Beastly Winter — Chapter 10

The bitter cold knifed through several layers of clothing, bleeding out warmth. Victor Catlin shivered. Heavy snow splatted his jacket and whitewashed the landscape.

“Wait, Vic.” He turned to watch Bobby Ogden struggle up the path. “Let’s go back. I’m cold.”

Vic tried to check his impatience.

“Me too, but we’ve got to find Sonny.”

He pulled a red streamer from his coat pocket, tied it to a branch of the thick brush that ran alongside the trail He’d been marking their route with a bright ribbon every hundred yards since they left the Catlin home early this morning. Vic figured they were more than halfway through the five miles he’d calculated the markers would last. Sonny was unlikely to have traveled farther than that.

They were making slower progress than he’d expected, and Bobby was a major reason why. Vic was sorry now for asking Bobby along, but they were best friends. Besides, he really hadn’t wanted to come alone. What had happened to Sonny?

He watched Bobby shift his weight from one leg to the other and knew that his friend’s feet were becoming numb like his own.

“We should have listened to your mom,” Bobby said. “We’ll get lost, just like Sonny.”