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by Dianne Kochenburg

After three days of drifting and blowing snow, the storm finally quit. Sidney could tell without even looking out the window. It was calm, no wind whistling under the door, and no tree branches hitting each other. The sun was shining, brightening up the room. Maybe she would see blue skies if she pulled apart the heavy curtains and opened up the mini-blinds. A hopeful note to start the day.

Mercifully, the electricity was still on, as it had been throughout the storm. They had tried to watch TV, especially the news, but the reception had been sporadic. The little antenna was still up on top of their steeply pitched roof so Matt blamed their poor picture on weather interference. Too bad they didn’t have cable, too bad they couldn’t get cell phone calls. Well, hell, too bad they were here in the first place.

It was three weeks now that they’d been stuck at Goose Lake, even the geese had better sense than they did. They were long gone way before the two of them started to pack up on that fateful Sunday. Now they were nearly smothered under piles of snow, thirty miles from the nearest town, no way to get there, except maybe walk. They had no snow shoes, no skis, and no realistic idea about how to get out of this increasingly desperate situation.

Sidney tried not to think about Lynne, her beloved daughter. Had Lynne begun to wonder why they hadn’t called?  Was she beginning to get concerned, like when some little thought is just at the edge of your consciousness: why hasn’t mom called, where are they? She was probably thinking her parents were having too much fun aboard ship, probably off somewhere exotic with new friends, seeing strange places, eating out, maybe drinking and dancing the nights away. Could she possibly be thinking that, Sidney wondered.

Maybe it would be better not to imagine the what-ifs. Like what if her daughter was frantically trying to contact them but couldn’t find the little scrap of paper that Sidney wrote their itinerary on. Maybe Lynne hadn’t yet considered that the first big snowfall of the year occurred on exactly the day they were supposed leave Goose Lake. Lynne, she wanted to shout, when are you going to put it together? You haven’t received a postcard, an email, or even a text message. You should start worrying. NOW.

When Sidney had those thoughts, she began to get angry. Why hadn’t somebody checked on them yet? Didn’t they care? Wouldn’t she have alerted the sheriff’s department by now if the situation were reversed? Where is the helicopter? Where are the forest rangers? Where are the search parties? Best not to think those thoughts.

Just shake it off and get on with the day, she decided, slipping one toe outside their warm little bed nestled under the slopping wall of the A-frame cottage. They were warm and dry, they still had some food supplies, there was firewood, and warm water, a stove that worked well, and best of all, she had learned how to bake bread.

Her first loaf was sort of hard and disappointing, but then she began to get the hang of it. By her third loaf, she figured it out. You can make bread out of very limited ingredients. The main thing is flour and yeast, something to wet it with, like milk, some sugar and a little cooking oil. She used dried powdered milk that she stirred up with water. That’s probably why Maggie had it on hand – for bread. Stir it all up and then knead it with your hands, adding more flour until it looks like bread dough. That was the hardest part, figuring out when it’s ready to rise. You leave the floury lump of dough in a bowl with a clean tea towel over it, in a warm place. Like the top of the stove near a bubbling pot of beans. If the yeast is good, the bread will rise. Next is the hard part, you have to pound it down, shape it into a loaf and let it rise again. Then bake. Voila! Bread. Lots of work, and time consuming, but in Sid’s case, what else did she have but time.

That reminded her, she made two loaves yesterday. They had eaten part of the first loaf but there was enough left for several days, even if they each had a thick slice for breakfast. Unfortunately, the ingredients would run out soon. She’d have to ration them. Also, they better make another run to Maggie’s to see if there was any more flour and yeast hanging around. Sid couldn’t remember if they had totally cleaned out that kitchen. When they were there before, Sid wasn’t too interested in such things as flour and yeast. But now that she had a new skill, maybe she’d see stuff she hadn’t seen before in Maggie’s kitchen. The big task would be to wade through the snow to their cabin. It wasn’t far, but even a walking a short distance in all this snow would a minor miracle.

Matt would be motivated. Bread was a big motivator. They could have bread for Thanksgiving if they had enough flour and yeast. Probably Matt would like to take another look around the Clausens for other things too. They needed batteries and booze. They didn’t know the Clausens well enough. Did they like wine? Martinis? Sipping whiskey? Matt would be eager to investigate all those questions.

