I would have liked to stay right there in that memory for as long as I could, until we crossed the river at least, but my toes were hot inside my boots and it was becoming hard to ignore. There were flashes of pain and it was already clear not going back for the socks had been a terrible mistake. I started to wonder how long it took frostbite to set in, or if it already had. I’d been cold before, but this was different.
I shifted my weight to try and trigger some circulation, though I was careful not to draw Portis’s attention. I felt foolish, but also feared he’d make me take the sock from Jenna and put it on myself if he found out I was hurting.
It was best to keep walking. Best to keep focused on getting to that bridge. Portis pushed ahead with his shoulders hunched forward and I blew some warm breath in Jenna’s direction and hoped that it helped ease the cold some. I hoped it was better than doing nothing at all.
There was a clearing in the clouds and for a while we lucked into a bit of moonlight to walk in. I could see how wide the Three Fingers truly was, maybe twenty feet to the opposite side where the pines stood like a wall and held back the deep forest. The river sounded like a snare drum where it rushed and when the water broke the bank it would spray high and dimple the fresh powder.
Portis had picked up his pace and I sped up to keep close behind him. I was about to ask him about the bridge, about how much farther it was, when a light swept through the trees behind us and I heard the high whine of a snowmobile.
Portis dropped to his knees and I followed suit. Then the light drew back and the forest went dark. The drone receded and for a moment it was still and quiet in the woods. Portis looked over at me.
“We’ll run if it comes back,” he said. “And if it comes to it and I have to stop to deal with Shelton, you keep running.”
“What do you mean, deal?”
“It don’t matter,” he said.
“I’m staying with you,” I said. “I’m not running if you aren’t.”
“Goddamnit,” he said. “You’ll do what you’re told.”
The light returned in full and the glare was wide and bright and filled the forest with shadow. I didn’t know who it could be but Shelton, and he was louder and closer now. Portis told me to kill my flashlight and I stood when he did and ran hard behind him down the river.
There was a thump in my feet with every stride, like a hammer dropping, but I did not slow my pace and ran through the pain as best as I could. The light swept back and forth behind us but I could not tell if we’d been spotted.
Portis cut hard to the left when we came to the bridge and I could see it stood about six feet above the river and that it stretched straight and long through the dark.
I followed him out onto the warped wood and took an unfortunate glance to the right, where the handrail was collapsed and the snow tapered into a smooth sheet of ice. If I slipped it would be a straight shot into icy water and I did not want to think about what would happen if I were dunked and caught up in the current.
Jenna was crying hard in the papoose and I clutched her close to my chest and ran with my eyes cast down. I watched every stride land and did not look up to get my bearings or to glance behind my shoulder to see if Shelton had closed in. I can promise you no straighter path has ever been run, and while you could credit me with some triumph of balance, in truth I was just too damn afraid of falling.
I was so focused on what was beneath me I was late to notice when Portis called out, when one of the planks snapped beneath him and he fell through to his knee. I didn’t see he was down until I was right on top of him and I would have gone ass-over-teakettle had he not reached out to grab my waist and pulled me in.
I slid some in the snow but when I steadied he let me go and told me to run. I stood for a moment and watched him struggling to free his leg.
“Go!” he shouted. “Get the hell across this bridge.”
I saw Shelton’s lights cutting through the woods and when I reached for Portis he slapped away my hand and told me to get.
I did not want to leave him there, but I did. I ran to the other side and then collapsed into the snow on my knees. I was wheezing but I tried to calm Jenna between breaths.
“Portis!” I said.
“Keep going, Percy,” he said.
“Where?” I said. “It’s all trees.”
“Just walk off the bridge a little ways. Wait for me up there.”
“I could come back out and try to pull you.”
“Shit,” he said. “This whole fucking bridge feels like it’s about to go.”
“What happened?” I said.
“What do you think happened? I stepped through.”
“Are you in the water?”
“No,” he said. “My foot is dangling.”
The light had grown softer and more distant across the river. I was quiet for a few moments and listened until I could no longer hear the sled at all.
“I think Shelton’s gone.”
“He might be,” Portis said. “At least for the moment.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Stay here,” Portis said. “And become one of those pieces of human installation art. What do you think I’m going to do?”
“I’m serious,” I said.