Love chasers

Acting on emotions

*Lena*

The rope hangs loose in my grasp, an ominous sign that sends my heart racing. I can feel panic rising in my throat, choking me. It’s too quiet now, too still, and yet the storm roars like a wild beast, drowning out my thoughts. “Zac!” I call, my voice barely a whisper against the howling wind. “Zac!”

No reply. Of course, what did I expect? He could probably be standing two meters away and not be able to hear me.

I squint into the swirling white, my heart pounding as the snow dances around me like a thousand tiny blades. I normally like snow, but I like soft fluffy flakes, and these are anything but that. The storm has turned the snow into tiny projectiles.

What if he’s lost? What if he slipped and fell, buried beneath a blanket of snow? The thought sends chills deeper than the icy wind that cuts through my jacket. I pull it tighter around me, but it feels like a flimsy shield against the creeping dread.

“Zac!” I shout again, desperation clawing at my chest. The storm swallows my voice, leaving only the gusting wind and an echo of my fear. How far could he have gone? My mind races through the worst scenarios. What if he’s knocked out, unable to find his way back? What if…

No. I can’t let myself go there. I have to do something. Iknow he is practically a stranger… but then he is so show not. It is like we have been bonding or something. I mean he helped me and kinda saved me, so I do not want him dying.

With every ounce of courage I can muster, I step off the porch and into the storm, the biting cold instantly assaulting me. The snow swirls around my legs, and I can hardly see a few feet ahead. “Zac!” I cry out again, the sound swallowed by the storm. I stumble forward, each step a battle against the wind that seems intent on pushing me back.

“Where are you?” I murmur to myself, fear gripping my heart. I take another step, the snow crunching beneath my boots, but the world around me feels like a white void, and I’m already losing my sense of direction.

Suddenly, a strong pair of arms wraps around me from behind, pulling me back all the way to the safety of the cabin porch. My heart leaps to my throat as I flail in surprise, ready to fight against this unexpected attacker, but then I catch a whiff of a surprisingly familiar scent… the warmth of cedar and something distinctly Zac. I am not even sure how I know his smell, but it seems I do.

“Lena, stop!” he commands, his voice urgent but laced with relief. He pulls me closer, shielding me from the storm as I try to turn and face him. “What were you thinking? You can’t go out there!”

“What were you thinking?” I shout, the adrenaline still coursing through my veins, my fists pounding against his chest in a flurry of emotion. “I thought you were dead! I thought you were lost in the storm!”

His expression changes, a flicker of pain crossing his features as he looks down at me, his eyes shimmering like the snowflakes around us. “I’m sorry. The line was too short to reach the last cabin. I unhooked it to get there faster. I thought I could make it back before… before you pulled in the line.”

“You scared me!” I yell, frustration and fear intertwining in my voice. “You could have told me! You could have…”

“I could not really run back to tell you,” he says, his voice barely above a whisper, yet it carries the weight of a thousand unspoken thoughts. He gently guides me inside the cabin and locks the door. “I can’t believe you were about to do something so reckless.”

The anger drains from me as I see the vulnerability in his gaze. “Zac…” My voice softens, confusion and compassion battling within me. “You’re the one who went out there. You’re the one who was reckless.”

“I was trying to help,” he replies, his voice breaking. “I needed to warn them. But I didn’t realize how far the furthest cabin was. I didn’t mean to scare you. I just…” He shakes his head, and a single tear slips down his cheek, glistening in the faint light that filters through the cabin windows.

My heart aches at the sight. I am not used to men crying without shame. I reach up, brushing the tear away with my thumb, and in that moment, everything shifts. The anger fades, replaced by a fierce protectiveness that I hadn’t known existed within me. “So, did you reach all the cabins? Is everyone safe?”

He nods slowly, “Yes, everyone is safe.”

“Good,” I stand there, not really knowing what to do, and suddenly aware of how close we are standing.

He steps back, “We better find out how to best keep warm, because the central heating appears to be down and we can’t use the fireplace.”

I swallow with a nod, “I guess we will be sleeping in our ski suits then.”