Tony stepped out of the passenger seat and felt the wind cut through his clothing. It was a cold day for a hiking trip into the mountains, but luckily, he had great company. Walking around the car to help with the backpacks, he saw that Matt who was his best friend, was already on the task. Loading out the backpacks was an easy task, but Matt had brought with him two others that Tony didn't know. The couple was married and they were very inexperienced when it came to walking in the mountains, but they were smiling despite the cold conditions and Tony liked their attitude. Their names were Andrew and Jessica and they struggled with the task of getting the heavy backpacks on their backs.
Tony quickly went over to Jessica. "Here! Let me get this for you!" Tony had to shout a bit over the roaring wind, but his hands worked quickly in attaching the heavy backpack to the short woman. Jessica stood silently as he helped her and while he helped Jessica, Matt helped Andrew with his backpack.
"There! All set Jessica!" Tony exclaimed with triumph before he bent down and swung his own over his back effortlessly. Jessica turned to face him and gave him a sweet smile.
"Thanks! It was a bit tricky getting on!" Jessica told him a bit embarrassed and Tony noticed that she had no problems standing normally with such a heavy backpack.
Short but strong
Tony noted quickly before the four locked the car and ventured into the forest that was covered with a deep carpet of snow.
Matt walked in front and functioned like a piercing arrow against the thick snow that threatened to cover most of the hiking trail. Behind him was a struggling Andrew and Tony was a bit worried if he was prepared for this. After all, he didn't look to be in very good shape. His wife however, she walked in front of Tony without a hint of the ragged breathing of her husband. Tony could tell that she was in great shape, but even so, he kept up his guard in case she slipped backwards as the trail was quite steep.
Tony took in the scenery of the forest whose trees waved in the wind, thus making a haunting sound boom all around them. It was a beautiful day despite the weather. They group had been certain the weather would be dominated by a shining sun and a blue sky, but they were already here and they had to make the best out of the hand they had been given.
After a few hours of walking up some steep and slippery climbs, the forest had begun to open up a bit and the sound of a river could be heard way in front of them. The snow fell hard around them and the conditions had gotten a bit too difficult for a mountain trip; hence Tony was leaning more and more on them turning around. However, he couldn't get a word in due to Andrew's complaining. The man was nearly out of breath from the exercise and yet he wasted the little he had left on cursing everyone and everything around him. Tony had seen it before with unprepared adventurers, but Andrew was a special cookie.
Tony could hardly see through the falling snow, but he could hear Andrew's complaining echoing and the man leaned against a tree for support. Matt was standing with him and trying to get him to continue, which Tony believed was unwise. "Come on honey! It will get better! Let's just try some more, okay?" Tony heard Jessica say through the wind and he liked the sound of her voice as it was filled with sparkles of hope and inspiration. Andrew finally agreed to push on and thus they ensued their walk, but then Jessica slipped.
She felt backwards quickly with her entire body, but Tony had been on guard in case this happened; hence he braced himself for the impact and caught her.
Jessica had raced into him sideways which meant the backpack didn't obstruct his hold on her. Tony wasn't really thinking about Jessica's body when she leaned her entire weight on him because he tried to relax her and let her down on her feet, but he was no idiot, she had some muscular legs and since his arm had been around her waist and stomach, he knew she was a toned woman.
"Thanks, again!" Jessica laughed as she got her balance back and her backpack re-adjusted. Before she turned however, she gave him another sweet smile and this one affected him a bit. She had huge goggles on her to protect her eyes like the rest of the group, hence he couldn't see much of what appeared to a be a heart-shaped face of bronze, but her pink lips he could see and their full nature parted to reveal her white teeth when she smiled. Tony began walking behind her and he was ready at any moment if she slipped again.
The incident had gone unnoticed to Matt and Andrew; hence Jessica and Tony were quite far behind when Tony helped Jessica down from a large rock and down to the river's edge. Tony held her little hand in his large one and once again he felt her petite body against him when the steep hill sent her racing into his chest. It wasn't awkward at all, instead they just laughed and yet again he was awarded a sweet smile before they continued.