They would take their time, look around the cabin. After all, nobody would interrupt them. It seemed creepy to be in somebody else’s place though. Definitely wrong. But they would just get over those feelings, for now anyhow. She’d make a list of things they could use, like books, of course, and magazines. Matches. Another snow shovel. They only had one shovel and a broom. Matt could check again for snow shoes or skis. He had looked around before but maybe not well enough. Pet food. The Clausens had a dog, maybe Toast wouldn’t turn her nose up at dog food these days. Worth a try.

As soon as Sidney got dressed she would write the list. If the Clausens didn’t have what they needed, they had two other options, break into the lodge or break into another cabin. The lodge was closer than the next cabin, but it would be more difficult to get into. Matt had given it some thought. He figured their best chance of supplies was the lodge, but they’d have a hard time opening those big doors. There was a chance they’d have snow shoes in there, which Matt and Sidney could use about now. He didn’t think they could walk 30 miles to town in them, but if they had them it would be easier to get around outside. As it was now, even walking a few steps in the snow was slow and painful.

“So, what are you thinking about, Sid?” Matt asked, as he rolled over in bed and snuggled a little closer.

“Not what you are thinking, my friend,” she answered. “I’m making a mental list of what we need to steal next, either from Maggie or from sources unknown as yet.”

“Oh yeah. Like what?”

“Booze and bread making stuff, to be specific,” Maggie answered, as she pushed off the covers and toed around for her slippers.

“Okay, okay. I’m with you. Toast and I will be up in a minute.”

Sidney yanked off his covers just to make sure, and then she tied her robe together and headed for the kitchen.

The sky was indeed blue, the bluest of blues, what she might once have called IBM blue, but she didn’t think about computers very often these days. The sun was shining through the tree branches and sending glimmers of sunlight bouncing off the snowy lakebed. Little birds perched on the tree branches, twittering in the sunlight and nibbling at pinecone seeds. Squirrels peaked out at her, begging a handout. Sidney remembered that she used to fill the bird feeders in the springtime when the birds were nesting. There was probably some old seed somewhere in the cottage.

Think again, little ones, Sidney muttered to herself. I might not have the guts to eat you, but I’m not going to throw food at you that I might be able to eat myself. She was reminded of a Survivor TV episode from a few seasons past, where the players ended up toasting chicken feed over an open fire in a iron skillet and eating it for a snack. They loved it. Those players had no trouble wringing the necks of their captive chickens when they got hungry. Then she remembered another episode where contestants barbecued rats and ate them. Would it come to that for her and Matt? She hoped not.

The air smelled fresh, like pine scented candles, only better. Everything was crisp and clean, the snow powdery and fresh, not too many tracks yet. All the little animals, at least the ones that had survived, were taking advantage of the sunlight. Time to eat, and groom, and keep a lookout for predators that might be creeping up on them at this very minute.

They decided to go to the lodge. Matt was in the cellar making last minute adjustments to some homemade snowshoes that they were going to try out. He had nailed and glued together some thin boards with netting strung under them. They would tie them onto their boots and hope they would stay on long enough to walk to the lodge. They each had a backpack, and Matt would pull the little sled. He also had with him a few tools for the break in, a couple of flashlights, and two roadside flares for protection, should they run into any animals.

Sidney reminded him of the Girl Scout rule for fending off wild animals while hiking. Make lots of noise and don’t walk softly. If they can hear you, feel you or smell you ahead of time, they will probably run away. Humans are the scariest predator of all and most animals would rather run than come nose to nose with humans, according to the animal’s handbook for staying alive.

The snow was deep, maybe three or four feet deep in the places where it hadn’t drifted into piles. It was too difficult to climb up the driveway to the road. Matt figured they would walk along the shore, even though it was rather hard to know exactly where the ground ended and the edge of the lake began. The big landmarks were still there, covered into snowy mounds, and their path had been obliterated.

It was high noon when they started out, they figured that would be the best time not to run into any animals. It was a short walk to the lodge under normal conditions, who knew how long it would take them today, or what they might find when they got there.

The homemade snow shoes were awkward, Sidney had a hard time keeping them on top of the snow. Matt coached her to use her knees, pick them up and plop the shoe down, not exactly like normal walking. The snow crunched and rose up around boots. They weren’t pointed like skis, which made it difficult, she kept stubbing them into the snow and then falling.

