Ice by Lyn Gardner

all sides, the little plane had been pummeled by opposing wind currents throughout the flight.
    Between rolling side-to-side, and feeling as if they were driving down a rutted dirt road, the small craft had bounced, dipped and tilted more than a dozen times. And while Alex had not yet needed to use an airbag, twice she had winced as she heard Maggie heave into the plastic-lined paper sack. Worried that she hadn’t seen Maggie move in over twenty minutes, Alex reached over and placed her hand on the woman’s forehead, and instantly, Maggie jerked away.
    “Relax, I’m just checking,” Alex said, checking her temperature. “Christ, you’re hot.”
    Welcoming the feel of Blake’s cold hand on her head, Maggie said, “I know.”
    “Have you taken anything?”
    “No, I’m out.”
    Reaching into her jacket pocket, Alex opened the stolen bottle of painkillers. Quickly putting two in her hand, she handed them to Maggie. “Here, take these.”
    “Where did you—”
    “Don’t ask,” Alex said with a guilty grin. Opening her backpack, she pulled out a bottle of water and placed it in Maggie’s lap. “You’ll need this.”
    “I can’t. It’s yours,” Maggie said, trying to give her back the bottle.
    Shaking her head, Alex said, “I’m fine, Campbell. You need it more than I do.”
    Too weak to argue, Maggie quickly swallowed the pills. Taking a few more sips of water to ease the pain in her throat, she slowly capped the bottle. “How long…do you know?”
    Shaking her head, Alex turned to the pilot, and shouting over the hum of the engine, she asked, “Hey, how long before we get there?”
    Turning partially in his seat to answer, when the plane suddenly dropped, Busby’s large, knobby hands gripped the yoke as he fought to correct the problem. Like a roller coaster, the Cessna dipped and rose, and then, without warning, the air grew quiet as the engine shut off.
    “Shit!” he muttered as his hands flew across the instruments, trying desperately to restart the engine.
    “Oh, Christ,” Alex blurted, casting a quick look in at the wide-eyed woman sitting to her right.
    “We’ve got a problem,” he said as the plane continued to glide downward. “I can’t get it started…so we might have to land a little sooner than we had planned.”
    “What? Where ?” Alex exclaimed.
    “There’s a place not far from here…had a fire a few years back…burned down a lot of trees. It should be large enough.”
    “And if it’s not?” Alex yelled back.
    “Honey, we don’t have a choice.”
    Returning his attention to the matter at hand, Busby quickly began to make the plane ready for an emergency landing. Shutting off the fuel to reduce the risk of a fire, he adjusted the flaps to slow their speed, and banking slightly, he headed the Cessna into the wind to slow it down even more. Fighting against the currents jostling the plane, he gripped the yoke with determination.
    Within seconds after Busby’s announcement, Maggie bowed her head and began to pray. Alex saw her make the sign of the cross, and even though she could see that Maggie’s lips were moving, Alex didn’t strain to listen. She knew that the words Maggie was whispering were only meant for God’s ears.
    Alex also said a quick prayer, but she was smart enough to know that they needed more than just prayers. They needed a shitload of luck. If they survived the landing, they would still have to contend with the cold and the blackness of night, so she began to study the inside of the cabin as if it were a crime scene. As fast as she could, she committed everything she could see to memory, assuming once the plane landed the minimal interior lightning would go out and leave them fumbling in the dark.
    “We’ve only got a few minutes, so listen closely. Okay?” Busby yelled.
    Startled from her thoughts, Alex looked toward the cockpit. “Yeah, go ahead.”
    “I’ve got to keep the landing gear up…it’s safer that way…but they’ve already had