"Patrick, follow me, my steps are going to show up in the snow."
Patrick did as he was told, following Alexandra's footprints as she'd left them.
For several hours the pair fought their own bodies and the elements, with the temperatures falling and the wind chills falling further. The air temperature was about twelve degrees, but the wind chills were well below zero, making it feel even colder.
Several hours later, Alexandra stopped near a frozen-over lake, surrounded by some hedging that could warm her up somewhat. Hunched over and out of breath, she coughed and began to throw up.
She continued to cough and throw up profusely for several more minutes, and did what she was told in cadet class, to take deep breaths. Luckily, she had a Cure Elixir in her backpack from her last trip to the consignment store.
As she looked up, Alexandra began to collect herself. She looked around and realized that Patrick was missing, so she decided to head back down to look for him.
"Patrick?" she called, her voice bouncing off the foothills. "Patrick?? Where are you?"
After a few minutes she saw Patrick waving to her from a cleared-out area. "Patrick!" she called out.
Without thinking, Alexandra flung her arms around him, and he did likewise. "Would you rather me be plush now?" Patrick teased.
"Plush is good," Alexandra replied, "but I'll take you as a human any day."
"So, are we headed back up the mountain now?" Patrick asked.
"We've got no choice," Alexandra reminded him, "we have to go and distribute the supplies, and make sure things are okay there before going back home. We can't leave these people stranded."
A few minutes later the pair headed back up the mountain. "How much longer, O fearless leader?" Patrick teased, trudging right on top of Alexandra's footprints.
"Um, if nothing else happens, probably a couple more hours. On a clear snowless day this takes five minutes, but we're dealing with heavy snow and wind chills below zero and falling."
They continued to head back up the mountain when Alexandra called, "Look, we're almost there!"
One of the shelters was within sight. By then, though, it was daybreak.
Frozen over, icicles hanging around its perimeter, Alexandra shook her head. Hope the heating system is working in there, she wondered.
"Okay, Patrick, you get those supplies over there, while I go here and hand out blankets and check out the heating system."
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