Ours is the Winter: a gripping story of love, friendship and adventure. Laurie Ellingham
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raising money for Cancer Research. Their mum –’ Greg looked at each of the boys in turn ‘– passed away last year from breast cancer …’ Greg’s voice cracked. He gave a loud cough and continued, ‘Her dying wish was for us three to spend more time together … so here we are.’
‘A great way to honour her memory.’ Lee nodded, before motioning to two blonde girls.
‘I’m Frankie and this is Harry,’ one of them said. ‘We’re twins.’
‘No shit,’ Rachel muttered in Noah’s ear.
‘We’ve done a few charity things before but never with animals so this is going to be super exciting and new for us. We’re raising money for our village youth club, which is a huge support for children and young people in our local area. So far we’ve raised almost six thousand pounds.’
Lee smiled. ‘Well done.’
Noah felt Lee’s gaze and the eyes of the rest of the group fall on him. He opened his mouth to speak but not quick enough.
‘I’m Rachel and this is my boyfriend, Noah. Well fiancé actually.’ She grinned and waggled her diamond ring in the air. ‘Noah’s a teacher and I work in public relations. We’re here raising money for Help the Heroes.’
Noah closed his mouth and felt the familiar tightening grip his body. The group had moved on to the next bench and the girl from the airport but he wasn’t listening. Noah didn’t care that Rachel had spoken for him. He was used to that. It was the words she’d spoken that he was having trouble comprehending.
‘What did you do that for?’ Noah mumbled after the introductions had finished and Lee began dishing up plates of steaming jacket potatoes and a dark meat dish.
‘Do what?’
Noah felt her eyes on his face but refused to move his gaze from the flames dancing and jumping out of the fire.
‘Lie,’ he said. ‘Why did you lie?’
She made a noise. A huff or another one of her laughs. ‘I didn’t.’
‘Rach –’
‘Where was the lie?’ she said, keeping her voice low and moving closer. ‘I do work in PR, and you are a teacher – well training to be one, anyway. I didn’t see the point in sharing any other details about our lives. To be honest, I didn’t think you’d want me to tell this bunch of strangers anything else about us. We’re not here to make friends or be part of something; we’re here for us.’
A plate of food arrived in his hands. Noah nodded a thanks and balanced the plate on his legs before huddling over it. He was done trying to wade through the convoluted way Rachel saw the world, herself, and him.
‘What should I have said?’ Rachel asked. All of a sudden her voice carried the ebb of hurt, aimed to what – make him look up, make him feel guilty, make him say sorry? Noah didn’t care. He didn’t care about any of it.
The pinprick of excitement he’d felt on the bus was gone, swallowed by the darkness. He watched the flames, orange, like the streetlights, like the empty street that hadn’t been empty. All of a sudden he could no longer smell the crackling wood of the fire, but sweat. Sweat and fear, and something else – a taste – like sucking a penny.
His stomach turned and he could smell the acid sour stink of his vomit. The walls of the hut began to turn and all he could hear was his ragged breathing and the thudding beat of his heart in his ears. Sweat pricked the back of his neck.
‘Noah?’ Rachel’s voice sounded far away, calling out to him.
He blinked, once then twice, forcing his eyes to look away from the fire. He felt Rachel’s hand on his leg and the eyes of the group watching him.
‘Sorry,’ he mumbled, hating the heat burning in his cheeks. ‘I was miles away.’
Rachel gave a giggly laugh. ‘He’s always doing that,’ she said, rolling her eyes.
‘OK.’ Lee kept his eyes on Noah as he addressed the group. ‘Kit time. Then it’s bunks and sleep. Tomorrow morning you’ll spend some time with myself and Valek, going over the information you’ll need for the trip, then it’s meeting the huskies and having a practice on the sleds.
‘I know all of you have read and signed the information sheet I sent last month,’ Lee continued. ‘But I will say it again – this trip will push you to your physical and emotional limits. Listen to the briefing tomorrow, have a practice with the sleds, then think hard. There is no shame in recognizing you may not be cut out for the challenge. Better to realize this before we set off than halfway through when there’ll be no turning back.’
Noah looked down at his half-eaten plate of food and willed the earth beneath his feet to open up and swallow him whole. I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t be on this trip. I shouldn’t be alive.
Erica
The buzz of the group hovered in the air as Valek passed out their equipment. The weight of the snow trousers and jacket felt as squishy as a winter duvet in Erica’s arms. Beside the warmth from the open fire the cold seemed little more than a figment. As if the very idea of needing so many layers to keep warm was actually quite ludicrous.
‘You must leave your non-essential items here at Huskyleir. No extra weight on the sleds,’ Valek added. The second challenge leader spoke perfect English, heavily accented with his Norwegian tones, which added an extra high vowel to his words, so that sled became sle-ee-d.
Valek was tall and wide with shocking black hair and a large forehead that sloped inwards towards his eyes and a small nose. His skin had a leathery mottled look to it. And with the deep scar running down one cheek and two fingers missing on his left hand, he had the look of a man who had lived and breathed the wild for all of his life. He was the Norwegian Crocodile Dundee, Erica thought with an inward smile, recalling the weird teenage crush she’d had on Paul Hogan.
‘You’ve been put into two teams for the challenge. Team A will be led by Valek,’ Lee said. ‘And team B by me. Team A, you’re sleeping in hut one for the next two nights, and team B, you’re in hut two.’ Lee dropped his gaze and examined the paperwork.’
‘Team A, you are Greg, William, Edward, Harriet, and Francesca. Team B, you are Molly, Erica, Rachel, and Noah. Get some rest now, guys. Breakfast will be here in the Lavvu at six o’clock sharp. After the briefing and a practice with the sleds, we’ll have a dry run of pitching camp before heading back here for dinner and bed. The minibus will be taking us to Signal Valley and the start of our challenge before dawn the following morning.’
‘Any questions on what we’ve covered so far?’ Lee smiled and looked around the group.
‘When you say non-essentials –’ Frankie asked, grinning at the group.
‘Hairbrushes, make-up, wash kits, razors, music players, all spare … er … clothes, underwear, phones, and electrical equipment of any kind.’ Valek reeled off the list as if he’d said it a hundred times.
‘Believe me,’ Lee added, ‘when we’re out there, putting on fresh clothes will not factor into your thoughts. The only opportunity for a wash after we leave Huskyleir is if any of you decide to strip off and roll in the snow.’
A murmur of nervous laughter travelled around the hut. Erica felt it too. The sense of excitement and the fear of the unknown. Just what had she signed them up for?
Erica shot a look to Molly, standing beside Harry. Molly’s face was tight and a single crease ran the length of her forehead. Molly was beautiful, even with the hate that seemed to be pouring out of her.
This trip would help Molly – Erica was sure of it. Wasn’t she? The needle of guilt returned in Erica’s insides. Are you sure this trip was about reconnecting with