Tony could see Matt and Andrew way ahead and they couldn't have looked back as the distance was a bit too great for Tony's liking, but he reasoned that Andrew would throw another tantrum soon and his wife was in such great shape that Tony and she could easily catch them then.
The river's edge was slippery because of the ice and even he struggled with his balance. The river itself was large and wild. It was deep as well and Tony took great care in using the branches of the nearby bushes to gain some support. The snow was falling so hard and heavy that Tony could barely see past Jessica's head, but he could see her and that was the most important part in case something happened.
As if destiny itself heard his thoughts, Jessica slipped on the icy trail and fell into the river. Tony didn't think, he just reacted by throwing away his heavy backpack and jumping into the river.
Jessica struggled, flailed with her arms and her legs kicked desperately in the chilly water while the current took her. The heavy backpack dragged her down and she hit rock after rock. The pain was immense, but luckily the backpack took most of the impact. However, her heavy backpack meant she couldn't break the surface. She tried frantically to get the backpack off of her, but she had no idea how it was attached; hence she scraped against the rocky formation at the bottom of the river while the current took her hostage.
Jessica's panic for air became her only worry and she thought she would die, but then she felt hands on her and he backpack went past her, taken by the current. The next thing she knew was that arms held around her and then she broke the surface to the feeling of air entering her lungs again.
Tony held Jessica as tightly to him as he could and she instinctively wrapped her legs around him while he battled the river's current. The water was incredibly cold and he couldn't feel his toes anymore; hence they needed to get up. The river then turned a sharp right and as a result Tony got closer to the edge. With Jessica clinging to him and with one arm holding around her back, he only had one arm to use, but he was saved by luck and a good grip on a branch from the nearby tree. Tony used all of strength to pull them towards the shore and Jessica helped him pull once her short arms could reach the branch. Together, they reached the shore and dragged themselves up from the chilling river.
Jessica couldn't speak due to her teeth chattering rapidly and like him her clothes were soaked. Tony helped her up and she was exhausted and shocked by the near-death experience; hence she leaned into him as he walked them into the thick forest.
Luckily, they came upon a cabin nearly covered whole in snow. It sat in the midst of the forest, but it was in an open area, encircled by the forest. The snow here was thick and deep; hence Tony carried Jessica's shivering body until they reached the cabin. Tony could barely move his fingers through his gloves, but he managed to force open the door, help Jessica through the entrance and shut it behind them. The impact of the door being forced shut against the cabin unleashed massive amounts of snow from the roof and through the sprinkles of the wood within the door, Tony could see that they were snowed inside.
Tony turned with teeth chattering and saw Jessica in a crouched position, hugging herself as she cried. Tony wanted to hug her and comfort her, but the situation demanded that he searched the cabin for supplies; hence he chose that rather than comfort Andrew's wife, but the cabin was cold and dark and offered him little insight into how abandoned it was.
It wasn't the most spacious cabins and Tony quickly realized it was all just one room. The snow hammered on the windows and Tony began to understand the enormity of their situation. They had no backpacks, no spare clothing and no ways to keep warm nor any food. Tony looked around the cabin but he quickly realized they only had each other. Freezing and in desperate need for warmth, Tony grew a bit desperate as he searched the cabin and then he found the blanket.
It was a fur blanket and Tony nearly cried when he touched it. Casting his glance ahead of his fingers, he saw a small bed in the corner of the room. Acting quickly, Tony threw the blanket over the bed and began pushing it towards the middle of the room in the belief that it would be warmer there than in the dark corner.
The entire cabin smelled and looked rotten from the inside, but the bed looked surprisingly comfy. Once the bed was in place, he began taking off his clothing. His fingers shivered and his teeth kept chattering as water dripped from his beard while he undressed.