Chapter 18: Blizzard

It was snowing when I got up Monday morning just like the ten o'clock news said it would. I'd set my alarm ahead a few minutes since I knew getting to school would be a hassle. I was just pulling my jacket on dreading the thought of cleaning off my car when the phone rang.

"Tommy, why don't I drive today? I'll use the Jeep, it'll work better in this mess." Beth was thinking ahead, obviously.

"Okay, I'll be waiting at the end of the driveway on the top of Mount Snow Plow."

Beth pulled up just as I scaled the pile of snow left from the plow's feeble attempt at trying to stay ahead of the weather. "Well, that was fun. How are the roads?"

"Lousy. I just hope it stops before we get too much more. Or ... maybe they'll let us out early!"

"Oh, yeah, like that's going to happen! They've never closed a school in this district in my lifetime, I doubt they'll do it today."

By the time Beth pulled into the un-plowed lot we both had second thoughts about today. Our usual ten-minute trip had lasted forty-five. "Maybe we should just stay home?" Beth grinned.

"Good idea! That way we wouldn't have to spend half the day on the road," I said as I opened the door of the Jeep and stepped out into almost a foot of snow.

As we walked into the building we saw Cindy and Greg standing in the lobby looking as bedraggled as we did. Greg came over, "Wasn't that fun, what's next?"

I looked back at the raging snow, "I dunno, locusts?"

"Only if they'll eat all the snow," Cindy said acerbically. "Well, I guess as long as we're here we might as well get to class. See you at lunch."

Beth turned to me as we got to my homeroom, "How about a kiss to keep me warm?"

"As long as you keep an eye out for Adams," I commented as I moved in to give her a parting hug and kiss.

Beth and I walked into the lunch room where everybody was asking each other the same thing... "When are they going to let us go early?," "ARE they going to let us go early?"

About one-thirty the announcement I never thought I'd hear came over the PA: "Due to the increasingly bad weather conditions, classes are canceled for the rest of the day." The cheering was deafening.

Beth met me at my locker, "Do you mind if Cindy rides with us?"

"Well, Greg and I were going to stick around for a few minutes, so I can catch a ride with him if the two of you want to head home now."

"Okay, I'll give you a call later," I said as I gave her a hug and a kiss. "Take it easy."

"Yes, Daddy," she said with a grin as she and Cindy headed for the snow-covered lot and her buried Jeep. I hoped she had a snow brush!

Greg and I were just finishing up a meeting with Mr. Franks when Steve Watkins walked up, his jacket covered in melting snow, "Hey, Tommy, can I catch a ride with you? My damned car won't start."

"You'll have to ask Greg, I didn't drive today."

"Sure, no problem, Steve. We're just finishing up anyway," Greg said as he grabbed his coat.

We got Greg's car cleaned off and were just pulling out of the lot when my phone rang, "T-tommy, we're in trouble!" Beth sounded ready to panic.

"What happened? D'you have an accident?"

"Two guys forced us off the road and we went down the hill off River Road and I can't move the Jeep!"

"Okay, first of all don't panic. Did you call 911?"

"Yeah, but they said with all the accidents they were taking injuries first and we're not hurt. So we're just gonna have to wait! Tommy, I'm getting scared! It's cold out here and the snow's getting heavier. What are we going to do?"

"Look, just take it easy. Where did it happen?"

"I-I'm not sure. These guys were chasing us and the snow was so heavy, I'm not sure where we were!"

"Okay, Greg and I are heading that way. Just stay in the Jeep. That's the safest place to be. I'll call you back when we get close."

"Jeez," Greg said. "What's up?"

"Just head for River Road and I'll explain. Steve can you tag along?"

"Sure. Anything I can do?" He asked after I explained what had happened.

"Just help keep an eye out for any tracks leading off the right side of the road."

By the time we got to River Road the snow was getting worse. Greg was creeping along as Steve and I tried to spot any sign of where the Jeep left the road.

"Hey! What's that!" Steve hollered after a few minutes. Greg stopped and we all got out. There was a spot where part of the snow bank was missing and a couple of small saplings had been knocked down.

"Steve. Wait here and if you see any cops, grab them. C'mon Greg, let's find our ladies." I climbed over the bank and we found ourselves in knee-deep snow as we started down the bank towards the river.

The snow had already started to cover the tracks left by the Jeep as it went down the hill so following them wasn't easy.

"Greg, lets split up. You go about fifty feet to the left then continue down the hill. We can cover more ground that way."

"Okay. I hope we find them soon." That's when I remembered my phone. I called Beth but got a "phone not available" message. Why would she have turned it off? Unless her battery went dead...

