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  “I’m fine, honest. I think I needed rest, is all. How much farther is it to the site?” Andrew asked.

  Steven reached for his GPS, but the Mansi beat him to it. “About an hour, maybe two. But it’s all uphill.”

  “Maybe we could make some kind of litter and carry him.” Steven looked at the other men for affirmation. “He doesn’t seem that heavy.”

  “You don’t have to carry me. This is silly. I got dizzy and passed out. That’s it. It’s not like my leg is broken or anything. I need to take it a little easier, is all.” Andrew finished another electrolyte packet, handing the empty container to Lana. “Christ, this is embarrassing.”

  “Nat, this is really your call. What do you want to do?”

  Steven’s question startled her from her inertia. “I think we should turn back.”

  “No, Nat. We can’t. Please don’t call it quits because of me. Please.” Andrew’s eyes pleaded with her, but she refused to let him sway her. “You haven’t even interviewed anyone yet.”

  “I’m sorry, Andy, but I’m not going to risk your life for some stupid podcast. It’s not worth it.”

  “Going down the pass could be more dangerous, though. Vasily’s right—it’s probably best if he goes for help while the rest of us stay put. If there is something wrong with Andrew’s heart and he collapses out here…” Steven didn’t finish his thought, but he didn’t need to. The idea of it was enough to make Nat feel like screaming again.

  “Jesus Christ, there’s nothing wrong with my heart. I got a physical before we left. Clean bill of health. I just overdid it today.”

  “What did you feel like before you passed out?” Anubha asked.

  “Dizzy. I couldn’t catch my breath, and I couldn’t focus. My vision went black, and there were little dots in front of my eyes.”

  “Any chest pain, or pain through the arms? Any pressure right here?” She tapped her fingers against her breastbone.

  “None. I felt dizzy for a moment, and then boom! I was out.”

  “It doesn’t sound like a heart attack. Sometimes the altitude can get a bit much for people, because the air is thinner. But you’re from California, not the Plains. It should be easier for you.”

  “Maybe I wouldn’t have made it this far if I were from the Plains. My usual exercise is running my mouth. Tell them, Nat.”

  If Andrew was back to cracking jokes, he probably wasn’t on death’s door. Nat forced a smile, but it felt weak. Her own heart rate hadn’t returned to normal yet. “He does go to the gym, but mostly for window shopping.”

  Lana laughed, but Steven had a blank expression that indicated her wit had gone over his head. No surprise there. “Even if we decide to send Vasily back to the village, it’s getting too late. I suggest a few of us go on ahead and set up camp at the site. Once everything’s in place, I’ll return to help with Andrew,” he said.

  “I feel a million times better. I think I’ll be fine getting to the site under my own power.” To prove it, Andrew sat up, but Nat didn’t miss the wince he tried to hide. Shit. She’d prepared for nicks, cuts, and bruises, but hadn’t anticipated a life-threatening illness. The dread she’d felt since arriving in Russia pressed heavier on her shoulders.

  “That is too much work, Steven. Me and the others can handle Andrew,” Igor said, and unless she was mistaken, he sounded offended. No wonder—Andy wasn’t a large man. The Russian could probably carry him up the mountain by himself if he had to.

  Steven shrugged. “Suit yourself, but whoever’s going to set up camp needs to get going. It’ll be dark before we know it.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Anubha said. “It would be good to get some traps in place before nightfall.”

  As the three prepared to leave, Nat was overwhelmed with melancholy, as if she’d never see them again. Steven and Vasily were necessary evils, but she actually liked the Inuit tracker. She hugged Anubha tightly, her mind straying to the Dyatlov group, and how they’d met their doom separately. Had splitting up caused their demise? If they’d stayed together, would they have survived? It was impossible to say.

  “Be careful,” she said.

  “Always. Don’t worry. I’ll see you in a couple of hours.” Anubha patted her on the back, kissed her husband goodbye, and strapped on her snowshoes. Nat watched the trio ascend until they vanished from view, praying her misgivings were the product of an overactive imagination, nothing more.

