Free Web NovelChapter 42: Chapter 42: Trapped There
Although there were no other vehicles on the prairie and no traffic rules to follow, the RV was massive, and the ground was riddled with potholes, so it couldn’t go very fast.
In over an hour, they had only checked three places, but there was no sign of Abel.
With the time to head back fast approaching, Albedo was so anxious she started to cry.
"Could he be at the next place? I have a feeling he’s waiting for me somewhere. Please, can you just spare a little more time? If we really run out of time, you can go back first. I’ll look for him on foot by myself. My heart is pounding... I just feel like I’m about to see my brother."
The sky grew gloomier and the wind outside howled louder. As she spoke, Albedo moved to jump out of the RV. How could Cecelia bear to let her?
’She’s just a little kid. Having her run around in this weather is no different from casting her out to wander alone.’
"I’ll take you. But you have to promise me, Albedo, this is the absolute last place."
Gratefully, Albedo bowed her head to her several times from her seat.
"Thank you! Don’t worry, I’ll listen to you!"
The two of them drove onward and soon reached a low-lying area.
Because the terrain was low and water collected here year-round, a long, narrow lake had formed, its surface frozen over.
Unsure how thick the ice was, Cecelia didn’t dare drive across. They had to stop here.
"How far is the place you mentioned from here?"
"It’s just a few hundred meters past this lake."
"Are you sure your brother pitched a tent here before?"
"I’m sure. Before he left a few days ago, my brother told me all the places he pitches his tent."
"All right, let’s go take a look."
Hand in hand, the two of them stepped onto the lake’s surface. After just a few careful steps, Albedo cried out in delight.
"Cow dung! I see cow dung! Look! My brother must be here!"
Cecelia followed her pointing finger and saw that, sure enough, there were several black clumps on the ice in the distance, frozen solid.
"Then let’s hurry. I’ll be able to relax once you’re reunited with your brother. I’m running out of time on my end."
The two of them quickened their pace, but the wind blew harder and harder, almost pushing them back one step for every step they took forward.
After walking for what felt like a very long time, they finally spotted the silhouette of a tent. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
Albedo ran over, ecstatic. Tethered under a thatched shelter next to the tent was their family’s herd of cattle.
’My brother is definitely here!’
But when she burst into the tent, she found it cold and empty. Her brother wasn’t there.
Albedo quickly ran to the shelter to count the cattle. Three were missing.
"Something must have happened. The herd got separated, and three are gone. My brother must have gone looking for them."
"He’ll be back soon, then. Don’t run off. Start a fire and wait for him here."
"Okay." As Albedo spoke, she was about to go find firewood when her eyes darted to something, and she suddenly cried out again. freewebnσvel.cøm
"Ah! Blood!"
Cecelia followed her gaze and saw them—by the firewood pile, a pair of blood-stained gloves, bright red and frozen into solid blocks of ice.
"Are these your brother’s gloves?"
"Yes." Albedo’s face turned deathly pale with fear. "I bought them for him in town. They have to be his. My brother’s hands are injured, and he’s still out there looking for the cattle. Something’s going to happen to him! No, I have to go find him!"
Normally, Cecelia should have stopped her, but as someone with medical training, her first reaction to this situation was:
’In extreme cold, wounds have difficulty healing. Judging by the amount of blood, he must have a serious injury. If the bleeding isn’t stopped in time, and he can’t stay warm...’
It was already nine o’clock. Her phone had no signal at all, and she hadn’t told Mr. Lee or the others where she was going. Cecelia was terrified that delaying any longer would affect everyone’s return trip. But there was a life on the line—no, two lives—right in front of her. She couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.
’The worst that can happen is I get chewed out afterward. That’s better than living with a guilty conscience for the rest of my life.’
She and Albedo charged back outside.
The two of them ran everywhere in the howling wind, calling Abel’s name.
The sky grew darker and colder. Cecelia was so frozen she’d lost all feeling in her body. She didn’t know how long they had been walking or how long they had been shouting. Just as it felt like they were the only two people left in the world, Albedo suddenly heard a cow moo.
"I heard it! Did you hear that? The old mother cow is calling for me! They’re over there!"
The two of them ran for a long time toward that faint, ethereal sound. Finally, after cresting a hill, they saw Abel.
He was lying on the grass, unconscious.
Fortunately, the mother cow and her two calves were faithfully standing guard by his side.
"Brother! Brother!"
Albedo rushed over and slapped her brother’s face, but she couldn’t wake him no matter how loud she yelled.
"He’s not... dead, is he? Why isn’t he moving?"
Cecelia reached out to feel his carotid artery, then slipped a hand under his clothes to check his body.
"He probably passed out from blood loss and exhaustion. If we delay any longer, he really could die. We need to get him back, quickly."
But Abel was tall and powerfully built from a life of hard work. The two women, their hands numb with cold, couldn’t drag him at all.
"Take off your clothes. Let’s tie him to the mother cow and have her drag him back."
The moment Cecelia said it, Albedo started to unfasten her clothes, but Cecelia stopped her.
The little girl was far too thin. Cecelia, on the other hand, was bundled in so many layers that one less wouldn’t make a difference.
And so, after immense difficulty, the two of them finally managed to drag Abel back to the tent.
With great effort, they finally got a fire started and put some water on to boil.
Cecelia massaged Abel’s entire body to get his blood circulating. By the time he regained consciousness, it was already past 12 PM.
"He’s awake! He’s awake! My brother’s awake!"
Cecelia went over to check on him. Seeing there were no major issues, she gave Albedo some instructions and knew she had to hurry back.
But when she pulled open the tent flap, she froze.
Sometime while they were inside, it had started to snow. A heavy blizzard of goose-feather flakes, so thick they fell one on top of the other, obscuring anything more than a few steps away.
She was trapped.
This...!
Her phone had no signal, and the battery was almost dead. Cecelia was instantly dumbstruck.
’I wonder if Mr. Lee and the others have left yet.’
’If they haven’t, it must be because they’re waiting for me.’
’I left the group without consulting anyone, and now I’ve gotten everyone stranded...’
She couldn’t bear to imagine how anxious Mr. Lee was now, or how furious President Vaughn would be. She could already clearly sense that her time with the Vaughn Group was over. There was no way she could keep this job.
’But even if I can’t keep my job, I have to get back as soon as possible.’
She wasn’t the type to cause trouble for others and didn’t want her colleagues to keep worrying about her.
"Albedo, stay here with your brother and don’t wander off. I’m leaving now. If fate wills it, we’ll meet again."
As she said this and turned to leave, Abel leaped down from the bed.
"You’ll die if you go out in this."
