‘No way. I’ll go down but I’m damned if I’m going to be tied to you.’

‘Stop fooling about,’ Renzo demanded.

‘I mean it. Just keep away from me.’ He said the last words on a shout, skiing away fast.

‘Let’s go,’ Renzo muttered.

He connected her to the rope and they began the descent. Mandy heard the swift rushing noise of the skis on the snow. The sound seemed to build up in her ears, growing more ominous until she realized that she was listening to something different-something terrifying. The snow was moving.

Suddenly the movement was everywhere-behind her, beside her, around her, growing louder.

‘Renzo!’ she shrieked.

‘We must get ahead of it,’ he shouted. ‘Quick as you can! Don’t do that!’

The shout was jerked from him as she glanced over her shoulder and saw the snow sweeping down on them, faster every moment, thundering, threatening. She knew in that instant that they would never escape it, but she skied on, still roped to Renzo, feeling him draw her forwards in a frantic attempt to outrun the danger.

Then thought stopped, sensations ceased to be separate and blended into one storm of fear and horror. The whole world was white, above and below her, behind and in front. Nothing but white existed. Nothing ever had or ever would again.

She didn’t see the wall that loomed up behind the white, didn’t know it was there until she slammed into it. Her skis hit first, saving her from some of the impact. Even so, she was left breathless and half stunned. A scream of fear and dread broke from her and she looked around frantically.

‘Renzo! Renzo! Where are you?’

‘Here.’ His voice reached her from a few inches away but she couldn’t see him underneath the snow.

‘Where are you? Oh, God!’

To her desperate relief, she felt his hand groping out of the snow to touch hers, seize it firmly.