by Tim Mettey
Riley and Cora arrived home earlier than I expected. Bryce was now with his dad at their apartment. They told us that the entrance to the apartment had a large snow drift in front of it, making it impossible to get in or out, just like Elle’s. The four of us sat down to eat the lunch that Genevieve and I fixed—a family favorite to warm us up. We each had a bowl of Amish chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes with cornbread on the side. It wasn’t as fancy as Cora’s meals, but she looked happy to see it on the table. Cora stopped everyone from eating so she could bless the food. I guess she was hoping that a prayer would help us get through the night. I wasn’t sure if it would, but I was glad she did. We needed all the help we could get.
None of us talked. I guess they were listening to the same thing I was—the storm had increased in its intensity again and the loud cracking of falling tree limbs was picking up. The sounds were agonizing. It seemed worse than last night. We cleared the table and ended up in the family room again, around the fireplace. Cora closed all of the doors into the family room just in case the power went out again. I stoked the dwindling fire and added a couple more logs to get it really going. Genevieve and I settled in front of the window again watching the snow fall. Cora and Riley were playing cards on the couch.
Genevieve had eased her way up against me with the cover over us. She had fallen asleep. I was so hot with her body against mine. I didn’t mind, but why? I loved Elle more than anything, but the connection with Genevieve had become so strong. I felt like I needed it, too. The connection we had was because we were part of the 4, and also because we had no secrets. It was nice to be able to share everything with someone. Elle and I were soul mates; she was and always would be the love of my life, but maybe Genevieve was part of my soul too, or at least right now she was helping to repair it.
Riley and Cora continued to play cards while we sat there. They were laughing and giggling so hard at one point that it woke up Genevieve. They were like two kids who had crushes on each other. The white blur of falling snow was slowly turning to grey. The sun was trapped behind the thick wall of clouds and was now setting. Cora and Riley both got up and went into the kitchen, hopefully to make dinner.
The fire in me began to burn, taking me by surprise. The snow slowed to a stop in mid-air. I could see through all of the snow. Someone was standing out by the street. Something round and grey caught my eye. It was suspended in the snow just a couple of feet away. It was coming right toward the top of the window. It slowly worked its way closer to us. Where it touched the window, it looked like it was being pushed in, like a bulge was forming in the glass. I examined it more closely. Behind the glass on the outside was a large, polished grey rock. It was pushing into the glass and was about to break through. I fell off the ledge, pulling a sleeping Genevieve onto the floor with me. Then time resumed. The rock broke through the window and slammed into the wall across the room. Both Riley and Cora were next to us as soon as the window shattered. I didn’t wait for anyone. I jumped out of the broken window and chased after whoever was running down the road away from me. I was moving so fast that snow was slowly falling around me. My muscles flexed violently, propelling me forward even faster. The snow began to fall at such a slow rate that time was almost standing still. The person running left a tunnel clear of any snow. Whoever it was, was running almost as fast as me. Riley was behind me. He was pretty far back, but I knew he was there, following us. I didn’t have on my jacket, but I didn’t feel the cold at all. I was gaining ground rapidly. I was almost within striking distance.
The person turned sharply down a street and I followed. When I made the turn, a snow truck was barreling right toward me. I moved out of the way of the blade that was closing in on me. I swung my head and body clear of it, but it still managed to graze my shoulder. I could feel the warm blood running down my arm and back. The figure I was following disappeared. I stopped. What if this was a trick to get us away from the house? Instead of trying to pursue the vanished figure any farther, I stopped and turned back. Riley grabbed me as I went by, but I pulled away from him. There was no time to talk. He chased after me toward the house. I couldn’t let anything happen to Genevieve and Cora.
Back at the house, I saw the figure enter the side yard and begin climbing up our wood pile, trying to get on top of the roof. From there it would be easy to get in through the unlatched window. I ran as fast as I could. I lowered my shoulder and tried to hit the person just like I was playing football. I didn’t hit squarely, but I did manage to make some contact, knocking both of us back into a tree. I jumped back up, looking for another chance, but the person fled into the woods. I didn’t dare chase whoever it was. I had to check on the girls.
