Powder

Mia skid to a jolting stop in front of the ski lift gate, nearly colliding with a couple of kids in marshmallow snowsuits, and sprayed a fountain of snow into the air. Hastily apologizing she tried to maneuver her way in the 'single riders' lane without drawing anymore attention to herself. As she slid to a stop she wiped the melting snow away from her pink face- the result of her last fall at the top of the mountain- and zipped up her jacket with the bright orange tag advertising Eaton Mountain, Maine. It was embarrassing enough to be skiing by herself, not to mention falling over at the top of a hill and having to get one of the staff helpers to lift her up.

As the snow melted on her face melted it began to slide down her pale neck and a cold shock pulsed through her body. Snow had already soaked through her jeans hours before and her feet were freezing, despite the thick ski boots she wore, so she barely felt anything at all. She shook her wavy brown hair from her face and covered her ears with her mittens, trying to warm them up at least a little. Standing up on her toes she glanced to the front of the line at the chairlift that she would be boarding momentarily. Its silver bars looked lethal and uninviting. The familiar choking feeling closed over her throat and her stomach dropped. Stop It! she thought to herself, You have done this ten times today! No need to work yourself up!

She continued to rock back and forth on her skis impatiently, hoping the line would move faster. She decided that this would be her final hill of the day. Once she reached the bottom again she would return to the chalet and find her mother.
As she continued to twitch impatiently a young man skied smoothly and somewhat hurriedly into the line behind her and flashed her a charming, yet forced, smile, although it seemed like smiling was the last thing he wanted to be worrying about at the moment.
Mia hastily turned her back on the stranger and busied herself with fixing the strap on her mitts. She hated confrontations. All day long she had been one of the only ones in the single riders lane and she had been able to just relax and be by herself. She found it quite odd that she had not seen this incredibly muscular and handsome guy before now. She attempted to ignore his anxious movements as the line slowly inched forward. Now there was only one group ahead of her in the opposite line. She straightened out her skis and prepared to board the lift. The lift monitor motioned for her to move forward into the loading area. She slid smoothly out of the line and out to where the monitor was motioning. Just as the lift was about to swing around the mysterious man in the line behind her shot forward and stopped next to her, just in time to be swooped up by the metal bench. Mia gasped as the lift caught them both from the back and began to carry the up the steep, 622 ft. climb.

Colt was getting really suspicious of some of the skiiers. Especially the ones that kept following him. He growled inwardly, he had thought a night ski would be ok sense you could hardly see in front of you let alone someone's face. But not only had his body guards found him, but so had his 'stalkers' least thats what he thought they were. They could just be random people, but he could never be to careful these days. He stopped behind a girl in the single skiier's lane and flashed her a smile hoping she wouldn't want to talk. He looked around. The two guys that he figured were stalkers were coming down the slope real fast.

Let's get a move on it people! He growled in his head. The line moved forward and the girl got out to the lift to get on. He moved beside her at the last minute. He didn't care if she wanted to be by herself, he had to get up and away. HE was going to leave the second he got back down and hopefully he would've lost every one of the poeple following him by then. He saw his body guards glare at him as the lift picked him up and took him up. He smiled. He would get the heck out of here. There were a ton of people in front of both his bodyguards and hte guys following him. The girl tensed up as they got higher.

"Scared of heights?" He asked. She ignored him as she looked forward. HE shrugged and didn't bother to talk to her any more. Didn't make sense to talk to soemone that didn't want to be talked to now did it. He looked down at the ground below him and frowned, if he was to get stuck up here there was no way to get down. As if his thoughts made it happen the whole lift shut down and all the lights flickered off. The girl next to him gasped. "Guess someone fell asleep at the controls." He joked. She didn't seem to like that from what little he coudl see of her face.

"Sorry for the power outage, we will turn on the back up generator in a few minutes then help you from the lifts, we apologize to tell you that we have to shut the facility down so please no more boarding the lifts." A deep voice said over the intercom.

"Joy, it will take forever to get up there after the check to make sure everyone is ok." He hissed. That also meant that if the people that were following him weren't on the lift then they would be waiting for him at the bottom.

Mia's hands were shaking uncontrollably. As she sat shivering on the lift under the darkening sky her mind was reeling through worst case scenarios. We could be stuck here all night! What if they can't fix it and we have to jump down! What if this crazy guy next to me turns out to be a serial killer! With that thought she whipped her head to the side to stare frighteningly at the man beside her. She wasn't exactly sure if his feeble attempts at a conversation were because he was talkative, or if he was simply trying to fill the empty silence between them. Whatever his reasons she had no intention of replying anytime soon. She doubted she would even be able to talk at all even if she wanted to because of fear.
As she continued to shiver a gentle wind swept over her and her lips began to tremble as well. It didn't help any that her clothes were already damp. She looked again at the man beside her and began to study him. She didn't know very much about skiing apparel but she was sure whatever he was wearing was worth more than her mother's car! Just as she was starting to gawk at his leather ski boots the floodlights flashed back on, causing her momentary blindness. She held up her hand in front of her eyes to shield them from the light and breathed a sigh of relief. It's over. she thought joyously. A loud, clear voice came out over the speakers.
"Attention skiers! We are pleased to announce that we have gotten the lift and floodlights up and running again! Sorry for the de-" Mia jerked her head up as the voice was cut short. Before she could utter a sound the lights flashed off and they were once again engulfed in darkness. Panic-stricken she spun her head around trying to glimpse something back at the boarding area or anywhere on the ground, but all was blackness. She turned to look at the stranger next to her. She could see her shock mirrored in his expression. Yet she saw something else there too. Something that had not been present before. Understanding, and fear.