"Greg," I yelled. "Call Cindy and tell her we're coming."

I kept trying to follow the Jeep's tracks, but it was getting harder to see them.

"Tommy! I can't get Cindy! I got a message that her phone's not available!"

"Then we'll have to do it the hard way—just keep looking."

Eventually we found the Jeep. Cindy fell into Greg's arms sobbing out the story of what happened.

"Oh, God, Greg. It was horrible! We stopped on Broadway and two guys in the car next to us tried to talk to us, but we ignored them. When the light changed they followed us and I guess they got mad when they figured out we weren't going to stop. A-and that's when they started to pass us and forced us off the road. Oh, God, I thought we were going to die!" Cindy was clutching Greg and shaking like a leaf.

"Cindy, where's Beth? I told her to stay in the Jeep," I was worried about what had happened to her.

"When we couldn't get our phones to work she said she was going to try to find the road. I tried to talk her into staying but she insisted. I don't know where she is!" Cindy wailed.

My first impulse was to start hunting for tracks or anything that would tell me where she'd gone, but I realized this was going to require more help. "Greg, let's get Cindy up to your car. Then let's call somebody to round up some guys to help us search. The sun's going to be down pretty soon and we'll never find her in the dark!"

We got Cindy up to the car. Greg already had the heater on high, so we bundled her into the front seat to thaw out. Greg wanted to help us find Beth, but he obviously wanted to stay with Cindy even more. I turned to Steve, "Beth's still out there somewhere. Can you call some friends to help us search?"

"Let me call the guys and get them out here," he said as he grabbed his phone. "Hi, Chuck? Call the gang and shag your asses out to River Road, about two miles north of Broadway. Beth Jones is lost down by the river and we've got to find her!

"Okay, we'll be waiting," he closed his phone and turned to us. "Chuck says he thinks he can get most of the team out here to help. Will that be enough?"

"I hope so. Call 911 and get the cops out here. Tell them this is more than just a car off the road. Maybe they'll show up this time. We're gonna need all the help we can get!" I grabbed my phone and called Beth's parents. I knew they were out of town and hoped they had roaming on their phones. I got Mr. Jones and explained what was happening.

"Oh God, can you find her? I had a feeling before we went on this trip that something was going to happen. I'll make arrangements to get back as soon as I can."

"I'll call you when we find her, sir."

"Tommy, you've been a real friend to our daughter, please don't let her down."

"I won't sir. Beth means a lot to me, too."

A short time—and half a lifetime—later several cars showed up. Chuck Miller and what looked like most of the football team piled out and came up to us.

"Jeez, Tommy, what happened. Steve said Beth is lost in the blizzard? What can we do?"

"Let's divide up into two groups, one search down-river and the other up. Keep within shouting distance of each other and if you find her get her up to the road, the cops are on their way."

"I brought a couple of canned-air horns. Can you use them?" Chuck offered

"Great idea, Chuck! Each group take one and if you find Beth give three blasts to alert the others then everybody meet back at the cars."

"Do you mind if I tag along?" I turned around and Jay Stevens was looking at me. Did I want his help? Was I in any position to turn anybody down?

"Sure Jay. Why don't you head up the other group." I took a deep breath, "Okay guys, let's go find her!"

Chuck, Steve, and I were joined by the other guys as we started searching at the Jeep and headed up-river. Jay and the other group turned downstream. The snow was still falling and the wind had picked up making for almost zero visibility. Between trying to fight our way through hip-deep drifts that had almost covered the tracks Greg and I had left finding the Jeep, and trying to keep the blowing snow out of our faces, the search was going to be tough.

Five minutes later I heard sirens heading our way—obviously the police were here.

We'd been slogging through snow drifting up to our hips for an hour when we heard Jay's horn blasting. We re-traced our tracks until we got back to the road just in time to see Jay just carrying Beth to the ambulance.

"Where'd you find her," I gasped, trying to catch my breath.

"She was lying in a depression next to a fallen tree. She'd wrapped herself in a space blanket that made her hard to see. Billy almost tripped over her. She's awake but really cold. I think she may have some frostbite."

The EMT walked over, "Does someone want to ride in with her?"

Jay looked at me, "She's your girl, go."

"Thanks, Jay. I'll call her folks and let them know you found her."

"You mean WE found her," he said as he slapped me on the shoulder.

I called Beth's dad before I got in the ambulance and told him the situation and promised to call him back after we got to the hospital.

