Dashing along the gorge, they’d almost caught up with Sora and the other girls when the bandits appeared behind.

‘You can run, but you won’t escape me!’ Kurochi shouted, raising his loaded musket and taking aim at their backs.

He pulled the trigger. A spark ignited the explosion of gunpowder and a bullet shot towards the fleeing young warriors.

Miyuki dived at Hayato, knocking him to the ground. The bullet ricocheted off the rock face where Hayato had been just moments before.

‘You saved my life!’ he exclaimed as Miyuki rolled off him.

‘Not yet,’ she replied, looking over her shoulder at the advancing bandits.

They scrambled to their feet.

‘We’ll have to make a stand here,’ said Jack, unsheathing his katana. ‘Give Sora and the others a chance to escape.’

The three of them understood the futility of trying to outrun the bandits in their own mountains. This narrow section of the gorge was their best chance of holding them off. Drawing their weapons, they prepared to fight when an ominous rumbling was heard from above.

Everyone looked up.

The gunfire had triggered an avalanche and a colossal wave of snow now thundered into the ravine.

‘RUN!’ shouted Sora, as he urged the girls to safety.

As if the sky had fallen, snow surged down the rock face, threatening to consume all in its path.

Jack, Miyuki and Hayato sprinted for the entrance to the gorge. The bandits fled in the opposite direction.

Miyuki and Hayato pulled ahead of Jack, whose right leg protested against his every stride.

‘Come on, Jack!’ cried Miyuki.

Fighting the pain, Jack lurched forwards just as the avalanche struck the bottom of the gorge.

36 An Icy Grave

36

AN ICY GRAVE

Jack felt as if he was cocooned in a white coffin. He could barely breathe beneath the crushing weight of the snow. All sound had been drowned out. Only the rush of his blood and the beat of his heart were still audible.

Had the others made it out alive? He could only pray they had.

He began using his fingers to dig at the snow, but he had no idea which way was up. Completely disorientated, he could be burying himself deeper into the avalanche. He tried to move, but was pinned on all sides. The only good thing about his predicament was that the cold snow numbed the burning sensation in his leg.

After much scraping away, Jack managed to create a small hollow for himself. But no sooner had he done this than the roof collapsed. As the snow engulfed his tiny haven, he started panicking. Gasping for breath, he struggled wildly to free himself from his icy grave. But the snow merely embraced him like an old friend.