. These are what's left out of my Christmas stocking, which I happened to clear out right before we left this morning. I nearly forgot they were on me until just now," he answered, breaking off a pice of the chocolate and handing it to her.
Troy couldn't help but smile at the way Sharpay gobbled down the chocolate like it was the best thing she'd ever tasted.
"I guess this is as close to a Christmas feast as we're going to get," she said dejectedly, shivering a bit from the draft coming up through the floor. "Lois probably prepared something really special for all of us for when we came back from the sleigh ride. Now it's all going to go to waste."
"I just hope that everyone else is alright...Brie, Chad, Zeke, Taylor...our folks," Troy said, suddenly focusing on something other than the dangerous situation he and Sharpay were in. "I know if they are then they have to be looking for us, no doubt worried out of their minds that we might be hurt or worse."
Sharpay nodded silently, her thoughts suddenly turning to Zeke, wishing that she were wrapped in his arms in front of a roaring fire, laughing and talking with their friends and family like they'd done the night before. Now she wasn't sure if she and Troy would make it out of their predicament or if she would ever see the people she loved again and it filled her with an overwhelming sadness.
Sensing the turn in her mood, Troy scooted closer to where Sharpay sat, putting an arm around her shoulders.
"We're going to be okay Shar. You'll see," he said, trying to sound optimistic, but feeling every bit as scared as she. "We just have to hang on until help arrives."
"And what if it doesn't?" she asked, tears starting to form in her eyes. "What if this is it for us?"
Not knowing what to say her, Troy simply held Sharpay a little tighter to him, and silently prayed for the miracle they needed to save them.
Back at the resuce site...
As the day began to wind down and the temperature dropped with every passing second, Taylor's fears for the safe return of her friends continued to grow.
Now leaning against one of the resuce vehicles, shivering under the brutal cold, she watched as Chad stood talking to his father, Troy's and Mr. Evans a few feet away, the four of them looking as tired and worried as she. Taylor glanced behind her through the windshield of the vehicle, where she saw Gabriella and Mrs. Bolton in the front seat, her friend's head laying against the older woman's shoulder, eyes vacant and lifeless.
Just then Chad began walking back in her direction, while the other three men went over to speak with two of the resucers to get an update on the progress being made by those who'd gone further past the point of the avalanche's impact in search of any visible signs of Sharpay and Troy's whereabouts.
When he reached her side, Taylor fell into his arms with a sigh.
"I love you," she said weakly, the tears she'd been holding back all this time threatening to finally come.
"I love you too," Chad whispered against her ear, wishing he knew what to do to stop her trembling.
"We aren't going to find them are we?" Taylor asked, sure to keep her voice low so their conversation couldn't be overheard by Brie and Mrs. Bolton.
"I don't know baby. I honestly don't know. We've only got about another half an hour of decent light left and then..."
"Then what?" Taylor demanded fearfully.
"Then, according to my dad, the rescue team is going to have to pull in for the night, as the conditions up here will be to difficult to try and continue the search."
"No Chad no," Taylor gasped. "We can't leave Troy and Shar up here alone all night. What if they are hurt or something? They have no food, no water...how are they suppose to survive?"
Chad shook his head in answer.
"I don't know Tay. They are still saying that there is a possibility that Troy and Sharpay may have found some type of shelter which may help them make it until tomorrow. Aside from that it's anyone's guess what will happen."
"Do you think we should tell this to Mrs. Bolton and Gabriella?"
"No," Chad replied. "Troy's dad asked that we not say anything just yet until we get the final report of the day on where things stand from the head of the rescue team which should take place in a few."
"I still can't believe this is happening," Taylor said, her voice heavy with sadness. "It's Christimas for God's sake. How can fate have been so cruel as to take Mrs. Montez and her friend away on what was supposed to be a happy occasion for us all, and leave us not knowing if two of our best friends are dead or alive?"