Colt swallowed hard, he had to get the heck off this lift and away from here. Those had been stalkers, that was the only reason for this. He looked at the girl next to him. She was shivering. His eyes flashed over her outfit. She was wearing the worst outfit for the cold. He pulled his jacket off, he had a very thick one under it. He had put two on sense he hated the cold.

"Here, you should've worn more." He said softly hoping not to scare her. She looked at the jacket then back at him. "No telling how long we'll be up here and I'm fine, I hate the cold so I wear a TON of clothes, if you don't take it I'd feel really bad."

Mia had no choice but to don the jacket. She was still damp, but the cold began to reduce slightly as she wrapped her arms around herself.
"Thanks," she managed to choke out. She had spoken very little the entire day and her throat protested the effort. As a fresh blanket of snow began to fall they sat in silence. Despite their current predicament Mia hardly felt worried. The usual awkward tension that she often felt when next to a stranger didn't seem to be present here. She felt as if she were beginning to calm. She took a deep breath, relishing the feeling of the crisp cold air in her lungs. There was no where better than the outdoors to her.
The lift rocked slightly and she looked forward into the blackness, unable to see the lift ahead.
"Probably just some kids getting restless," the man next to her said. She looked up at him and offered a sheepish grin. "I'm Colt by the way." He added. Nodding she looked down at her hands.
"Marina," she whispered in return.

Colt smiled, "Never heard taht name before. It's really pretty." He leaned his head back against the lift and took a deep breath. A rope suddenly shot up on the wire in front of them and then soemone started to climb it. HE clinched his teeth and dug in one of his pockets for his pocket knife. He flipped it out and leaned forward.

"What are you doing!" She demanded.

"I'll explain in a minute." He replied slicing through one of the ropes. It snapped and there was a grunt below them.

"Going to explain why, they coudl've been here to help!" She said.

"They weren't." He replied softly. "Their after me."

"They're after me," he repeated gravely. It seemed so final as he said it and Mia knew not to doubt him. He was the reason she was stuck here. Yet she couldn't let herself blame him. It was hard to believe that this kind stranger had provoked some people into hunting him down at a ski resort.
This is just way too much stress! Mia thought sighing.
"Is there any way I can help? How bad are they? Are they, deadly?" She spoke the last word with fear and her voice shook slightly. He chuckled and looked up at her.
"These men shut down the power of an entire ski resort and attempt to climb onto our ski lift with a grappling hook and you ask if you can help?" He shook his head again, grinning. "Unless you have some special powers I don't know who could help me. You don't have special powers, do you?" Mia knew it was a joke but she sensed a glimmer of hope in his voice. She smiled at him and help up her hands.
"Sorry, but I got nothing."

Colt nodded, "Guess that's life. He looked up as the lift started moving. There was a man standing and helping people off. "Listen, if I tell you to jump, don't think twice, just jump. That guy might not be friendly."

"But!" She started.

"YOu wanna live?" He asked. "They don't know how much you know, they don't want anyone knowing that this wasn't just a power failure, they'll kill you, or hurt you."

"Why are they after you?" She asked.

"I have no clue, but they are." He shrugged his shoulders as they got closer. He looked at the man. He had been spotted. The guy pulled out a gun.

"No sudden moves, Rose." The man growled. "You'll get off nice and slowly."

"On three." Colt said under his breath. "They won't spare you if I just jump."

"What are you saying, Rose!" The guy growled.

"Well, your scaring the girl for no reason, why not put down the gun?" Colt coaxed.

"I don't think so." The guy laughed. "I'm not letting you slip away."

"One, two." Colt eyed a soft spot of snow. "Three." He heaved off the seat and felt her next to him. He heard a gun go off and a bullet snap past his ear as he plummited towards the ground. He landed on his skiis and looked for the girl. She hadn't been so lucky. "Come on, let's go!" He helped her up then took off down the side of the mountian away from the resort.

As she plummeted to the ground she never let go of Colt's hand. She wasn't going to be left alone now. Not if she could help it. As they collided with the soft snow Colt immediately pulled her in the direction of the woods before she could even regain her breath. Her skiing had always been less than perfect and his skills were far better than her own. He was practically dragging her along as they weaved through the trees.

"Wait!" she managed to gasp.