I ran past the broken window to the front door, which was locked. I banged on it. Riley was next to me now, banging too. “Let us in,” we yelled.
The door flew open. Genevieve and Cora both stood in a defensive position. We pushed them back into the house and I slammed the door, locking it. Genevieve and Riley went through the house quickly to make sure it was secure. Cora and I went to the garage and grabbed a sheet of plywood that the previous owners had left. We put it up over the broken window, securing it tightly with nails where the window used to be. Then we took another piece and put it over the window that wouldn’t latch in the spare bedroom. Cora saw the gash on my shoulder. She ripped open my blood-soaked shirt and began to treat it. The fire in me had died down. I could barely feel it, but I knew it was there for me, ready at any time.
“Nicholas, don’t leave without backup next time,” Riley said, still trying to catch his breath, sitting down on the couch next to Cora.
“You were behind me, weren’t you?”
He rolled his eyes at me. “We need to go somewhere safe,” Riley said, “and we need to check on Bryce and Elle, because I am sure that whoever that was could easily get to them if they wanted to.”
I pulled on my jacket when Cora finished up my bandage.
“No, I didn’t mean that we have to check on Elle and Bryce right now, Nicholas. It’s too dangerous to go out. It could be a trap. They want us out in the open to separate us,” Riley said.
“We need to take care of ourselves right now. They will be fine,” Cora said.
“You may be right about that, but we have to be sure,” I said.
Genevieve hadn’t said a thing. She was holding something in her hand. She opened her hand to reveal the grey rock that smashed through the window.
She held it up and said, “The rock has words on it. ‘We know what you are looking for,’” she said, and then she dropped it like it was a poisonous apple. It tumbled away from her, ending up near the fireplace.
“I’m going,” I said. No one stopped me. They all put on their jackets and followed me out into the raging blizzard.
My truck slipped and slid all the way to Elle’s house. Genevieve held on tightly to the handle above her head next to the window. When we got to Elle’s house, I didn’t give Genevieve the option of checking on Elle like she did last time. I was going to do it. I got out and sank into the snow. I began to run; I didn’t run with as much grace as Genevieve. Each one of my steps sank deep into the snow. I must have looked like a mini snow tornado moving around the house because of the amount of snow I was kicking up. Elle’s house was surrounded by towering snow drifts that would make it impossible to get in and out. They were safe.
Riley and Cora got home right after we did.
“So what did you find?” I asked.
“Both Bryce and his dad are still in the apartment. The front door had been dug out, but it’s now covered by more snow. And you?”
“Elle’s house was exactly as we left it,” I said. Genevieve nodded.
“God help us if Bryce isn’t the 4th,” Cora said, taking Riley’s hand. After that there wasn’t anything else to say. We were all on pins and needles, flinching every time we heard something outside, just waiting for the next attack. I was unusually tired, feeling as though all of my energy was gone, just barel
y alive. The night was long and none of us slept. We just listened. We decided that our house was still the safest place to be. Even though we couldn’t see outside any longer, we knew that they couldn’t see us either.
We all huddled near the fire, because the electricity went out again around 2:00 a.m. It wasn’t because of any foul play or stray branch; it was because the generator needed more fuel. It was too dangerous to go out there, so each of us wrapped ourselves in extra blankets. It was colder than the night before. All of the heat from the room was being sucked out much faster through the plywood.
“I am going to put fuel in the generator. We might freeze to death if we wait until morning,” Riley said, standing.
“No way, Riley, it’s way too dangerous to go out there. We will be fine in here,” Cora said, standing up, grabbing him, and sitting him back down.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I am just going to be gone for ten minutes.”
I had a bad feeling about this too.
“No, you aren’t going out there,” I said. “We agreed this would be the safest spot and now it is the warmest spot, too. We can’t split up again. We need to stick together so everyone is safe. We are the strongest together. It has taken me far too long to realize that, but I do now.”
The rest of the night the four of us huddled together next to the fireplace, trying to stay warm. I kept the fire burning as hot as I could all night. We just had to make it until morning.