Matt said, “Sid, you gotta try to keep your balance. See how I do it. And you better be careful when you fall. These things aren’t all that sturdy.” As he was showing her his technique, he slipped and fell, just exactly like she had been doing.

“Oh, like that. Now I see,” she said, grinning.

“You know what we should have?” Matt decided, ignoring her.

“What?”

“Ski poles. For balance.”

“Yes, that would be just the thing. Too bad we don’t have ski poles. And skis, or even better, too bad we don’t have real snow shoes. Don’t get me started, Matt. This is hard.”

Matt said, “I know, I know. Let’s get moving. We’re almost there.”

Sidney turned around and looked at their snow prints. Maybe it would be easier going back. They had sort of broken a trail, bread crumbs wouldn’t be needed.

Finally, the lodge was in front of them. They knew it because they could see the top half of the shuttered windows and the big doors. The roofline was totally covered in deep snow with the chimney the only black thing standing tall. It looked more like a snow mound than a building. The hardest part of their walk would be groping their way up the gentle slope to the lodge itself, which stood just off the lake.

“Oh, my god, how are we ever going to get in there?” Sidney whispered. The lodge was simply buried in snow, which had drifted around it where the wind had blown in from the lake.

“This is wild. Here’s what a lodge looks like in the winter when nobody is paying attention. Nobody plowed the road or the parking lot, nobody swept the porch or shoveled a trail. Look at all that snow on the roof. If it slid off, we’d have ourselves a real avalanche, Sid.

“Let’s walk around the back. Maybe it’s not so bad there,” Matt suggested, as they carefully made their way around the building.

“Don’t get too close to those big drifts. I have no idea how stable they are. Remember how easily the snow came off of our roof.”

“Okay, Matt. I’m right behind you,” Sidney said.

“Do you remember where the back door to this place is?” Matt asked.

“Well, sure. It’s not really at the back, it’s like at the side, where the trucks could pull up, you know, for deliveries.” She looked carefully at the snow mound in front of her as they headed around the side of the lodge. “I’m not exactly sure where the back porch is. This is as far as I got when I saw the bear.”

They were looking at the side entrance to the building, the second story window shutters were visible, and the main roof angled away from several windows on either side. Below them was the delivery entrance to the grocery store, with a small porch that usually had a railing on it, and then several stairs coming down toward the side parking lot. Matt figured that if the snow slid off the roof it would head directly towards the front of the building. The porch area would only get the leftover snow that might creep around the side.

Maybe their luck was changing. This side entrance wasn’t nearly as buried as the rest of the lodge. It was on the leeward side, the lodge front side blocked the wind and that’s where the snow was piled the deepest. The big tree canopy on the back side had helped keep it cleared too.  Once they climbed through the drifts, they could see the porch and the side door. The stairs were snow-packed but it wasn’t nearly as deep as the front. The porch was nearly clean.

Matt had taken a couple of serious falls already on their make-do snow shoes. He could feel his knee beginning to stiffen up. They needed to walk back on these damned things, and hopefully, they would be loaded down with supplies. He had to conserve energy.

 “Come one, Sid, let’s head for the porch and see what we can do about getting in.”

When they reached the porch, they both got to work pushing snow off the steps. Next they removed their snow shoes and left them at the foot of the stairs, along with the little sled. Eventually, they were able to climb up to the porch, and push off enough snow with their mittened hands to make a trail to the door.

Matt examined the shutters. “Bingo,” he said, prying at the boards, “there’s a latch right here, same as our shutters. If I can unloosen it, they’ll lift right off.”

Sidney peered at the shutters and then back to Matt. “Anything I can do to help?”

“No, I just have to unhook these damned things. They’re stuck hard, like frozen. Probably from the cold.”

Matt worked them a little and blew on the first latch, then wiggled it some more. Eventually the bolt seemed to loosen up and slide free. There were two latches, one on each side of the window. Once they were unlocked, Matt was able to lift the shutters off the window. It was a four pane window with some advertising stickers on the slower panes and a hanging sign with store hours posted on it.

“Try the door knob, Matt. Just for fun. Maybe it’s not locked,” Sidney suggested as she stamped her feet and clapped her mittens together.

“I did already. It’s locked,” Matt answered. “But I don’t see a deadbolt, so maybe I can just reach in and open it once I break the glass.” Matt pulled out his flashlight from his backpack and gently tapped the glass with it. The glass shattered easily. He knocked free the pieces that remained until the entire pane was open and reached in.

