Reindeer James

Chapter 23

Nick and James raced to the sleigh as the avalanche thundered above them. "This is bad. This is really, really bad," Nick said, his breath coming in frantic gasps. "We'll be popsicles by the time they dig us out."

"Not if I can help it!" James threw himself into the driver's seat, grabbing the reins.

The reindeer didn't wait for him to urge them forward. They galloped down the nearest tunnel, the constant rumbling of rocks breaking free from the walls drowning out their pounding hooves.

But the damage didn't stop there. No, cracks spidered through the veins of peppermint along the walls like jagged claws, widening with every rumble. Ruby's nose bathed the tunnels in a crimson glow as she and Tango struggled to outrun the damage. Even now that they were away from the collapsing cavern, James couldn't hear a word either of the reindeer said over the mountain's roar and their hoofbeats echoing in time with his hammering heart.

With Nick curled in on himself in a hyperventilating heap of anxiety, James had nothing but the FAST and his intuition to guide them to safety.

He grabbed the FAST so tightly his knuckles turned white, jerking the joystick each time they approached a branching path. They couldn't afford to stop, couldn't afford to think about which paths they'd taken to get to the cavern in the first place. All James could do was lead them downhill, racing to escape the mountain's wrath.

It was just like a video game, he told himself as he guided the reindeer through the seemingly endless maze of candy. A clear objective. Simple controls. A race he knew he could win.

At last, they found light at the end of a tunnel.

Tango whooped with exhilaration as they shot outside. "Finally! All that noise in there was starting to make me claustrophobic."

"The day I start being afraid of Santa is the day I grow fins and go live with the belugas," Ruby said with a laugh.

"That's not... never mind."

"Guys, we have much worse things to be afraid of right now!" Nick pointed a trembling finger behind them.

Churning whiteness rushed down the mountain like a ravenous beast, a deep booming growl echoing down the mountain as it swallowed everything in its path. Trees, boulders, stray tangles of licorice vines: all this and more disappeared beneath the avalanche.

And it was coming straight toward them!

Ruby and Tango rushed forward, sending the sleigh zooming down the mountain. James winced as his back slammed into the wood behind him. Icy wind lashed his face, and Nick shuddered beside him in teeth-chattering terror.

"Can't they fly us out of here?" Nick yelled.

"Not unless you want us to crash!" Ruby's hooves slipped and slid down the slope as she scrambled to keep up with Tango.

Even the older reindeer was starting to wear out. "I'm not sure how long we can keep this up," he said between gasps, his feedbag smacking him in the face as he ran at full tilt.

His feedbag that was still full of Mrs. Claus's special peppers.

"Eat the peppers!" James screamed as boulders rushed past them.

Ruby crunched the peppers between her teeth. "Hold on to your butts!"

Tango followed suit, downing his whole bag within seconds. "Ready when you are, Twinkle Nose."