I creep forward, gloved fingers tightening on the wooden handle as I near her. She still hasn’t seen me. I bring the axe back but my stomach squirms. I don’t think I can do this. She clicks her other ski on.

Images appear before my eyes. Curtis, broken and buried under the snow. Brent, somewhere up there with bullets in him. Dale and Heather, together in the ice. As hard as I can, I hack the blade into Odette’s right leg just above the knee. With a terrible shriek, she tips sideways. Now we’re even.

“Curtis!” I shout.

Odette writhes on the snow, clutching her leg. I raise the axe again. Now that she’s down, her skis hamper her. She flails at the bindings to get them off. I swing the axe at her thigh. I need to disable her so I can get to Curtis.

She rolls, dodging the blow, one ski off already. I swing again and catch her just above her hip. Judging from the sickening crunch, I hit bone. She screams.

Her other ski is off now. She reaches for her backpack. The rifle! I toss the axe aside and wrestle her for it.

Precious seconds tick away as we grapple. I have to get to Curtis. I prize the rifle from her gloved fingers and struggle to my feet with it. God, this thing is heavy.

Loud as I can, I shout: “Curtis!”

The sound rings out across the mountains. If he’s down there, he’ll hear it. My ears strain for a response but there isn’t one. He’s buried.

Odette struggles to her feet, white camouflage trousers soaked red, and dives to the snow nearby. The axe!

I don’t have time to aim the rifle and I’m not even sure how to fire it—does it have a safety catch on?—so I fling it to one side and leap for the axe. Pain shoots through my knee. As Odette’s hand closes around the wooden handle, I kick it away as hard as I can with my good leg. The axe flies through the air into the fog.

We freeze, rifle in one direction, ice axe in the other. She runs for the axe. Up close like this, it’s a better weapon, but I’ll never get there in time, so I go for the rifle and snatch it up. She’s still groping about for the axe, the powder turning pink around her.

I aim the rifle. “Stop!”