  “We should start soon. We do not want to fall too far behind the others.” Igor knelt next to Andrew. “Do you feel well enough to ski? If not, I can carry you.”

  Nat hoped her producer would be honest. Now was not the time for false bravado.

  “I’m still a little weak, but I’d like to try. I am feeling a lot better than I was earlier.”

  Reaching out to the Russian, Andrew allowed Igor to lift him into a standing position. Nat held her breath while she waited to see if her friend would regain his equilibrium or collapse. After a moment, he grinned, though his voice was shaky.

  “All right. Let’s blow this popsicle stand.”

  Lana tugged on Nat’s sleeve. “Can I speak with you privately for a moment?”

  Nat nodded. “We’ll be right there,” she told the others before allowing the Olympian to lead her away from the fire. The harsh reality of the dropping temperature hit her as soon as she left the warmth of the flames. Getting to camp would soon be a matter of life and death, not only for Andrew, but for all of them. “What is it?”

  “I’m worried about your friend. I don’t mean to scare you, but I don’t think this is a matter of him being tired or out of shape. I’m afraid he might have altitude sickness.”

  “What? But Kholat Syakhl’s peak isn’t eight thousand feet. It’s too low.”

  “This isn’t only about the altitude. It’s how fast we’ve been traveling and the fact he’s out of condition. Out of condition for this kind of climbing, I mean. He’s still out of breath while he’s resting, and that’s not normal, even on Everest. If he pushes himself to keep ascending now, it might kill him.”

  Looking closely at her friend, Nat could see how he gasped for air, though he tried hard to hide it. The idiot was going to get himself killed. “What do we do?”

  “I’m assuming there is no canned oxygen available?”

  Nat, while never the most organized person at the best of times—she often teased Andrew about being the “brains of the operation”—wanted to shrink into her parka in shame. Her cheeks burned. “It never occurred to me we’d need it for this little of an incline. I feel so stupid.”

  Lana patted her arm. “Don’t. It’s not your fault. No one could have seen this coming. Without oxygen, the best thing to do would be to rest here for a couple of days, long enough to let his body adjust to the altitude. You might be able to get away with one, but I wouldn’t push it. Altitude sickness can be fatal.”

  As the reality of what Lana said sunk in, Nat felt a chill that had nothing to do with the arctic air. “We can’t stay here by ourselves. What if his condition gets worse? It would be suicide.”

  “I agree. I’m glad you’re taking this seriously. I’d hate to see something happen to Andrew. He’s a great guy.”

  Nat shoved aside the idea of anything happening to her friend, unable to contemplate the possibility without completely losing it. “Yes, he is. So, will you stay with us?”

  “I would in a heartbeat, but I think it would be better if you had some muscle here, just in case, and there’s no way Joe will agree to be separated from his wife, especially after what happened last night. So that leaves Igor.”

  But would the Russian go for it? That was the question. While he wasn’t as competitive as Steven, Nat couldn’t see him thrilled at the prospect of being stuck here with the two lame ducks.

  “I’m fine with that, if he’s willing.”

  Lana smiled. “I’m sure he will be. Let’s go ask him.”

  As Nat suspected, Igor was not an enthusiastic volunteer. He didn�
�t say much, but he didn’t have to. His reluctance was written all over his face. Andrew put up a brief protest until he realized there was no way he could convince them he was fine to continue the ascent. With a sigh, he lowered himself to the ground in front of the fire. Nat could have sworn he looked relieved.

  “Since you’re staying here, you get your pick of the meals,” Joe said, holding out the foil packages like an oversized deck of cards. “Take a few, in case you have to stay for a couple of days. I have an extra folding pot, so I’ll leave that with you as well.”

  “Thanks, Joe.” She left Igor in charge of the menu selection, and the Russian’s discriminating tastes resulted in pad Thai, beef stroganoff, and some weird breakfast wrap thing.

  “Are you sure you’re going to be all right? I don’t feel good about leaving you here.” Nat was touched by Joe’s concern, though she also knew he would never abandon his wife.

  “We’ll be fine. We have Igor. We’ll set up camp, make some dinner, and turn in early. I’m sure Andy will feel better tomorrow.”

