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I slammed into Halli with such velocity, I’m surprised her body didn’t break apart. I felt the force of it exploding us off the mountain, into space, away from the wind and the snow and the danger, into someplace quiet and dark and warm.
I wish I could describe what happened next. I’ve tried to piece it together, but it’s lost to me. The last thing I remember was sweeping Halli away to safety. We didn’t speak. I’m not even sure we could feel each other physically there. It felt more like a pressure, like something bearing down on me or pushing me—pushing us—and I suppose that was me, the wave of me, scooping us both up and churning us the way a whirlpool catches people and holds them under the water. I know I didn’t breathe for a while—didn’t even think about having a body to breathe
