The Snow Leopard's Home (Glacier Leopards 3)

Joel rubbed his forehead. "Here we go."

"Where was your radio? How did you end up at the bottom of a crevasse? Why didn't you contact someone to let them know where you were? You know I thought you might be dead? I sincerely thought you could be dead out here in the snow somewhere. What kept you from telling anyone what happened?"

Zach broke off, breathing hard. Joel waited a second after he stopped. "Are you done?" he asked. "Okay, then let me tell you what happened. I found the campsite with the couple who said their kid had gone missing. I figured he was climbing around on the rocks so I went off a ways and shifted to sniff around and see where he might have gone. When I caught his scent, I shifted back and grabbed my gear. I went up the mountainside a ways, further than I thought he would've gone, and just when I was about to radio in a missing child and double back to keep looking somewhere else, I saw him up on a rock just over there." Joel waved a bit up-slope, to where a rocky overhang loomed over the edge of the crevasse. “Found out later that he’d climbed up to try and figure out the way back. He’d been lost for a while.

"You can't see the drop from up there, so when he slid down the side, he didn't know he was just going to keep going until he hit bottom, he thought he'd just end up on the ground. I shouted, but it was too late, so I had to run and try to catch him. I was just a little too late—grabbed his jacket, but went over the side with him, and we both slid all the way down. I caught a few bumps and bruises, but I kept myself between him and the ice, so he was fine, and the incline was enough to keep the impact from hurting too bad."

"What about your radio?" Zach asked. "Why didn't you call in?"

Joel dug in his pocket and came up with his radio. It was smashed. "I must have caught it on a rock during the fall. Let me tell you, I would've rather gotten hurt. I cursed a blue streak when I saw it, traumatized poor Andy's ears."

Zach was more concerned about Joel than about Andy's ears. "You couldn't climb out?"

Joel shook his head. "I might've managed if I could've shifted but with the kid..." He kept his voice soft to keep Andy from overhearing, but glanced over to where the kid was answering Jeff's questions. "It wasn't happening. And even if I'd been okay showing him the leopard, or if I'd gone off a ways down the crevasse and shifted while I was out of sight, I couldn't leave him alone for that long. It would've taken hours to get somewhere with a working radio and then get back to check on him. He could've gotten frostbite or hypothermia, and at the very least he'd have been scared out of his mind."

Zach nodded grudgingly. In his head, he knew all of this was true, and he probably could've figured most of it out on his own. His instincts, though, were yelling at him to pin Joel down and teach him a lesson for getting into danger like this and giving Zach such a hell of a scare.

"Besides," Joel added, with a hint of his old rebellious grin, "I knew you'd show up eventually."

Zach punched him in the arm.

"Ow, hey!" Joel gripped his bicep with his other hand, laughing. "I've been in mortal danger, here!"

"If you gentlemen are finished," came Cal's dry voice behind Zach. They both straightened.

"Sorry," Zach apologized. "I should've let him talk to you first."

"Better late than never. Joel, it looks like you successfully kept yourself and the kid safe and warm overnight out here."

Joel nodded. "I had my emergency supplies, so we had rations and a few things to help keep us from freezing. Taught the kid how to conserve warmth and protect the extremities. Radio was broken, but we managed just fine anyway. Thanks for finding us."

"It was a group effort." Cal motioned them both away from the edge of the crevasse, and they went to join the others. "Good work," he said quietly to Joel as they walked.

Zach glanced over at Joel as Cal went to talk to the kid. "Yeah," he said. "That was good work, Joel. You kept yourself and

the kid alive, and he seems just fine—not even scared."

"Oh, yeah," Joel said. "I think his parents are going to have a hard time keeping him from going on any more unauthorized camping trips. He was scared at first, and here and there throughout the night, but overall I might have made it into too much of an adventure."

"Better than the other way around." Zach took a breath. "I'm proud of you."

Joel looked over at him, surprised, and smiled. "Hey. Thanks."

"No charge. And if you ever do anything like that to me again, I will hurt you."

"Have to catch me first." Joel darted over to the rest of the rangers, accepting a handshake from Grey and a noogie from Jeff, and exchanging a nod with the more reserved Tyson. Zach shook his head and followed.

***

It was hard work keeping the Morrisons from completely freaking out, but Teri thought she did a good job. She made them set up an emergency medical station with what supplies they had, organize the campsite to make sure nothing would be in the way when the rangers got there, and quizzed them on camping safety as they worked. She was surprised at how much she remembered from her volunteer days in high school. She'd been putting the rules into practice whenever she went hiking or camping in the Park before her accident, but it had been years and years since she'd had to list them out like that.

Finally, after what felt like a year of waiting—although she was sure it was worse for the Morrisons—the radio crackled.

"Found them," came a gruff voice that Teri was pretty sure belonged to Cal. "Joel and Andy both. They're just fine. Be back at the campsite ASAP."

"Got it," Teri told him, wishing she knew what the protocols were for acknowledging communications on the rangers' radio line. "Thanks." She turned to the Morrisons. "Andy's safe. They're bringing him back now."

The next thing she knew, she was being hugged tight. She flailed a little, but managed to turn it into a return hug without too much awkwardness. Jean held her hard, fingers digging in. "Thank you," she was saying over and over, "thank you, thank you."