Fire Lodge ( jenlisa )

Part 10

Jennie bent down to adjust the bindings on her snowshoes, then stood up to look at Jisoo and Chaeyoung.

"Lisa and Dahyun should be on the purple diamond trail," she said. "I know the lay of the land better than you do, so I'll walk the trail backward and you'll walk it frontward." She pulled a GMRS radio out of her pocket, fiddled with it for a second, and then put it away. "Before we move out, make sure you've got your radio and that its batteries are fully charged."

As she checked her radio, Jisoo asked "Why didn't Lisa have a radio?"

"Good question," Jennie said. "I should have told her to take one, but then again I shouldn't have had to tell her. There's plenty of blame to go around." But one look at Jennie's face showed that she was ready to accept all the blame herself if anything had happened to Lisa or Dahyun.

Just then Jihyo and Tzuyu came to the door, dressed for trekking. "We're ready to help look for Dahyun and Lisa," Tzuyu said.

"But we've got everything covered," Jennie said. "I don't want more people out on the search than I have to - I don't want to have to worry about you too."

"But you don't need to worry about us," Jihyo said. "We're both fully capable of taking care of ourselves. We've been coming here for years."

Jennie put her hand to her forehead as if she was getting a headache. "That's true," she said. "But I'd still worry about you."

Jiyho opened her mouth to respond, but Jennie kept on, steamrollering over any response she might have been about to make. "As a favor to me, please stay here. If we haven't found them by the time G-Dragon shows up, then we'll be in more of a position of needing all hands on deck and I'd be happy to have you come out. Deal?"

Before Jihyo could argue, Tzuyu said. "Deal. Do you have another radio so that we can keep track of the search?"

"There's one on the main desk. And thank you for understanding."

Tzuyu smiled at Jennie as she took Jihyo by the arm and led her back into the lodge.

"Okay then," Jennie said, 'unless you've got any questions, we should get on the trail."

Chaeyoung stepped up to Jennie and quietly said "Don't worry we'll find them."

Jennie nodded, as if willing it to be true. "I know. Are you sure you should bring Jisoo?"

Chaeyoung looked over at Jisoo and then back to Jennie. "She needs to learn, and this is as good a time as any. If she knows more about the backcountry, she won't be as likely to panic in future situations."

Jennie shrugged. "Well, if you're sure. Let's get going."

Jennie headed off down one, apparently unmarked branch of trail, turning back every so often to check for markings to be sure she was on the right path. Chaeyoung and Jisoo set off down the other branch of trail, Jisoo leading the way with Chaeyoung behind her so that she could keep an eye on her and offer suggestions.

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Chaeyoung and Jisoo headed up the trail, keeping their eyes open for the purple diamond markings. After about 20 minutes, Jisoo called for a stop so she could get some water. Chaeyoung caught up with her and took a sip of water from her own bottle.

"How are you holding up?" she asked.

"Not too bad," said Jisoo. "I jog in the city, but this is quite a bit harder."

"Well, be sure to pace yourself - we're likely to be out here the rest of the day and I don't want to have to drag you out."

"Would you really do that?"