“Hmm. The knob won’t turn. Oh, wait. There’s a lock on it, just like ours. Hard to turn with these gloves on. Ah, got it now.” He tried the door knob again and it finally turned. Matt leaned against the door and it cracked open, reluctantly admitting them into the darkened room. They entered the cold, dark space and as they did, a gust of wind sprang up and blew.

“Guess we better close that door.”

Matt pushed on the door shut. Some weak sunlight came in through the window. After a few seconds their eyes became more accustomed to the tomb-like darkness. They both had flashlights which they switched on. Matt stepped deeper into the room and they both heard a quick, sharp snapping sound. They both stopped in their tracks and looked at each other.

“What the hell was that?” Sidney asked.

Matt played the light around the room. Beside them was the short counter with the cash register. Usually there would be newspapers piled up, and a box of candy bars for sale on the counter top. Now it was bare. Ahead of them was the grocery shelf, one side for food like canned goods and staples. The other side held household stuff, paper products, soaps and miscellaneous odds and ends that cabin owners needed. Against the opposite side wall was where customers could find fishing tackle and sports equipment, tee shirts and sweats, things tourists might want. At the back was a row of shelves that held baskets where they usually kept the fresh veggies and fruit in the summer. There was also a small refrigerator with a glass door that held soft drinks, and what few food items that needed to stay cold. There would be sodas, milk, butter and eggs, some cheese, a few cold cuts, the usual offerings that you’d expect to find in a small convenience store.

Straight back was a closed door leading into a storage room. And at the end of the counter on the right hand side was an open doorway that led to the main part of the lodge. On the wall in back of the counter was a set of cubbies for mail sorting. For a small fee, Sam and Beth held mail in those slots for cabin owners. During the summer the postal workers would come by every day to drop off and pick up the mail. Sidney always looked forward to days when there was a letter for her, or better yet, a package. She often ordered things to be delivered here. She looked at her mail slot. Nothing for her today.

Matt played the light around the room. It looked pretty bare. Then he checked the floor. “Ah-hah! That’s what I heard. Look, Sid, I’ve snapped a mouse trap. See there are lots of traps on the floor.”

“Oh, yuck. Mice. I didn’t know they had mice in here.” Sidney looked around. Sure enough, she could see mouse traps here and there, and small piles of greenish grit that she knew was rodent bait. They used that stuff in their garage back home. There was an over-turned mouse trap at Matt’s foot. He had sprung it, causing the snapping sound they heard.

“That explains why everything is so bare,” Matt said. “Mice will eat just about anything, even clothing, if they get hungry enough. Wonder what they do with all their supplies when they close up for the winter?”

Matt stepped closer to the grocery shelf and shined his light on it. Top shelf bare, but the second shelf down, pushed back he found some canned food. “Bingo,” he cried with delight, “we’ve struck gold, Sidney. There are some cans here. Can we use these?”

He started picking up cans, pork and beans, tuna, and others were dropped into his backpack. Sidney started helping out. “Take all of these if you can,” she said. “But not the mustard, we don’t need that. Here’s some syrup. Hold off on that. Mayo. Yummy.”

“Wow, my pack is getting heavy. Hand me yours. What’s on the other side of the aisle, Sid?”

“Did you say we needed batteries? There are some here, double As, some smaller ones?”

“Take them all, Sid,” Matt answered. “I’ll be right there.”

Sidney scooped up the batteries, some utility candles and matches, and a long butane barbecue lighter, which she hoped would work but didn’t check. There were no TP or paper towels on the shelf, probably because of the mice problem. There was one bottle of dish washing liquid, and a couple bars of soap which she snapped up, and a plastic jug of Tide that she could also use. This she set aside to put in the little sled.

“Let’s check that storeroom back there, Sid. I’m wondering where they put the clothes. I could sure use a new pair of warm gloves, and maybe one of those pull on knitted caps.”

Sidney smiled at him. This was beginning to feel like fun.

“I’m right behind you,” Sid said as they carefully stepped over the mouse traps. No sense tripping them. Better leave those surprises to the little in-house critters that were probably watching them from the hidden corners of this very room. She could feel their little red beady eyes on her as she followed Matt to the store room.