"I wish I could answer that but I can't," Chad stated truthfully. "All any of us can do right now is pray that Troy and Sharpay are somewhere out here still okay and that we'll find them first thing in the morning."
Suddenly, in the distance, they heard the barking of the rescue dogs and shouts from a few of the rescue team who were about a quarter mile away from where they were standing. Chad and Taylor watched as his father, Mr. Evans, and Mr. Bolton raced off in the direction of the commotion, holding their breath as they hoped and prayed that someone had found a clue as to where Sharpay and Troy were.
Mrs. Bolton stuck her head out of the rescue vehicle and stared down at them with questioning eyes.
"What's going on? What's happening?"
"We don't know," Chad replied nervously, his heart aching at seeing the worry and pain on the older woman's face. "If I had to guess I think someone may have found something to help us locate Troy and Sharpay. At least it seems that way."
"Dear God let it be so," Mrs. Bolton said, as she strained to see what was taking place off in the distance.
The wait to find out what was happening seemed much longer than it was. When Coach Bolton, Mr. Danforth and the rescue team members finally began approaching where Chad, Taylor, Mrs. Bolton, and Gabriella were holding vigil, none of them knew what to expect.
When his father was only a few feet away, Chad left Taylor's side and rushed over to him excitedly. Mr. Evans and Coach Bolton were right behind.
"Well dad, what's going on? Did you guys find out where Troy and Sharpay are? Is the rescue operation closing down for the night? What?"
Lee Danforth patted his son's shoulder wearily, as the rest of the search party began to arrive as well.
"It seems that two sets of footprints were found in the snow Chad. The rescuers believe they belong to Troy and Sharpay."
"Footprints!" Taylor exclaimed happily. "That's great."
"Maybe, maybe not," Lee said, not wanting to get anyone's hopes up. "The point is that it means the two might have done as the team leader suggested and found some type of shelter to stay safe in. However, with the light fading the rescue efforts are being put off again until tomorrow morning."
"No!" Lucy Bolton shouted, jumping out of the vehicle and running to her husband after overhearing the conversation between Lee and Chad. "No Jack! They can't leave my baby out here by himself all night."
Coach Bolton did his best to soothe his wife, even as his own heart raged with conflict. Gabriella peered out at the group of people now milling about and putting away equipment, her eyes searching desperately for the one she loved.
"Where's Troy? Why haven't you brought him back to me?"
Lee, Chad and Taylor turned at the sound of Brie's agonized voice.
"They're trying dear, but it's still going to take some more time," Mr. Evans explained, moving toward the distraught girl. "Unfortuantely, we are running out of daylight and it is remaining too dangerous for any of us to stay up here."
"Dangerous!" Gabriella suddenly screamed, her grief and exhaustion clearly about to push her to her breaking point. "Dangerous! My mother is dead, one of my best friends and the boy I love are still out here missing and you say it's getting too dangerous for us? I'm not going anywhere until we find Troy. Do you hear me! No where!"
Gabriella then climbed down from the front seat of the rescue vehicle looking half-crazed when, to everyone's surprise, she simply collapsed in the snow going limp as a rag doll.
Taylor and Lucy Bolton both gasped and raced to her side, as did the medic who took a moment to check her vital signs and then informed the group that Gabriella had merely passed out from the shock and needed to be taken indoors immediately.
Putting her back inside the rover with Mrs. Bolton holding her hand, Chad and Taylor climbed in as well as they watched the rescue team finish loading up their gear on the other vehicles, while they made plans to meet back at the same location at sun up the very next day.
Mr. Evans and Coach Bolton were gripped with fear for the safety of their children, but they knew there was nothing more any of them could do, and could only pray that in the morning Troy and Sharpay would be found alive and unharmed.
When they were finally ready to depart and began making their way back to the Evans' home, Taylor and Chad both looked over their shoulders out the window back toward where their friends might be somewhere behind a wall of snow, begging God with all their hearts to keep them safe until they could get to them the following day.
