Untouchable (ON HOLD)

Untouchable Ch.1

 Jason's snowboard was out of control. It was twenty degrees below zero, and the blowing snow made visibility nearly impossible as Jason frantically twisted his body left and right, trying to manoeuvre his board to a stop. A slight tremor suddenly shook the ski hill. An avalanche, although a very small one, shook the mountain. They were uncommon for a location this close to the base of the mountain, and Jason began to panic. He was preoccupied with trying to stop, and hit a pine tree, straight on. The sharp, coarse bark cut lightly into the skin on his face as Jason passed out into a pile of frozen snow. Snow rushed down the mountain like a furry, and in minutes Jason was completely submerged. He tried to stand, but was strapped to his board and the snow was freezing and this limited any possible movement Jason could have mustered.

All sound around Jason stopped, and he hoped this was because the avalanche had stopped, and not because the cold had taken over his body. Buried meters deep in the snow, he thought of everyone he would miss if anything happened to him.

His friends and roommates from college, who came on the trip to Whistler with him. They had all agreed to a contest to see who could race down the mountain the fastest. Jason, one of the more creative ones of the group (his major was photography), decided to veer a bit off course, to get an advantage over the others. Now, as he lay face down in the snow, Jason realized what a stupid plan that was.

He thought of his parents. They moved to Edmonton for his father's job, with Jason's little sister, Kat. His mom was originally born in the Philippines, and his dad was from Trinidad. Jason had been to Trinidad a few times, but his family hadn't been able to afford a trip to the Philippines. If Jason died now in the cold, his biggest regret would have been never visiting such a beautiful country.

Speaking of regrets, Jason thought it over and realized that his real biggest regret would definitely be his best friend Angelica. Her mother moved from the Philippines when Angelica was little, and Jason's mother helped their family get settled and accustomed to the new country. Angelica and Jason grew up together and were very close friends, but Jason liked her. Really liked her, and he had since the 8th grade, but he never told her. He told himself he didn't want to ruin the friendship, but if he was honest with himself, it was because he was a coward. A gutless, spineless fool who couldn't tell a girl he liked his true feelings or ski down a hill without landing face first in a mound of snow.

Jason felt his fingers going numb and thought of how smart Angelica was. She had come on the Whistler trip too, but had stayed back in the cabins, along with a few other girls that had come. Ah, the nice warm, dry cabins. Jason could picture it now, the cozy logged cabin, settled near the mountain's base. The others guys had their things laying on the floor in a wonderful, hideous mess, Jason's most prized possession, his camera, lay on the bed he designated as his, next to a picture of his family, and he thought of the warm, loving fire that was lit in the center of the cabin.

Jason felt like he was losing consciousness quickly, and all his thoughts consistently ran on the dry cabin and the toasty fire; how badly he wanted to be there. The mix of his dream-like state and his imagination running wildly must have gotten a hold of him because instead of the bitter cold, Jason suddenly felt a joyous warmth. His eyes flicked open and Jason was confused. The cabin he and his friends were staying in now surrounded him- he was there. Jason stood up very slowly and walked to the bathroom. For a brief moment, Jason feared he was in a dream, or that he had died and was now living on some separate plane, or something (he watched a lot of science fiction), but when he looked in the mirror he immediately disregarded these thoughts. Jason's face was full of small cuts that could have only come from rough wood, like a tree, because small splinters were inside some of the cuts. And, as he started to pick out his blisters, Jason arrived at another conclusion that he should have long ago. He was sopping wet, with bits of snow still melting in his hair.

So it really happened, Jason thought. He was trapped under snow, and now he was here? Jason paced the cabin floor, scared and confused, and tried to piece things together. He couldn't have walked here, he was trapped and nobody had rescued him, he was sure of that. Jason looked to the spot in the center of the cabin, where he found himself lying. There was a small indentation on the floor that was about the same size and weight as Jason's body. And where was his snowboard? It was only a rental that his friends helped pay for. They were sure going to be upset.

Upset! What was Jason thinking about? How long was he under that snow pile, 20 minutes? They would probably be more concerned about whether their friend was alive than if they got money back for a snowboard. What about Angelica? She must be more worried than anyone...

Jason shook his head in defiance as he rushed out the door to find his friends. He decided not to tell them about the incident in the cabin. If he couldn't explain to himself how he got there, how could he explain it to anyone else? No, as far as anyone was concerned, he somehow dug himself out of that snow pile. If Jason told everyone else that nothing happened, hopefully in time he could start to believe it himself.