"What?!" he demanded. She cowered back under his glare. Without letting her eyes meet his she tried to come up with a reasonable argument.

"Look, I don't know how much you work out or what, but I am not prepared to ski through the woods all night! Especially not if I have no idea why!!" He continued to scowl as he looked over his shoulder in the direction of the ski hill. He leaned over towards the ground and scooped up a branch covered with pine needles. Turning, he began to brush away the trail that their skis had left behind them. As he did this his hand slipped from Mia's grasp and she realized that they had been holding hands ever since they first dropped. Embarrassed she pretended that she didn't notice and waited for him to finish brushing away parts of their trail. As he straightened up again he sighed and looked into her face.

"We'll ski and talk," he said.

"But, I'm not going to be able to keep up!" SHe protested.

"Take off your skiis." He said.

"WHAT!"

"Just do it!" She sat down and pulled her skiis off. He strapped them on his back and then pulled her on the front of his skiis. "Now, just move with my skiis, don't fight it. He held her tight around the waist and started down the hill again.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"Colt Rose." He replied.

"Trent Rose's son!" She gasped.

"Ya." He replied bitterly.

"Why are they following you?" She asked after waiting a few minutes.

"Because I'd make good ransom." He shrugged as they shot down the hillside. There wasn't another town for miles and miles of the skii resort.

Mia shrieked as she was flung forward into a tangle of branches and snow. As she attempted to stand the branches cut into her face, and wrapped around her ankles, causing her to fall over again. Sitting in a heap she looked up to face Colt. A smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. Frowning Mia leaned forward and began to pull the various twigs and branches away from her feet. When she had yanked away most of them she stood again, slowly this time, and stepped onto the fresh snow.

"What happened?" she asked Colt.

"Root," he said, gesturing towards the ground where the skis had stopped so abruptly, wiping away the snow with his glove, and revealing a thick root protruding from the ground. "Looks like we're going to have to walk now," he continued and Mia followed his gaze to the skis still attached to his feet. A large crack went along the surface of the left one.

"Wonderful," Mia sighed as she waited for Colt to remove his skis from his feet. After he did he dug a small hole and laid the broken skis in it, then covered it over with snow.

Colt yanked the skis off trying to ignore the pain in his ankles. He stood up and burried the skiis in the snow so they wouldn't be found. "Come on, we'll have to go faster, your skiis are too small for me and I don't think they could support us both." He smiled. "You can ride on them though."

"I'm ok." She said softly. He shook his head. She was stubborn, and didn't want to trust him. He shrugged and led her towards the woods going deeper in. He needed to get her away from the men, and going back to that secluded town wouldn't do them any good.

The only sound in the still woods was the crunching of their boots on the snow. Mia didn't know what time it was now, but she was sure it was nearly midnight.

As she dusted some snow from her hair she heard the faint sound of a twig snapping. Before she could react Colt was at her side, and began to slowly pull her into a thick cluster of trees. They moved carefully, and almost silently. As they slowly lowered themselves to the ground another branch cracked a few ways into the woods on their left. Mia froze, and hardly dared to breath. Abruptly a huge form passed through a pool of moonlight. She was surprised at how agilely and quietly it moved. The figure once again dissolved into blackness. Mia and Colt lay side by side, tensed and ready. Colt leaned forward towards Mia's ear.

"Get ready to run," he whispered hoarsely. He leaned over and gripped her arm, slowly pulling her up so she could sprint away. "Now."

Mia shot herself forward with Colt by her side. A glint of silver shone in the moonlight for a moment, and Mia felt a sharp pain slice across her right hand. Pushing it away she ran. She ran harder and faster than she had ever gone before.

Colt pushed his feet faster pulling Mia with him. He yanked her skiis out from his bag and when they got to a hill he set them under him putting her on the other in and shooting down the hill. He made sure their weight stayed perfectly even so that they didn't sink to much in the snow.

"You've run from people before." She noted cradling her hand.

"Ya, waht happened?" He motioned to her hand as they hit the bottom of the hill and kept foreward, he woudln't get off the skis until they stopped.


*Sorry it's short, if they get caught then let that happen I don't care if they keep going or not just let me know if you want me to let him get caught. *

Mia followed his gaze to her hand and was shocked to see blood pouring from it and down her arm. The sight seemed to make her brain register it and pain pulsed through her. She gently pulled off the glove she was wearing with her other hand. Observing the gash she realized it last long and deep. Colt leaned in to observe it.

"Does it hurt?" he asked.

" Oh, yes." said Mia. Colt leaned forward and reached into one of the large pockets on the jacket Mia was wearing. "Hey!" she shrieked. He took his hand out and revealed a small package. Mia blushed as she remembered that she was wearing his jacket.

"Just grabbing this," he said, revealing a long piece of stretchy material. "Tensor bandage. I keep it with me in case of an injury on the ski hill. I know its not the same as a real bandage but it will work just as well." He gently took her hand and wrapped the band around it. Mia tried not to wince from the pain. When he was done he placed her glove back on her hand.