Thank you for the views and reviews so far! Things take a turn for the worse...
Chapter three
Alan woke to a hammering at the door. Grumbling to himself, he staggered out of bed while throwing his unbuttoned shirt on ward off the chill. He opened the door bleary eyed, his blonde hair mussed. He'd never done well with early starts and would often wake up slow witted and confused, often from some rather wild midnight musings. Like the time he dreamed about the Swinging Star. He tried to focus on the woman in front of him, her name evading him in his stupor.
"Tracy!" Maddie swung round to face the open door only to balk at the sight in front of her, a pink blush colouring her cheeks. Alan Tracy was remarkably well toned, not to mention incredibly unclothed. He looked dishevelled as he leaned on the door for support with one arm, his baby blue shirt unbuttoned from collar to naval with reindeer boxers. Adverting her eyes she spluttered, pushing her hair back behind her ear. "Ahem; erm - do you not have py - I mean an alarm?"
"An alarm? of course I do, I set it last night."
"Well, you've got fifteen minutes till the next stage begins."
"Impossible!" He glanced at the watch that still adorned his wrist, eyes widening in horror. "Oh shoot!" He must have set it for an hour later by accident. Clawing at the door in a panic he stepped out before looking down at himself. "Damn it!"
Scrabbling back through the door he shouted. "Give me ten! I'll meet you in the ah…ah"
"Foyer?" Maddie responded trying to forget what she'd just seen.
Alan popped his head back around the door practically jumping up and down. "Yes there! I'll meet you in the foyer!"
The door slammed as the clattering and thudding of furniture and doors mixed with bouts of muffled swearing ensued. Maddie shook her head; it would be a miracle if they started on time and didn't incur a penalty. Dazed and absently chewing her lip, she stood in the corridor alone for a few moments staring at the door before realising she needed to grab her stuff too. With one last flustered look up and down the corridor she jogged off in haste.
Alan spun around the room like a whirlwind dashing to find fresh underwear, thermals and suit he'd carelessly discarded in an inside-out heap last night. Fighting to turn out the legs the right way he almost tripped over the edge of the bedside table, cursing colourfully as he stubbed a toe. Once dressed he all but skidded into the bathroom grabbing on to the counter to quell his momentum. He wrenched the toothbrush from the holder and gave his teeth a quick scrub before cursing as he flushed his hair under the tap and tried to paste the thatch of blonde hair into some sort of style and failing miserably. Usually, he'd gel it in place, today he simply didn't have the time. Instead he allowed his fringe to fall in a style that wasn't too far removed from John's.
Chucking his gear in his holdall and lobbing it over his back, he scrambled from the room, the door slamming behind him. His feet scuffed the carpet as he took the steps two at a time. Running into the foyer with cheeks flushed from exertion he found Maddie waiting anxiously by the door. She snatched his holdall before thrusting a wrapped foil baguette and apple juice carton at his chest. "You eat I'll drive us into position."
"Gee thanks." Alan brightened at the breakfast he thought he'd have to miss. They scrambled over to the mobile garage where they dumped their stuff with the crew. Maddie slipped into the driver's seat before speeding off. They spun out of the lodge complex and onto open road, on their way to the starting point for the morning.
Alan tried not to choke on his bacon. "Are you planning on us being alive at the start line?" They weren't even on the track yet, but Maddie was cornering faster than most drivers would dare on public roads without last nights heavy snowfall.
"Well; considering someone was still sleeping twenty minutes ago, I'm doing the best with the time we have. We don't need to add a penalty to our crash time yesterday, do we?" She slammed her foot on the accelerator. Three minutes to cover four miles. Easy right? She knuckled down on the steering wheel hard.
"Sorry; I suspect I'm a little out of sorts with the time zones." He replied, mid-bite.
"Hmm, where do you live again?" Maddie knew it was somewhere abroad.
"An island in the south pacific. We moved there when I was just turning eighteen."
"Must have been lonely at that age." Maddie pulled into the stage entrance.
"I actually stayed in college for a time. I studied to become an astronaut like my father, so it wasn't too bad when I eventually joined them at home."
"I see." Maddie was itching to ask more like why he didn't pursue his astronaut career, but they had to get out and swap places quickly. Alan brushed the crumbs off his lap before jumping out into the arctic air and donning his gloves. They'd made it with a minute to spare as Alan rolled them up to the start line.
The initial legs went well as they fell into a steady rhythm, drifting into success. It wasn't long before they crept up the table to fifth. Just before the sixteenth stage they stopped to take a scheduled break. Alan leaned on the car roof sipping a drink as Maddie consulted the leader board. "Jones and Terry are third with Sarsgaard and Zetterberg in the lead. Agreste and Pelletier are just behind us."