I sat down next to Beth as the ambulance started for the hospital. The EMT had her wrapped in a blanket but I could still see her shaking. She looked up at me, "T-Tommy, I r-really b-blew it t-this t-time d-didn't I? I-I thought I c-could get to th' road b't cn't fin' it." Her eyes were drooping and her speech was getting more slurred. "F'nny thing, thought Jay there. Musta been h'luc'natin'. 'M sorr..." She faded out.

I panicked, thinking I was losing her. The EMT put his hand on my shoulder and pointed at the monitor showing her heartbeat and respiration were normal. "She's okay, just exhausted," he reassured me.

When we got to the ER I was told to stay in the waiting room until they'd had a chance to examine Beth. A few minutes later the room was full of cold, wet football players.

"Guys, go down to the cafeteria and get something to warm up. It's on me." I gave Chuck some cash to cover the food bill.

"Hey, man you don't have to do this."

"Yeah I do. There's no way Greg and I could have found her by ourselves. Now go!" Chuck just nodded and headed after the rest of his teammates.

Just then Greg brought Cindy in to get her checked over.

I walked over to Greg, "How's Cindy doing?"

"Looks like she's going to be all right. Damn that was a close call. How's Beth?"

"I don't know, they're still examining her. I hope they hurry, this waiting is killing me." Just then my phone rang—I'd forgotten to turn it off when we got to the hospital. I walked outside and answered it. It was my mom, "Tommy, how are you? Greg called and said there'd been an accident. Were you hurt? Where are you?" As soon as I could sneak a word in I explained what had really happened and that I'd be here until we learned Beth's condition. And that, yes, I had called Beth's parents and would keep them informed.

I was just going to head down for some coffee when Jay came around the corner, "I thought you'd like to stay here so I got a cup for you. It's black, no sugar, that okay?"

"Yeah, that's great. Thanks, Jay." I was starting to feel a little uncomfortable—I mean this was the guy who hit on Beth and then lost his spot on the football team after I set him up—and then comes out to help find her. What was I supposed to make of all that?

As I was struggling with myself over my feelings about Jay, one of the nurses came over, "Are you Tommy?"

"Yeah, that's me, how is she?"

"She's doing fine—no frostbite, luckily. She's lucky she wasn't out there any longer. Why don't you come back with me. I can't let you stay too long because they're going to transfer her to a room upstairs."

"She's going to have to stay here? I thought she was doing okay?"

"She is, but we don't want her to be alone tonight and we understood her parents are out of town."

"They are, but I'm sure my parents would be willing to have her stay at our house tonight. Would that be okay?"

"We'd have to get clearance from her parents."

"Hold on a minute," I said as I pulled my phone out. "If I can call them can you talk to him?"

"Better yet, give me their number and I'll call them from the nurse's station." I turned on my phone and scrolled through the directory and handed her the phone. She wrote down the number and took me down the hall to Beth's room.

Beth saw me walk in and broke into tears, "Oh, Tommy, I fucked up didn't I? I'm so sorry!" I leaned over the bed and kissed her, "Hey, you made a mistake, but what were you trying to do? Don't you know staying with the car is the safest thing to do? Dammit, I almost lost you tonight!"

"I'm sorry! When the batteries went dead on both our phones, I thought I could follow the tire tracks back to the road, but the snow had covered everything up! A-and then I couldn't find the Jeep or anything. I thought I was going to die! All I could think of was to find someplace to get some shelter. I-I curled up next to that log and covered myself with that aluminum blanket you gave me, b-but it didn't seem to help! Oh, God I'm an idiot!"

"Hey, you're safe now and the nurse is calling your folks see if you can stay with us tonight."

"Oh, Tommy, why do you put up with such a dumb girlfriend?"

"I guess I'm just a masochist at heart," I replied just as the door opened and the nurse came in.

"Okay, Beth, I talked to your father and he's okay with you staying at the Randahl's tonight, so we'll just finish up some paperwork and—Tommy, right?—if you can have one of your parents come over to pick Beth up, we'll let you go."

"Can't she just go home with me?"

"Sorry, I can't release her to a minor. Can you call your parents?"

"Okay," I said. I headed for the door, got outside and called home to explain the situation to Dad. He said he'd come over and pick us up, "I'm just glad you're both safe!"

I walked back inside and told Greg that I wouldn't need a ride so he and Cindy didn't have to wait.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Just so it's not SNOWING!" He just chuckled.

Dad showed up about twenty minutes later, "How's she doing?"

"She'll be okay—no frostbite or anything but it's lucky Jay and the guys found her when they did. There's no way she could have survived the night out there." As I said that I realized how close I'd come to losing Beth and I started shaking.

Dad looked at me, "Are you alright? How long were you out there?"

"Only about half a lifetime. Seriously, I'm okay, just a little shaken up by it all."

