Fiona Frost's Arc

Chapter 2 of 3

Fiona had been in position for three hours when the first alert blinked red on her weather monitor. She leaned forward in her chair, studying the pressure gradient. The front was moving faster than the forecast predicted. Much faster. She picked up the stuffed polar bear that sat on the console, a prop left behind by a contestant during auditions. Her fingers pressed into its soft fur as she watched the screens. Camera seven showed Rafael building a shelter in the exposed valley. Camera nine caught Mia and Priya hiking toward the ridge. The storm would hit them in ninety minutes, maybe less. She could pull them all back now, lose the footage of them racing against weather they didn't know was coming. Or she could wait thirty more minutes and capture genuine panic. Her thumb traced the bear's worn ear. The ratings would be incredible. She set the bear down and reached for her radio. "All contestants, this is base. Emergency recall. Return to the lodge immediately." The words cost her the best footage of the season, but she'd made her choice. She was still a meteorologist, even if the network wanted her to forget it. The screens showed contestants turning back, confused but compliant. Rafael abandoned his half-built shelter without knowing how close he'd come to needing it. Fiona watched them file toward safety and felt something shift inside her. She'd chosen people over ratings this time, but the network would expect different next time. She couldn't play scientist and showrunner forever. Eventually she'd have to pick one.