  “Well, let me help you with the tents. It’s the least I can do.”

  “You’d better get moving. It’s sunny now, but the afternoon will go by quickly,” Igor said.

  “I insist. Come on, Lana, give us a hand.”

  Though she felt guilty, Nat was relieved when the tents were set up and their emergency pit stop resembled an official camp. It made her feel safer, and with her lack of experience, she hadn’t relished stumbling around in the dark on her own.

  “Take care of yourself, guys.” Joe shook Igor and Andrew’s hands and gave her a quick hug. “We’ll probably see you tomorrow.”

  “See you tomorrow,” Nat said.

  She wished it didn’t sound so ominous.

  ~ Chapter Seven ~

  The wind picked up as the sun went down, howling through the peaks. It sounded like a wild animal, reminding Nat of the photo that had been discovered in Dyatlov’s camera.

  She drew closer to the fire, shivering. Now that Igor was resigned to staying behind, he had returned to his cheerful self, entertaining them both with bawdy stories. While Andrew was quieter than normal, his breathing was less pronounced, to the point she couldn’t hear it anymore. She took that to be a positive sign.

  Hard to believe that five hours away from them, the rest of their group was already recreating the movements of Igor Dyatlov and his companions. Nat wondered if any sign of the decades-old tragedy remained. Was the campsite disturbing, or peaceful? Had Steven pitched his tent in the same location as Dyatlov’s? Were the treetops still burned? It was difficult to be so close, and yet so far, from the action.

  Her wistfulness drove her to talk about it. Pulling out her gear, she initiated her first interview for the podcast. “What do you think happened, Igor?”

  She didn’t have to elaborate. The Russian answered so quickly it was as though he’d been waiting to be asked. “I think it was the government. Yah, the radiation, the strange injuries, it makes sense. I think they stumbled onto a secret weapons-testing site and saw something they weren’t supposed to see.”

  “I used to believe the same thing. But now that I’m out here, I don’t know. Those theories about the infrasound caused by the wind or avalanche paranoia making them crazy—I could see it,” Andrew said.

  Igor laughed, though Nat could tell Andy wasn’t joking. “Are you going a little insane, my friend?”

  “Not yet. At least, I don’t think so, but if I were, I’d probably be the last to know. Look at our group, for example.”

  Nat had a feeling she knew where this was going, but had to ask anyway. She stopped recording. “What do you mean?”

  “Last night, Anubha heard something outside her tent, and based on nothing but a hunch, Joe was willing to kill Steven over it. I don’t know about you guys, but he strikes me as a fairly levelheaded dude. People are already going crazy, and we aren’t even at the Dyatlov site yet.”

  “That’s far from the same thing. Steven has been getting on everyone’s nerves from the beginning,” she said.

  “Enough to kill him over? Doesn’t that seem a bit extreme?”

  “It’s extreme, yah, but you don’t mess with a man’s wife.” Igor added more branches to the campfire, releasing a flurry of sparks.

  “But that’s what I’m saying. Steven didn’t mess with Anubha. He was asleep in his tent, with you. You would have heard him if he’d left and come back in a hurry, right?”

  Igor thought for a moment, using a long stick to stir the ashes amid the coals. “Yah, I think so.”

  “I watched him carefully during that entire exchange, and unless he’s an Academy Award–winning actor in addition to being a highly skilled mountaineer, Joe blindsided him. Steven looked like someone who’d been startled out of a deep sleep by some bizarre crisis he didn’t understand.”

  “What’s your point, Andrew?” Nat asked, though she wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

  “My point is, Anubha heard something that sounded like a wild animal outside their tent last night. Joe, with no rhyme or reason, no method to his madness, decided that what she heard must have been Steven playing a prank. This apparently filled him with murderous rage, and even when he found Steven fast asleep in his tent, he refused to relinquish his delusion.”

  Igor’s brow furrowed. “When you put it that way, it does sound weird.”

  “It’s beyond weird. It makes absolutely no sense. Your wife hears a wild animal, and your first thought is that it must be this guy from California who you don’t even know?”