"I can imagine," Dad said. "Beth was lucky you were able to find her."

"I didn't find her. It was a bunch of the guys from the football team."

"Well, either way, she's a lucky girl."

Just then an orderly came through the door pushing Beth in a wheelchair, "She's all ready to go. Just make sure she stays warm."

Dad pulled the car around and Beth and I got in the front seat to be as close to the heater as possible.

"Thanks Mr. Randahl for letting me stay with you tonight, I'm not sure I could take being stuck in the hospital," Beth said as she snuggled up to me.

"Oh, I almost forget. Let's call your folks and let them know you're all right," I said as I pulled out my phone. When Beth's father answered I handed the phone to her.

"Hi, Daddy. Yes I'm alright. No, I'm out of the hospital. No, we'll just have to get it pulled out of the snow. No, I'm going to be staying at Tommy's house tonight."—Beth suddenly blushed and whispered into the phone—"No, Daddy, I think we'll just sleep. Okay, I'll call you tomorrow. Bye"

She handed me the phone and, when she saw my grin, jabbed me with her elbow—my girl was back!

When we got to the house Mom and Kevin were waiting. Mom immediately started bombarding Beth with questions.

"Hey," I interrupted her. "Can the questions wait 'til tomorrow? What Beth needs now is rest."

"You're right," Mom conceded. "Why don't you both crawl in and get a good night's sleep."

I took her upstairs and we lay down on my bed, both still fully clothed.

"Oh, Tommy, I can't believe I pulled such an idiot stunt. I knew staying with the Jeep was the safest thing to do, but, no, I had to try and be a hero and get us out by myself. What a dumbshit move."

"Well ... yeah it was. All I could think about was finding you frozen to death the next day, but the important thing is you're safe now. I'm just glad Steve got the team out to help."

"Was that Jay who carried me up to the road? I thought I was hallucinating!"

"Yup. Jay said Billy almost tripped over you or he would have missed you."

"Oh God, I'm so lucky," she said as she started to shake. I just held her tight until the tears stopped. "Why don't we crawl in and try to get some sleep," I suggested.

"You know," Beth grinned at me. "Some shared bodily warmth would feel pretty good right now."

We undressed and crawled in, holding each other tight and quickly fell asleep—that is after I told Beth to keep her popsicle toes to herself. "Bitch, bitch, bitch," was her mumbled response as she drifted off.

The next morning the sun was out, the streets were plowed, Kevin had cleared the driveway, and there was no excuse not to go to school. Mom assured me that she'd called the school and told them we'd be late so I could drive Beth home to change. Her folks were home when we got there and their reactions were pretty much what you'd expect. Between hugging their daughter and thanking me for her rescue, it was better than an hour before we headed to school.

While we were in the car I looked over at Beth, "How did both of you end up with dead batteries in your phones? I thought you'd promised to always keep yours charged?"

She looked uncomfortable, "I know, I just forgot. Yesterday was full of dumb mistakes. I won't forget again—you can count on that!"

"How about the Jeep?"

"Dad called AAA and they're going to pull it out and take it to the garage he uses. They'll check it out and—hopefully—have it ready this afternoon."

When we got to school it was obvious the word had spread—everybody we met was either asking Beth how she was, or calling me a hero. Hero? Me? I was just trying to save my girlfriend.

Just before lunch I got called down to the office. Adams was waiting for me, "Mr. Randahl, acting irresponsibly again, I hear. Don't you know you're supposed to wait for the proper authorities to handle a situation like that? There was no reason for you to go charging off unprepared, and putting other students at risk along with yourself."

I was just about to unload on the sanctimonious windbag when the principal, Mr. Williams, came out of his office, "Ah, Mr. Randahl, you're here. Good. Come in."

"I was just telling Mr. Randahl how misguided his actions were yesterday," Adams started.

Mr. Williams looked at him, "Donald, enough."

I followed the principal into the office and saw the EMT from the ambulance and a man I didn't know waiting.

"Thomas, this is Police Chief Gherrity and I think you already know Ron Quigley."

"Hello, Chief Gherrity, and glad to see you again Mr. Quigley. Sorry I didn't catch you yesterday after we got to the hospital. I wanted to thank you for everything you did for Beth, but by the time things settled down you were out on another run."

"Glad I could help. It's always nice to have a happy outcome from one of our calls. Oh, and call me Ron. Every time I hear Mr. Quigley I turn around looking for my father," he replied.

"Thomas," Chief Gherrity said, "Your actions yesterday showed a lot of initiative and courage. It's unusual to meet someone so young who doesn't panic when faced with a serious situation."