“God, I wish we could switch on a light in here,” Matt said as they moved their flashlights around the small room. There was a calendar and other papers tacked to blank wall. Shelves comprised the other two sides, all stacked with large plastic bins from top to bottom. Littered on the floor and on each shelf were more piles of rodent bait.

“Those look like clothing items, Matt,” Sid said, pointing to bins at the back. “You wanna look in them first?”

He pulled one off the shelf and opened it. T-shirts of all sizes, announcing ‘I love Goose Lake’. “Don’t need these. I hate Goose Lake,” he said, putting it back and reaching for another. He finally found a box with hats and gloves in it and ploughed through it. “Here’s a pair for you, Sid. Your color, I think.” He tossed her a pair of what looked like brown driving gloves with knitted fronts and leather on the palm side, and fuzzy lining. She stuffed them into her coat pocket.

“Hey, look at this.”Matt pulled on a black watch cap that went all the way down over his ears. “I like this. And these gloves will work too. The price is right.” She could feel his grin even though she couldn’t see it.

Sidney was going through the other plastic boxes. So much stuff, but not what they needed. Fishing tackle and other junk. She was looking for food that might be wrapped in paper or cardboard, something that mice could chew through. Finally she found it, on the floor shoved under the bottom shelf.

“Matt, check this out,” she said. “Can we just take this whole plastic container? It’s filled with mixes and flour, bisquick, bags of rice and beans, jello, I don’t know what all. We could really use this.”

“Maybe I could just balance it on the sled somehow. If not, maybe we could find some plastic bags, fill them and carry them back with us that way.”

“Okay.  I saw some plastic bags in one of the bins. I’ll find them.”

They worked their way through the bins, finding supplies that they could use. Their backpacks were bulging, as were the pockets and zipper pouches too. Matt was now filling bags with the lighter weight stuff that they would pull over their arms for the trip home. It was going to be slow going with all these supplies.

“Well, we’ve got quite a haul here, Sid. I hope we can get it all home in one trip. I sure don’t want to make this trek very often. I didn’t see a broom or a shovel. Where do you think they would be? You’d think they’d keep a broom handy in a little store like this.”

“I don’t know where they keep cleaning supplies,” Sidney said. “Probably there’s a supply closet somewhere in the lodge. I don’t know where it is though.” She was shivering, the cold of the building was creeping into her bones. As long as they were moving, it wasn’t so bad but when she stopped, the freezing air got even colder.

“I’m cold, Matt. I think we should head back. We gotta lot of work ahead to get this stuff back to the cottage.”

“Yeah, you’re right, but let’s take a quick look around. See if it would be worth coming back for another load. I think we got most everything we can use out of here, but maybe there’s more, like in the kitchen or the bar,” Matt said.

“Okay, but let’s make it quick.”

They piled up their supplies beside the door and then threaded their way carefully through the mouse traps following the beam of their flashlights into the dark and cold inner sanctum of the lodge. Sidney stuck close to Matt as they worked their way down the hall that formed the back wall of the lodge’s barroom. They peeked in. Stools were on the bar top, tables held their matching chairs. Matt turned his light to the mirrored back bar where the bottles usually were. Nothing there.

“Damn. It’s bare. Wonder what they do with the booze in the winter.”

“Maybe they take it home with them, Matt.”

“I thought maybe there’d be a couple bottles left. Let me take a quick look back here.” He made his way to the bar and went around to the back. He flashed his light here and there searching but couldn’t find a thing. He kicked the wall a couple times, swearing softly at Sam.

“Okay, let’s move on. Maybe there’s something in the kitchen,” he said rather dejectedly.

They made their way to the kitchen and looked in. It was clean and empty, even the walk-in refrigerator, ready for the new season.

“Nothing here either.”

The front of the lodge held an entryway with a wooden stair case leading up to the rooms that they occasionally rented out. Sam and Beth had a couple of rooms upstairs but they spent most of their time down in the lodge, managing the kitchen and the store. Only in busy times did they hire help.

The main room of the lodge held a couple of dining tables for folks wanting dinner and didn’t want to eat in the bar. At the far end were a couple of lounge chairs and low tables in front of the stone fireplace.

“Let’s take a close look at the fireplace, Sid,” Matt suggested as they stood looking into the dreary room. The only light came from small cracks at the edges of the big windows looking over the lake.

