We radio the communications centre. Wesley’s on duty. His voice is different, clipped, as if someone else is listening to him. He tells us to stay put. A blizzard’s on the way. Wind speeds of one hundred and forty kilometres an hour are forecast. We’ll be fine in the hut. Stay in the hut.

‘The quads,’ I say.

Max says he’ll go out to secure them and I say no, we’ll both do it. The wind doesn’t seem too bad as yet. We pile on every item of clothing we have and step outside. Wind slices into my cheeks. The wind and the snow seem to be intensifying by the minute. We get to the quads. Max is a blur of red freezer suit and then he’s gone. I start pushing the quad in what I think is the direction of the hut. Whipping white’s all around me. I can’t see anything but snow and I yell and all that I hear is the furious whine of the wind. I leave the quad and I push my body ahead. My hands sweep before me like a blind person. I fall. I get up. I fall again. I feel utterly, utterly alone. I start crying for Max, wailing like a cat on a city street. I keep pushing my body forward. Grit in the snow is bashing into me. I can feel the wind trying to lift me. I’ll have to crawl. I’m on my hands and knees. Suddenly, in front of my face, there’s the bright slap of a wall. I’m at the crapper. I want to sink my belly into the ground with relief. I want to stop there and then. I feel my way to the door of the hut. Push it open.

Max isn’t there.

I’ll have to go out in it again. I love him, more than anything in my life I love him and he’s out there somewhere and I have to go and get him. Fuck. I look for something around the hut to weigh me down and suddenly he’s through the door and falling into my arms and gasping and panting and laughing with relief.

We don’t do anything but sit and hold each other for a very long time and listen to the whine of wind. We stare out at the blizzard through the small window, from our bright womb of stillness and warmth inside the hut.

Jim drives the Hagglunds to collect us. The quads won’t start. They ended up buried in the snow. Max and I had to wait until the wind outside was demure before we went to the quads and dug them out with our hands. Jim smiles wryly when he sees us.

‘Whoever thought you two would be so pleased to see me?’

We all laugh.

‘Thanks mate,’ says Max.