TONY: Slow Burn (Raging Fire Book 1), Kallypso Masters [classic novels TXT] 📗

and look for any signs of them. But first, let me call in our position so other search teams can focus elsewhere.”

After a quick call to the rescue squad’s dispatcher, identifying herself and her credentials, the three set out. It was a laborious effort. The steepness of the slope forced them to anchor themselves by ropes to boulders in several precarious sections. Carm continually scanned the gray rocks surrounding them while being careful to warn the others of potential missteps.

She stopped often to call out to the missing climbers, but still received no response. When the rock beneath their feet became so loose that she feared raining debris down on the heads and bodies of the missing climbers, she called a halt.

“Let’s rappel down to that section over there and continue searching a few hundred feet down the mountain.”

“Sounds good,” Nick said with a nod.

Here in the shadow of other slopes on the North Face, the snowpack was thicker and required them to put crampons on their boots to give themselves a solid foothold. Carm went down first to be the safety for the others. This section of packed snow and ice would make it possible to traverse the slopes without the need for ropes or the fear of dropping debris onto anyone below, including SAR volunteers and first responders.

Spreading out but staying within visual range, the others followed Carm’s lead. They were fifteen minutes into their search of this area when she heard a faint response to her call.

“Help! Hurry!” Sounded like the man.

“Nick! Shawana! I think we’ve found them!” Well, almost. She didn’t have visual yet but set out in the direction from which she’d heard the call for help. After a few more shouts back and forth to help her pinpoint their location, Carm slid down to where she found the couple tucked under an outcropping of rock. Using her hands to climb up a field of scree that had crumbled beneath the cliff, Carm moved in while Nick, Shawana, and Joyce approached from the other side of the outcropping.

“Man, are we happy to see you,” the man said.

“Same here,” Carm said. “A lot of people are out looking for you both.” Nick’s group soon joined them.

The two climbers had been able to find refuge in an ice-free area, but Carm worried about hypothermia. There wasn’t any sunlight to warm them under here, but thankfully, he and the woman were wrapped in mylar blankets.

Carm didn’t know the condition of the silent woman, but she sat upright at least. Pulling out her satellite phone to report that the missing climbers had been found, she gave their GPS location.

Looking in the direction of her companions, Carm said, “Can you share your water and snacks with him?” Kneeling next to the woman, she tried to reassure her. “Help will be here soon. Do you have any injuries?”

“I rolled my ankle when I fell over this ledge.”

Carm pulled out water and energy bars to share with the woman and checked in with the dispatcher to see if there was anything she could do in the meantime to help.

Soon after the Black Hawk had lowered Tony, Ryder, and other SAR workers and first responders to their search sector about four hundred feet above Capitol Lake, the nearby campground had quickly become their staging area in the search for the missing two.

He didn’t like the look of the ominous clouds off to the west and hoped any rain—or worse, lightning—would hold off until they completed their mission. Being on a mountainside in a thunderstorm would definitely complicate matters.

Staying about fifty feet apart as they climbed and searched, surely one of them would see or hear something if the couple was in this sector. The terrain became more rugged as they climbed, but not enough to require ropes yet. The rock gradually became brittle and loose, making it more difficult to gain traction. They’d begun scoping out their first belay line when a report came through on the sat phone that the climbers had been found by some mountaineers in the area above them.

Thanks to their extensive training in climbing and rope rescue, Tony and Ryder ascended quickly. Dispatch reported that one victim might have a broken ankle or leg. Good thing he’d packed splints, just in case.

As Tony scrambled over the lip of a shelf, someone shouted. “We’re over here!” The voice sounded oddly familiar, but he couldn’t place it. Of course, this wasn’t his usual SAR response area, either.

“Be right there!” Tony assured her before helping Ryder onto the shelf a few minutes later.

Coming upon the scene a minute or two later, a quick survey of the scene showed that both victims were covered in mylar blankets to retain heat. Four helmeted mountaineers surrounded them for added warmth. The injured woman lying on the ground grimaced in pain, while the man sat upright and appeared to be alert. At least someone had thought to pack those blankets.

The scene appeared to be a relatively safe place for a successful helicopter evacuation. Given their exposure to the cold overnight and the woman’s possible injury, air evacuation probably would be the safest and quickest option. Before beginning his medical evaluations, Tony asked dispatch to send the Black Hawk to their location with a harness and a Stokes basket.

“I think her ankle might be sprained or broken,” came that familiar voice again from a woman kneeling beside the fallen climber. She turned toward him.

They simultaneously recognized each other. “Carmella?” “Tony?”

What the hell is she doing up here? Thank God she wasn’t one of the injured climbers.

Tony donned nitrile gloves while Ryder began asking questions of the man to determine what had happened and whether he might have any hidden injuries.

“Let me know how I can help,” Carmella offered as she scooted aside to give Tony room.

Tony nodded. While he conducted his assessment of the injured woman’s responsiveness, Carmella held her hand. “Any head, neck, or back pain?”

She shook her head. “Just my ankle. I