A small rock caught her foot and she stumbled but kept upright. She wouldn’t have thought much of it, except that she was a clumsy idiot, if she hadn’t had seen the whip of hair flapping beneath the rock. In a second, she could have missed it. But, as she stared at the vision longer, she realised that she was not mistaken: the blonde hair caught on the breeze again, wafting gently here and there, behind the shelter of the mountainside. Kelly peered over the rock she’d tripped on and held her breath.

Daphne had long blonde hair.

In the moment, she envisaged another gruesome find. One more to add to the list: the fifth and final sacrifice. Spirit. Daphne’s spirit. The Moon Goddess. Her heart pounded in her chest and she reached for her radio. Her hands shook.

Looking over the edge of the boulder, which was much larger than she originally thought, she saw a body hunched over. It was sat up and naked.

‘Daphne?’ Kelly whispered. She realised that the girl wouldn’t hear her over even the kindest of winds and she raised her voice.

‘Daphne?’ She was more emphatic.

The girl turned around and Kelly relaxed a little as she confirmed that she seemed to be lucid and unharmed. But she must also be freezing.

‘Thank God!’ Kelly went to her, taking off her sweater and reaching into her rucksack for another layer. The girl began rocking back and forth, and Kelly covered her and soothed her.

‘You poor thing! How long have you been up here?’ Kelly felt her skin and it was icy cold. The girl shouldn’t be alive. She spoke into her radio, not wanting to traumatise the girl further. A cheer went up over the radio and within what felt like seconds, two mountain rescue volunteers raced over the lip to the boulder and scrambled down the lip.

Both had medical equipment with them. The medic in their party was on her way; she’d taken the south route down and had a bit of work on hand and knee to get back up and over to where they were. She was there within minutes and Daphne was laid on her side, wrapped in layers, given hot tea, and checked for signs of hypothermia, or worse. The girl didn’t say a word, but she did look at Kelly, who smiled reassuringly back to her.

The feeling couldn’t be matched. Saving one life, amongst all of the horror she’d witnessed this week, was something that didn’t come with a price. The relief overtook Kelly’s body and she breathed deeply, holding Daphne’s hand.

‘Is your name Daphne?’ she asked. The girl nodded. Kelly experienced elated joy when Daphne communicated with her. It showed trust, but most of all, it probably indicated that Daphne was all right.

‘Are you harmed in any way?’ Kelly asked.

Daphne shook her head.