And stolen their backpacks.

“Thomas, did you see where the packs went?” she called over to the other diggers. The big man simply shook his head, his face grim. He didn’t lose a beat in his digging rhythm. Ryan did.

“What? No packs?” Ryan worriedly looked around, his eyes wide as they stared at the plane. “Mine’s still up top,” he said slowly.

“Better than none,” Thomas stated.

“Shit.” Ryan attacked the snow with fresh vigor, and Brynn imitated him.

Her gloved hands hit a hard patch, and she punched the snow with her fist to break through. Blue. She could see blue through a layer of snow. Kiana barked.

“I’ve got him!” she shrieked and attacked the snow. Jim lunged closer.

“Which way’s his head?”

“I can’t tell. Hang on.”

Ryan and Thomas were instantly at her side, digging faster. The blue haze under the snow grew larger and she touched the fabric. Thank you, God. Thank you.

“That’s not him.” Thomas spoke just as the realization punched Brynn in the gut.

It was one of the packs. The four of them sat back, utterly drained. Kiana barked and dug at the blue fabric.

“It’s mine,” Brynn whispered. “It’s got Kiana’s food in it.” Tears traced hot paths down her cheeks. They’d been wasting time and muscle power digging in the wrong place. Thomas stood, strode back to his hole, and began to dig. Ryan followed.

“Brynn, get your shovel out of the pack and get over there.” Jim’s voice was tired. “I must have seen the blue of your pack getting tossed in the avalanche. So maybe Thomas saw the blue of his coat. Fuck!” He rubbed his palms over his eyes. “I screwed up.”

“No, you didn’t. Look how accurate you were in locating this. We’re gonna need it.” Her voice was calm as she located the collapsible shovel, but her heart was crying. “This shovel might be what we needed to find him. Go on.” She gestured for him to join the others. “I’ll be right there.” She forced her breaths to stay even.

Jim pushed to his feet and jogged over. Ryan slapped him on the shoulder and made room for him to dig beside him. The agony on their faces broke her heart.

Brynn maneuvered her shovel out of her pack, and her fingers brushed Kiana’s sack of food. She wrenched it out of the half-buried pack and held a handful out to her dog. “Here you go. Good girl.” Kiana wagged her tail and attacked the food.

Brynn grabbed the shovel and headed over to the men. She held the shovel out to Thomas, who silently accepted it and attacked the growing hole. Brynn fell to her knees and started to dig. Her back ached in protest.

“Alex! Can you hear us?” Ryan shouted and the others held still, listening. “Alex!” Silence.

“Call him again,” Brynn whispered. Her throat felt too swollen to yell. Come on Alex. Where are you?

“Alex!” Ryan yelled and then froze. “Call him…shit. Anyone know his cell phone number? Maybe we’d hear that.” “There’s no coverage up here.” Thomas kept digging. “There’s some. I got through to Collins a little while ago.” “But you were higher.” Brynn’s heart lifted a fraction. “It’s worth a try! Jim, do you have his number?” Jim shook his head. Ryan turned hopefully to Brynn. “Brynn?”

She shook her head, and Ryan’s face fell as he tentatively looked at Thomas. Ryan didn’t bother to ask.

“Wait. Collins gave me the number for Alex’s boss before Alex even showed up at base camp yesterday morning.” Jim had an odd look on his face.

“You want to try to reach him and ask for Alex’s number?” Brynn asked hopefully.

“No.” Jim paused, brushing at the snow on his pants. “I think its Alex’s number I have. Alex was the one who called Collins and talked his way onto our team yesterday morning. Not someone at the US Marshals’ office.” Brynn stared. “Why would he do that?” Jim had already pulled out his cell phone and was dialing. He ignored her question. “It’s showing a weak signal. One bar. Quiet.”

Brynn shut her eyes and tried to stretch her hearing. She heard Kiana’s tail swishing and the crunch of her kibble, but she didn’t hear a cell phone ring.

“Knowing him, it’s probably on vibrate,” Ryan mumbled. His face was long, his eyes red.

“Shhh.” Brynn heard the wind blow snow out of the firs, but she didn’t hear a ring.

Jim slapped his phone shut with a crack.

“Try again,” she urged.

He started to shake his head, but faltered as they made eye contact. She pleaded with her eyes, and he hit send again.

Thomas coughed. Brynn wanted to smack him for the noise.

Jim stood still, holding the phone to his ear, his face as blank as the snow.

Come on, Alex. Tell us where you are. This time she kept her eyes open, scanning the snow for any movement, any color.

“Damn it, Alex, answer your frigging cell,” Jim said into his phone.

Without looking at the others, Jim snapped the phone closed and dropped to his knees to dig. “I reached a voice mail, but it didn’t say who it belonged to.” Jim’s throat sounded tight. Kiana padded over and enthusiastically dug beside him.

“No food this time, girl.” He ruffled the dog’s fur.

Darrin’s stomach tied in knots as he watched the team dig. When they’d rushed the hole next to the woman and pulled out a backpack he’d been strangely disappointed.