The government, eager to close the case and put an end to any questions, claimed an avalanche was to blame for the deaths, but Elena’s father had been on the search-and-rescue team, and said there were no signs of any avalanche. And then there was the photo.
Igor’s camera had been abandoned along with the rest of the group’s belongings. When the film was developed, one photo showed a shadowy figure. A figure that wasn’t quite human. It seemed related to the strange message that had been left in the tent:
From now on we know, snowmen do exist.
“You know I don’t believe in that. Whoever killed the Dyatlov group was human, just like whoever murdered my family and kidnapped my father was human. There are no such things as yetis.”
Aleandra prayed he was right. It would make it a lot easier to sleep that night. “Sasha, I don’t think we’re alone out here.”
“Of course we’re not alone.” He hugged her close, his voice softening. “There are many creatures in the forest: rabbit, bear, deer—”
She shook her head. “That’s not what I mean.” And she was sure he knew it too — she’d hardly ask to speak with him about the presence of a few rabbits. Why was he feigning ignorance? Since they’d met, they’d marveled at their ability to read each other’s minds, and now he acted like she was speaking a foreign language. “All night, I’ve had a strong feeling that someone was watching us—listening to us. And please don’t tell me it’s a bunny rabbit.”
“I’ve felt the same,” he admitted. “But this place would have anyone’s imagination running wild. It’s so isolated, so plagued with rumors of mysterious deaths and unnatural beings. What we’re feeling is our own nerves, that’s all.”
Aleandra bit her tongue to keep from arguing. Sasha’s explanation was rational and sensible, but she knew what she felt was real. It wasn’t her imagination, or her nerves, or anything else.
Something was out there, something sentient.
Something that didn’t want them here.
WAKE UP, ALLIE. Wakeup, wakeup, WAKEUP.
Her eyes flew open and she let out a startled cry when she saw a face looming over hers. A hand clapped over her mouth, stifling her.
“Ssh. Hurry, get up.”
Aleandra recognized the voice before she could make out the person’s features.
“What are you doing?”
Elena had grasped her arms and was tugging her upright, but Aleandra’s legs were still entangled in her sleeping bag. She stumbled, grabbing onto her friend so she wouldn’t fall. “Elena, tell me what’s happening. What’s wrong?”
“No time.” She shoved a jacket into Allie’s arms. “Come on, come on, we have to leave.”
The other woman’s terror was contagious. Aleandra followed Elena into the frozen night without asking any more questions. She’d known Ellie since they were girls, and had never seen her so frightened.
A bitter wind clawed at her skin, making her grateful for the jacket. She fastened the hood and neck protector while fighting to keep pace with her friend, who ran through the knee-high snow as if it were weightless. Light from the full moon sparkled on the ice crystals, rendering the scene strangely beautiful.
As she saw Elena was leading her to the forest, she seized her friend’s arm. “What about the others? Sasha, Tatiana… we can’t leave them.”
Elena’s face was blank, her voice a monotone. Aleandra, who was studying to be a nurse, recognized the signs of shock. “They’re gone.”
Sasha! “Gone? What do you mean, gone?”
“Just gone. We have to go, Allie. There’s no time.”
She turned and continued cutting a path through the snow. Hesitant, Aleandra looked at the camp they were leaving behind. It was silent, still. She glimpsed no movement, heard no signs of life. Tears stung her eyes as the painful truth sunk in — Sasha had left her behind without a word. He’d abandoned her to whatever fate had made him leave the camp.
Elena plunged into the forest without pausing, occasionally tripping over branches and rocks. Retrieving a flashlight from her pocket, Aleandra clicked it on and gasped when her friend whirled on her, looking crazed. Elena’s hand closed over the light.
“Turn it off,” she hissed. “Do you want to kill us both?”
Before she could answer, a chorus of howls sprung up around them, startling Aleandra so much she nearly cried out. Elena jerked her arm, urging her forward. Her pulse pounding in her ears, Aleandra forced herself to concentrate on avoiding the branches that snagged their skin and clothing, and the hidden obstacles beneath the snow.
She strained her eyes until they ached, struggling to see. The howling continued, the creatures sounding close enough to touch. Those aren’t wolves. She pushed the thought away.
Elena stopped short, causing Aleandra to bash into her, but her friend didn’t react. “There’s a cave or something up ahead,” she whispered. “We’ll be safe there till morning.”
Her lungs aching, Aleandra felt even more pressure build in her chest. “What if there are bears?”
She could see the cave now, a shadow against the night sky, its maw looming open as if to swallow them whole.
“Allie, if we stay out here, we are going to die. Do you understand me?”
Elena gripped her shoulders with gloved hands, staring into her eyes. But Aleandra didn’t understand, not really. She’d followed her friend this far as if in a dream, not sure what was happening or why. Not understanding why Sasha had abandoned her, why the rest of the group had left them. What about Oleg? He was so protective, like an older brother. She’d always felt safe with him, and yet, he had left her, too.
“I–I can’t go in there, Ellie,” she managed, the blood rushing to her brain so that she could barely hear herself speak.
“Yes, you can. You can, and you will.”
Before Elena could drag her the rest of the way, she hastened to explain. “You don’t understand. I really can’t. I’m — I’m claustrophobic.” The shame of her weakness, of not being like the others, made her cringe in spite of the direness of their situation.
“Better claustrophobic than dead. We have no choice.”
How could she tell Elena the truth — that the cave was the same one she’d seen in her nightmares?
The pressure on her chest worsened, as if something were squeezing her, allowing only the faintest of breaths. She gasped for air, choking it down in great gulps though its iciness stabbed her throat like needles. “I–I can’t breathe.”
Elena drove her forward, pulling and shoving and dragging, until they reached the entrance. She poked her head inside and then drew back, her mouth twisted in disgust. “Ugh, it reeks.”
A bad smell meant the cave was undoubtedly home to some wild animal — maybe more than one — but Elena wouldn’t listen to reason, and Aleandra could hardly catch her breath, let alone argue. Pressing her arm across her nose and mouth, she followed her friend into the stinking darkness.
Taking her light, Elena switched it on. Aleandra winced at the intensity as the light ricocheted back at them, reflected by a million snow crystals. Elena directed the beam towards the roof, and both women followed its path with their eyes, staring at the twinkling sugar walls.
“We can’t stay here, Ellie.” The tension in her lungs increased as Aleandra tightened her grip on her friend’s arm, yanking her backwards. “It’s a snow cave.”