"You mean to tell me I flew from Bayport, to Chicago, to Juneau, to here, 50 miles away from my final destination, and you can't get me a flight to the ski lodge?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Hardy," The attendant said, shaking his head. "The availability of pilots during the week is scarce. As you can imagine, it takes more experience to land on all the snow and ice. If you would like to wait in the local motel, the dedicated pilot who makes the lodge run will be here in three days."

"Three days? That will be pointless. The whole reason I came up here was to surprise my boys and spend some time with them. They're scheduled to leave in three days."

"Again, I'm sorry Mr. Hardy, but if anything changes, I'll be glad to let you know."

Fenton looked around outside and saw no planes, but two helicopters sitting there covered in a fresh layer of snow. "What about the helicopters?" Fenton asked.

"I'm sorry, but those are privately owned. The owners do not charter them out."

"It's worth a chance. Where can I find the owners?" Fenton asked.

"At the local hotel. Ask for Jim Witherow," The attendant replied

* * * * *

After making sure everyone was taken care of Joe finally collapsed onto the floor near his brother. He noticed that his brother wasn't as delirious as before. He thoroughly checked his brother over, and decided that the fever must be from him getting a cold, and not his injuries, which seemed to not be as serious as he first thought.

"Joe?" Frank woke up at the moment, and focused on him.

"How are you feeling?" Joe asked, although it seemed as if he was more coherent.

"Better," Frank said. "But achy."

"You were lucky, you didn't break anything," Joe told him.

"Yeah, I guess I was," Frank said, trying to sit up, although it took a little effort, "Ouch, my foot!"

"I think you twisted it pretty good, just take it easy," Joe told him.

"You're not hurt?" Frank asked.

"No, just a little tired and sore, there's only a few of us that escaped injury," Joe replied.

"But, we can't stay here forever," Frank said. "Eventually everyone could succumb to the cold."

"You're right," Joe said, gazing around the room at the other survivors. Two had been bleeding steadily since the avalanche two days ago, and Joe had been surprised that they were still alive. Secretly, he had little hope that they would last the remaining three days until the plane was scheduled to return.

"How many are missing?" Frank asked.

"Five," Joe replied.

"Is there any chance that any of them may have went for help?" Frank asked.

"I...I don't think so," Joe replied. "I've been outside. Everything is destroyed." He paused for a few moments before he looked at his brother again. "Frank, I know you've been out of it, but is there any chance that you've thought about what happened that day, with the helicopters?"

"If you mean do I think this avalanche was a freak accident, no. We definitely have a case on our hands, but right now, we need to consider our priorities." He looked around the room once more. "Joe, I think I'm well enough to offer some help to the injured. Three days is too long to wait for help." He looked at his brother. "Under normal conditions, I would be 100 percent against you hiking alone to Winter Rose, but lives are at stake here. You've got to try!"

With Frank feeling much improved, he was able to help Joe with the others, especially the injured ones, they finally managed to stop the bleeding on the ones that were most seriously injured. "They definitely need medical attention, but we also need food to keep up our energy, or all won't do the injured any good," Frank said.

"We have enough food," Joe replied. "We've been having to cook over a flame, so it's a good thing we did a lot of camping, or I wouldn't know how to do it. No one else does."

"Why don't you rest?" Frank suggested, noticing Joe stifling a yawn. "If you get too exhausted you will get sick too. I am still feeling a little out of it."

"Okay, but wake me up if you need me," Joe replied, knowing his brother wouldn't take no for an answer. Joe curled up in the spot where he had been resting for short periods of time. He didn't feel comfortable resting when his brother still felt terrible, but at least he was feeling better. "Be careful with that ankle," he said, before going to sleep.

* * * * *

Fenton finally found Jim Witherow at a diner on the other side of town. Quickly explaining the reason for his trip there, Jim offered to fly Fenton up to the lodge.

After getting everything ready, the helicopter was in the air. Fenton stared out the window, not surprised by all the snow surrounding the area.

"How much further?" Fenton asked Jim a while later, sounding like Frank and Joe when they were younger when they were taking long trips.

"Not much," Jim replied. "We should be able to see the lodge shortly."

Fenton leaned back in the seat and watched out the window.

Fenton was shocked when he heard Jim say, "What has happened here?"

Fenton looked out the window and saw part of the lodge had been buried in snow.