  “Joe saw a man’s silhouette, remember? That’s what told him it was someone from our group.” Nat had hoped to never go over this again, at least not while they were still on the mountain. Because there wasn’t a rational explanation. No one in their group had had the time to sneak behind Joe and Anubha’s tent, scare her, erase their tracks, and then get back into their own tent and sleeping bag before they were confronted.

  But if it hadn’t been someone in their group, who was it?

  “Maybe Joe saw a shadow, and maybe he didn’t. It really doesn’t matter,” Andrew said. “Regardless of what he saw, his reaction was completely irrational.”

  “So what are you saying? That Joe is a loose cannon?” Nat shifted her weight on the log, growing uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was taking. The last thing she wanted was to talk about the other members of the group behind their backs, especially a guy she liked as much as Joe. It was one thing when it was only she and Andrew. Then it could be forgiven as shoptalk. But now Igor was privy to it too.

  Then she had a horrible thought. What if the rest of the group were talking about them? The two weak links and their Russian babysitter. She could only imagine what they’d say. Her cheeks grew hot at the thought of it.

  “No, that’s not what I’m saying at all. Joe strikes me as a thoughtful, methodical guy, not someone to fly off the handle. But he did fly off the handle.”

  “And so?” She really wished he’d get to the point. He certainly had recovered his wind.

  “And so, if on the very first night on this mountain, the most rational member of our group snapped and almost murdered another man for doing something he obviously didn’t do, what’s going to happen to us the longer we stay here? What’s happening to them now, with all those bad vibes surrounding them? If Steven were smart, he’d have stayed down here with us. You’re not there to protect him now, Igor. What if Joe goes crazy again? Who’s going to stop him?”

  “Bad vibes?” Nat had never heard the like come out of her producer’s mouth before. He was supposed to be the skeptical half of their equation.

  Andrew brushed her off with a wave of his hand. “Bad vibes, bad karma, negative energy, whatever you want to call it. I could feel it as soon as we set foot on this mountain. But up there—up there, they must be swimming in it.”

  “That’s ridiculous. It’s your imagination, nothing more. It’s because you know what happened up he
re. That would make anyone jump at shadows.”

  “It wasn’t my imagination when Joe went crazy last night. Did you see Anubha’s face? I’m willing to bet that was completely out of character for him. And what happened to the Dyatlov group wasn’t my imagination, either. Something drove them out of their tent and something tore them apart.”

  “Let’s talk about something else. You two are starting to freak me out,” Igor said.

  “Yeah, we shouldn’t talk about Joe when he’s not here to defend himself. Imagine if they’re doing the same to us.” Nat hoped they weren’t, but then again, would it be so bad if it gave the team an opportunity to vent a little? She was sure sticking to such a slow pace had been frustrating for them, some more than others.

  “Fine. Whatever. You asked for my theory, and I gave it to you.” Andrew leaned back, propping his feet in front of the flames.

  “That was your theory?” Nat couldn’t resist poking at him a little. “What, that Joe went mad and murdered everyone?”

  “Laugh at me if you want, but some places are just plain bad. You know it as well as I do. Remember Poveglia?” Andrew asked, referencing the most haunted island in the world. Poveglia had been the subject of their most popular cast to date. Nothing supernatural had happened during their visit, but there was an oppressive sense of dread about the place that infected you until you felt you’d go out of your mind. “I knew it was evil, the same way I know this place is evil. I’m willing to bet the reason it’s called Dead Mountain has nothing to do with the lack of game. People die here.”

  “Now you’re scaring me.” Nat rubbed her arms in a vain attempt to get rid of the goosebumps.

  “I think we should be scared. Like Steven said, this isn’t a celebration. We shouldn’t be acting like it is.”

  “You two can talk about evil all night if you want. Me, I’m going to have a drink.” Igor stood, stretching his hands so his knuckles popped. “Anyone want to join me?”

  “Whatcha got?” Andrew asked.

  “Andrew, are you sure that’s the smartest idea? What if Lana’s right, and you do have altitude sickness? I’m sure alcohol won’t help.”