Nora kept pace with Mark, slowing to a halt when he stopped to scratch at the trees that they were passing. She supposed that was a good idea, and definitely a step ahead of herself. All she had planned was to follow their treks, but that plan only worked if their footprints remained. And nothing said that there wouldn’t be a gust of snowy wind sent to cover their prints up.<br/><br/>When they noticed the little village in the distance, Mark frowned and asked why no one bothered to investigate. Nora shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe they didn’t know where it came from or what caused it,” she hypothesized, giving the townspeople the benefit of the doubt, as it were.<br/><br/>They took off toward the source of light after Mark mentioned a phone line. “Oh, I guess I didn’t think about that.” Their cell phones were out of service, so she assumed the whole mountain would yield similar results. After they passed the clearing, they reached the main lodge, which appeared to have occupants inside, judging by the warm and inviting glow from inside.<br/><br/>Mark was overwhelmed with glee when they arrived, turning to her to express his mirth. They had done the seemingly impossible. They had found lodging and help, against all odds. “Yes, we did!” She excitedly responded, a giddy sort of laugh taking over the next moment. It was hard to believe that they managed to track anything down, let alone a whole community.<br/><br/>His confession made her chuckle just before he took her hand so that they could both make sure they weren’t both hallucinating the same mirage. Even in the midst of all the chaos and adrenaline, she still felt a bit of an electric jolt when their gloved hands touched. It made her wonder how much more shocking it would feel when the gloves were off.<br/><br/>Blinking herself out of that thought, she nodded at his words and they reached the front door, both knocking loudly at once. They paused, but no one answered. Mark shouted about needing help and asked if anyone was there. Nora figured that two voices were louder than one, so she joined in too. “Help us, please! We have a group! Some of us were injured in a plane crash!”<br/><br/>She paused again, waiting for the large wooden door to open. Nora gave one final pound on the door and to her surprise, it opened. She stepped back and peered inside at the employee who had let them in, a breeze of warmth teasing their faces from inside, where a fire crackled in the distance. The<a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=https%3A%2F%2Fimage.freepik.com%2Ffotos-gratis%2Fretrato-de-um-homem-maduro-elegante-e-moderno-em-um-terno-cinza-negocios-e-conceito-de-close-up-na-moda-na-parede-cinza_1429-5443.jpg&amp;hash=11988c415224358dda390c896e3da5e6" href="https://image.freepik.com/fotos-gratis/retrato-de-um-homem-maduro-elegante-e-moderno-em-um-terno-cinza-negocios-e-conceito-de-close-up-na-moda-na-parede-cinza_1429-5443.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">employee</a>, or perhaps owner, was a rather old man with a peculiar beard.<br/><br/>“Yes, how can I help you both?” He asked, his voice a low rumble. Nora stopped her gawking to respond. “Um, we have a plane crash up the mountain. We need help, and right away.” She spoke fast, but the old man seemed to understand her just the same. He waved them both inside. “Come in, get yourselves warm. I’ll call the rangers.”<br/><br/>He shut the door after they stepped inside and then hurried to the desk in the lobby, which looked more like a cozy cabin living room. The man picked up a large, old fashioned phone, and began punching numbers into it. After a beat or two, he started talking in an even keeled tone. “Yes, I have a plane crash up the mountain. Several injured and cold.”<br/><br/>After a short pause, he thanked the person on the other end of the phone, and hung up. With a bit of a sigh, he turned back to his new apparent guests. “They are sending out a rescue crew. It might take some time, but they will be here as soon as they can.” He folded his large hands in front of him and looked from Mark to Nora. “Can I get you anything while you wait?”<br/><br/>Nora hesitated, but turned to look at Mark. “We should probably go and bring the others back here… right?”