"Hmm they're unlikely to stay there, we'll have to watch our backs. Let's crack on."
Maddie nodded, securing her helmet once more. The next stage was one of the tougher ones on the circuit for it ran down a steep incline with plenty of hair pin bends designed to test the driver's technical capability and not necessarily their speed. They would begin at the very top of the rutted hillside track and transcend to the bottom through the pine forest.
They lined up once more as fresh snow began to drift across their windscreen in a flurry. "Ready?" Alan asked with a smile.
"Born ready."
He grinned once more as the klaxon sounded. Alan pitched them down the hill, wind wipers on full tilt whilst sailing through the first two bends with some impressive drifting prowess before powering out onto the straight. "One hundred and fifty yards, left plus four over forty, mid-crest."
As they gained air, Alan chanced a look in his rear-view mirror, there was an unusual amount of powdered snow being kicked up however it had been snowing steadily for the best part of an hour so maybe it was to be expected. As he took the next right mid-way down the hill, he knew something was wrong. They were on a straight now allowing Maddie moments respite from her notes. Alan frowned at the scene behind him in concern, the snow now hurtling towards them.
"Maddie, I don't want to alarm you, but I think we're in the midst of an avalanche."
Alan sped down the straight, but it was no use, the cloud behind them would engulf them in moments. Maddie looked in the wing mirror in horror as she shouted her next set of instructions. "Alan, you have to go faster! Right, into right minus three, crest into left plus five!"
Alan swung round the sharp bend, now side on with the disaster that was unfolding around them. He could see the pines a hundred yards above being engulfed, the white cloud thundered on and on as Alan grappled with the controls and trying to keep one step ahead, but it was no use. The sound was deafening as the snow cascaded down upon them, thundering onto the roof. Alan desperately grappled with the steering fighting to keep them level as Maddie's screams and his own yells intertwined. The snow swept the wheels out from underneath them, pitching them violently forwards in their seats as the car was picked up in the churning momentum. They braced themselves into their seats and clung to the roll bars above them. Maddie's head hit the side of the door frame hard whilst Alan was propelled forwards, his harness biting into him. The darkness engulfed them as the sound of the world around them failed.
Alan felt the impact on his side as the car tipped rolling them over and over, his head spinning as he lost count of the turns. The crushing and rent of metal were audible over the rumble of the snow and the shattering of the safety glass in the windscreen. Alan watched it fracture like ice. The car rocked to a stop almost as abruptly as it had all begun. Alan stretched his fingers up to the roof, grunting at the pressure on his chest. He had to get out of his harness. One hand worked its way back to his chest where he depressed the buckle. He swore under his breath as he struggled to get it undone the tension on the buckle was too much. After a few more minutes of wriggling the buckle, it gave way allowing him to extract himself and drop down onto the roof with a groan.
He bunched up awkwardly in the cramp space shifting onto his side crawling over to the passenger. "Maddie!" He raised himself up on one elbow and tried to tap her shoulder. They were in complete darkness bar the soft glow of the dashboard; he couldn't make out her features. Quickly ripping off one of his gloves with his teeth he tried to feel for the pulse in her neck. "Maddie!"
She stirred at his touch causing him to sag in relief as she groaned. "What…. what happened?" Maddie realising she was upside down, screamed whilst clawing at the roof, her legs kicking against the footwell. It was dark and she couldn't see. Why were they upside down?
"Woah Easy! Easy. Maddie listen to me!" At the touch of his hand on her neck once more she stilled. "You're with me, Alan. There was an avalanche, we've been buried but I think the worst is over for now. Are you hurt?"
She tried to reach for her brow. "I…I think I hit my head. I can feel blood in my hairline and i'm a bit dizzy."
"Nothing else?"
"No." She scrabbled for her harness. "I need to get out, right now!" Her voice trembled in panic.
"We're trapped Maddie, there's nowhere to go. I can get you out of your seat but if your already feeling claustrophobic it might be a bad idea."
"Get me out now." She fumbled for the buckle.
"Okay, okay just steady!" She released herself just as Alan slipped underneath to cushion her fall. he winced as he took her weight before gently laying her head and shoulders free of Alan she shimmed back so she was lying flat on the roof. Alan was already scrabbling behind his head for the first aid kit he was sure he'd felt only moments before. "Yes!" His fingertips clutched at the kit as he brought it over his head and onto his chest. He opened it pulling out a foil blanket.
"Here wrap yourself in this." He shook it out over her the best he could. Next, he located the rear light to his right shoulder on the roof. Pressing it on. "That's better." He declared.
"Matt. Matt can you hear us?" Maddie held onto her mic on her helmet straining to hear. "Matt!" All she could here was static as her heart thumped in her chest. This couldn't be happening. Silent tears leaked from the corners of her eyes.
