Snowed In

Alicia was woken up by Sam or Harry shaking her violently, practically screaming for everyone to wake up. Her eyes fluttered open to be met with Liam’s before the pair slowly sat up, looking at Sam and Harry.

“What is it then?” Liam asked, his voice groggy with sleep.

“There’s a helicopter outside.” Harry said simply. They all strained their ears and sure enough they heard the unmistakable chopping of the wind. Everyone immediately shot up, their eyes wide.

“What do we do?” Elise asked, nuzzling closer to Louis.

“Shouldn’t we just run outside and, you know, flag them down?” Louis asked.

“They might not see us.” Zayn said simply. “What we need is a flare gun.” Alicia’s eyes flew open as she smiled, looking at Liam.

“There are flare guns in the shop. In the emergency kits we sell, right?” He beamed at her as the two looked back at the group.

“We’ll be right back!” He then grabbed Alicia, the two of them racing out of the room and through the collapsing resort on their way to the shop. It had never seemed so far before as they stumbled over broken bits of ceiling and snowdrifts, but Liam gripping Alicia’s hand was the only motivation she needed to keep going.

“Liam?” She asked as they kept running. He looked over, his brown eyes instantly warming her up.

“Yeah?”

“When we get out of here, I’m telling Mia what you did.” He chuckled at that before weaving their fingers together, pulling her along to keep up as the shop finally came into their sight.

“She’ll probably think it’s hilarious.” He said as they jumped over one last fallen beam before arriving at the gate. They ran inside before they started fumbling for a flashlight to find the emergency kits. “But when we get out of here, I want to meet your family too.”

“Sounds like a deal.” She said, he gave her hand a small squeeze before letting go, both of them groping the shelves until finally Liam let out a cry of victory. He turned on his flashlight, quickly finding a kit and grabbing it before shining it at Alicia. She giggled, but as his face turned white she stopped. “What?” She asked.

“Don’t move.” He whispered. She heard the small growl behind her and felt her blood run cold.

“Liam.” She whimpered. He slowly set down the flashlight, opening up one of the kits and pulling out the flare gun. He handed her the other before slowly pushing her back and taking her place. “What are you doing?” She asked.

“When I say now, run outside and shut the gate.”

“But-”

“Alicia, you’re going to have to trust me.” He said, trying to hide the shakiness in his voice. “Take the flashlight and the kit and when I say now, run.”

“Okay.” She whispered. She heard a small click before Liam turned to her.

“NOW!” She had only taken a step when she heard the flare gun go off and Liam shoved her towards the door, the two quickly pulling down the gate and locking it as the wolf howled inside. The two watched for a moment as the store began to catch fire, the clothes and skiing supplies burning before he took her hand. “Come on, his howling is going to attract the others.”

The two took off towards the room again, not stopping to joke, tease, or even be hopeful. All they knew was they had to get that flare into the sky or they were going to die here. Finally they threw open the door, tossing the kit to Niall.

He quickly made his way over to the window, his hands shaking before Annie rested her hand on his shoulder. He smiled at her and everyone watched as Niall shot the flare up into the sky. The bright red streak soared like a comet into the white skies as they all waited for something, anything.

But nothing happened.

Alicia felt all the strength drain out of her body as she slumped into Liam’s arms, gripping him. They had been too late, not one had seen the flare and now they were going to die when they had been so close. So damn close. She looked up, giving him a small, sad kiss when a voice broke them apart.

“Hello! Is anyone down there?” The group all looked at each other as they heard a Canadian accent that didn’t belong to Sam over a megaphone.

“YES!” They screamed, piling towards the window. “WE’RE HERE! HELP US!”

“Just hold on for a few more minutes! We’re going to land!” He cried. Everyone started cheering, tears running down their faces as hugs and kisses were exchanged freely. Alicia gripped Liam to her, burying her face in his neck as they waited until finally they saw them.

A rescue team made their way to the window, prying it off as they began taking everyone up. They took Niall first, even though he insisted the ladies should go before him. But because of his injury the team refused to argue. Annie was next, followed by Brenna, Elsie, and Sam. As they reached out for Alicia she gave Liam a tight squeeze.

“I’ll be right behind you love.” He promised. She nodded, giving him a small kiss before taking the man’s hand. He secured her onto his harness before starting to climb up the roof to where the helicopter must have landed. As she was loaded in with the other girls and Niall a blanket was tossed around her and a cup of hot chocolate pit in her hands. She couldn’t celebrate though, not until she saw Liam. She watched as the boys all came up. Louis, then Zayn, Harry and…

Finally she saw Liam’s warm brown eyes as he was pushed into the helicopter and took off. She gripped him to her, tears streaming down everyone’s faces as they realized this was real. Alicia smiled as she looked around. Niall had Annie wrapped securely in his arms as she insisted her family’s hot chocolate was better. Zayn and Brenna were planning a trip to New York. Louis And Elsie were just gripping each other and laughing, Elise crying uncontrollably. And Harry just held Sam as the two whispered to each other, giggling every now and again. And as Liam pulled Alicia close it finally hit her.

They were alive, and they were going home.