Free The Drop by Jeff Ross Page A

two, three .” I pulled hard, and Hope came up over the edge. I pushed her forward, and she scurried into the deep snow. There were tears streaming down her face. She had more thin cuts on her face from where she had slammed into the edge of the cliff. There was blood coming from the cuts and dripping on the ground.
    â€œThey tried to kill me,” she said. I was still lying on my front in the snow. It was difficult to even move. My arms felt limp, solid, almost dead.
    â€œWhat happened?”
    â€œI came over the edge there, and no one…”
    â€œWhat?” I yelled into the wind. Hope crawled over to me and put her face close to mine.
    â€œThey came over the edge of that last descent, and everyone just shot for the ramp or whatever that thing is. No one told me I would have to jump. Alex, I wasn’t even close to ready.”
    â€œBut everyone else made it fine?”
    â€œYeah, like they’d done it before.”
    â€œEven Bryce?”
    â€œWell, you know Bryce,” she said. “It’s not like anything would surprise him.” The wind was pushing what felt like shards of glass into my face.
    â€œWe have to get off of here,” I said. “Before we freeze.”
    â€œWhere did my board go?” she asked. I couldn’t see it, but there was really only one option.
    â€œDown,” I replied. I looked at the slope beneath us. It was steep, and the powder was loose. I undid my bindings.
    â€œSit up here,” I said, pointing to a spot just in front of the front binding. Hope clambered over without a word. I got on behind her and started pushing. Once we hit the steeper bit of the slope, it was easy enough to slide down.
    Stopping was the only real problem.

chapter sixteen
    I dug my heels in as we approached the trees, but it wasn’t enough. The snow just bundled up around my legs. Hope jammed her legs down as far as they could go, but that didn’t help either. We were heading straight for a large evergreen.
    â€œJump!” I yelled, grabbing Hope by the shoulders and shoving her off the board. We both sank into the snow and came to a stop. My board, on the other hand, rode on top of the powder until it hit a tree. Then it did a giant flip and landed upside down.
    â€œThat had better not be broken,” Hope said.
    â€œJust get into the trees,” I yelled. We scrambled through the waist-deep snow. It was like swimming in Jell-O. It had warmed a little, and the snow was already becoming spongier. We finally managed to get into the wooded area. Hope leaned against a tree, exhaled and began to cry. I looked around and found her board where it had stopped and put it at her feet.
    â€œPlease don’t cry,” I said, before I realized how insensitive that would sound. “I mean, it’s all right, Hope. We’ll get out of here.”
    â€œHow do you know that? We’re all alone up here.”
    I thought about that for a moment. “No, we’re not,” I replied.
    â€œWho else is here?” She looked hopeful.
    â€œSam and Dave,” I said. Then, “And the third guy in the cabin with you.”
    â€œWhat third guy?” Hope asked. She had a glove off and was wiping the tears from her cheeks.
    â€œWhen I was in the woodshed, I could hear three people talking.”
    She shook her head. “No, just two.”
    â€œWhat?” I had distinctly heard three voices. “What about Bryce?”
    â€œHe was there too.”
    â€œJust there? Not handcuffed or tied to a chair or anything? Did he say anything to you?”
    â€œNo. The kidnappers stuffed me in the bathroom and tied me to the sink as soon as we got into the cabin.” That seemed strange to me. If Bryce had been kidnapped, wouldn’t they have tied him up like they had Hope?
    â€œSo what are we supposed to…”
    â€œShhhh,” I said, holding a hand up. I could hear something.
    Rumbling.
    Like giant rocks knocking