Alan tried his comms, but his were the same. Frowning, he lay there quietly assessing the situation. This was bad, avalanches were deadly – something he knew all too well. They had to act and quickly before the snow suffocated them or they died from the freezing temperatures. He suspected his watch would work and he could call out, but he needed to do it in a way that wouldn't compromise him.
"It's no use Tracy. Our comms are useless." She lifted a shaky hand to the wound on her head. It was starting to throb.
"I know! We can call International Rescue. It said they can be reached on any wavelength."
"Really?"
"Yes." Alan struggled to raise his watch to press the call button. Praying his brother would have the sense to play along he made the call. "Calling International Rescue, calling international Rescue. We need your help."
"This is International Rescue" –
Alan cut him off. "International rescue, boy are we glad you picked up fella! We were racing as part of the Santa Dash rally in Canada, but we've been hit by an avalanche. We're unhurt except my co-driver has a suspected minor head injury. The car's overturned and we're trapped under the snow."
"Right. Do you have a fix on your last location?"
Maddie reeled off the last known coordinates she remembered.
"Thank you." There was a pause as the operator jotted them down. "And your names?"
"Maddie Johnson and I'm Alan Tracy."
"Alright Tracy. Standby; our teams will be dispatched to your location shortly. Don't try and be a hero and wait for the professionals." Alan scowled in the dim light. Like I can do anything even if I wanted to. I'm trussed up tighter than a Turkey here! They waited with bated breath; Maddie could see hers clouding in the air now Alan had turned the rear light on. She snuggled deeper under the blanket; her head was thumping, and her chest felt tight. Maddie felt a hand grip hers. She turned to face Alan.
"Its alright Maddie, we'll get out of this." Alan could feel her shaking next to him. She wasn't holding up well at all. The car creaked ominously below them causing Maddie to gasp.
"Hello, Alan?"
"Yes."
"Our first responder is on route. E.T.A Thirty-Five minutes."
Less than that now Scott and his father knew just where he was, if Alan had to wager. "Okay; thank you International Rescue."
"Alright. Call us if yours or Maddie's condition or the situation changes."
"Will do."
"I'll check in in fifteen minutes."
"Thank you."
Alan looked over to check on Maddie who was now deathly quiet. Catching him watching her she tried to put on a brave face offering him the blanket.
"Well, this is not how I was expecting to finish our first rally." Alan took the blanket and settled in next to her, shoulder to shoulder facing up and looking at the seats and dashboard above them. They'd moved towards the back of the car away from the bucket seats where there was more room to lie out with their feet over the tops of the front seats.
She still remained quiet, hers and his helmet obscuring his view of her face. The cold crept around them, Alan could feel it along the back of his calves and the bare hand he's used to check Maddie was breathing.
"Maddie, International Rescue are the best in their field. They'll get us out of this, just you wait and see."
"I wonder if this is how they felt. Waiting." She spoke quietly sounding far removed from her surroundings.
"Who?"
"I always wondered what must have gone through their minds in those final moments. Everyone used to tell me that they wouldn't have felt any pain, but I always imagined that they were scared or maybe they felt desperation in the knowledge they were doomed, maybe even resigned to their fates. Now I know, its worse than I could ever imagine."
Her words resonated with Alan for they were the same thoughts that haunted him since his teens. He twisted awkwardly on his side so he could face her. Maddie stared upwards; her gaze glassy as hot tears fell back into her hairline. Feeling helpless, he drew closer to her.
Eventually she turned towards him her composure breaking as her face crumpled. "My parents. They were killed on a ferry that sunk off the coast of Norway. They never even found their bodies."
"I'm so sorry."
"Alan, I don't want to die. Not like this. No ones going to find us, just like them."
She cried harder, all these years she'd been trying to forget. To stop wondering about their last moments, where they were and now all she could think about was they knew they were going to die and there was nothing they could do. All the emotions she'd repressed through childhood were spilling out in an uncontrollable sobbing tirade.
Alan Blanched, unsure what to say or do as this aloof independent woman broke down next to him. He could feel her whole body tremble as she sobbed, her gloved hands covering her face. He wasn't sure how, but he needed to console her somehow before she exhausted herself. The temperature was plummeting all time so they couldn't afford for her to fall sleep.
"Shhh, Shhh, it's okay. I won't let that happen to you. I swear Maddie we'll get out of this." She threw herself onto his chest, her arm gripping his shoulder tightly as she keened even harder. Shocked, he remained tense before finally encircling an arm around her to pat her awkwardly on the back.
"International Rescue will find us, you'll see." He said with conviction staring up at the rear seat. He knew his family would stop at nothing to save him, he just had to hope he could keep them alive long enough - Somehow.