“There’s not much over there, Matt. Just that old moth-eaten deer head with the big antlers that hangs over the mantel. I don’t remember anything else. No crossed snowshoes on the wall, nothing like that.”

“Well, what’s that,” he said, pointing his light at the far side of the fireplace, where they usually piled a huge stack of wood. His light was playing on what looked like a couple of brooms.

They moved through the room easily. No mouse traps here, all the furniture was pushed to the outer edges of the walls. The floor was bare wood, even the bear skin rug had been removed for the winter.

“Hey, look at this,” Matt said as he got close. “Here’s the broom. I knew there had to be a broom around here somewhere. And what’s this,” he said, picking up another pole. “Why, what do you know.  It’s a ski pole. Wonder where the other one is?” He looked around.

“Maybe there’s only one. Look at the bottom of it. I think he’s been using it for a fire poker.”

“Yes, that could be it. It’s got some soot on it and it’s not in very good shape. We’ll take it anyhow. You can use it to keep your balance on the way home. I’ll take the broom. So, what do you say we head home, Sid. I think we’ve seen everything. Not much else for us here.”

Sidney was relieved. She was more than ready to leave this place. She heard the noise first. It sounded like a puppy whining. “What’s that, Matt? Do you hear that? It sounds like a dog.”

“Yeah, I hear it. Don’t get scared, Sid. I’m going to yell at it and scare it off the porch. I think it’s right there on the other side of the back door.”

With that Matt hollered, stomped his feet and pounded on the wooden door. Then he looked out the window. Skittering down the stairs was an animal. Matt opened the door and kept yelling at it, his thundering voice filling the air.

They both went out onto the porch and watched the small animal as it headed for the big trees across the snow-packed parking lot.

“What do you think it was, Matt?  It looked like a scruffy old dog to me.”

“Might be a coyote. That would be my guess. No pet dog would still be alive up here. I think we better get going before he decides to come back sniffing around again. I don’t know if a coyote would attack people, but if I’m wrong and it’s a wolf, then we might be in trouble. So grab your stuff, whatever you can handle. I’ll fill the sled and take the rest,” Matt said, looking around. “Now what did I do with those flares. They might come in handy.”

He finally found them and figured out how to light them before stuffing them in his jacket pocket. Then they packed up as best they could and Matt locked the door and replaced the shutter. The little sled was full and they strapped on the snow shoes again. Each was carrying a heavy load. Sidney was thankful for the ski pole. It would help her balance on the slippery stretches.

Sidney would go first and Matt would trail behind her with the sled and the broom. He’d let her know when to stop. He wanted to check behind them every so often to make sure the animal wasn’t following them. Sidney could feel her heart pounding again, just like the last time she was at the lodge and saw the bear. Only this time she couldn’t run. Hell, she could barely walk with the load she was carrying. They both looked like a couple of monsters, with the bags hanging at their sides and the loaded packs on their backs.

They picked their way carefully down the slope to the water’s edge, following the trail they broke earlier. It was slow going, every hundred feet or so Matt would stop and they’d look behind them. Once Matt thought he saw something moving in the trees beside the trail, but he couldn’t be certain. They started off and then stopped to check again.

It was slow progress but that helped Sidney keep her balance. The bags on her arm were cutting into her jacket and threatening to cut off her circulation. At least that’s what it felt like, but she ignored it and kept going. She didn’t want to fall. She didn’t think she could get up again if that happened.

“Sidney, can you go a little faster?” Matt called to her. “Let’s try to pick up the pace. I think that animal is following us. We gotta get home quick, before he gets his courage up to confront us.”

“Oh, geez, Matt, now you’re really scaring me. I’m going as fast as I can.”

Finally they could see their cottage up ahead, and they immediately got a second wind. Sidney was getting good at slogging through the snow in her make shift snow shoes, with the help of the pole to keep upright. The last short leg was uphill, past their disabled jeep, now just a big mound of snow.

Sidney made it to the porch stairs with Matt right behind her. They quickly pulled off their packs and undid the snow shoes. Sidney started up the stairs with a couple of bags when she heard the growling noise again.

“Matt,” she screamed. “He’s on the porch!”

Matt roared and pulled out a flare and lit it. Then he grabbed the ski pole from Sidney and took off up the stairs, cursing and waving the flare. The coyote startled as the monster coming at him and yelped as he sprang over the edge of the deck and took off. Matt rose up as tall as he could and flung the pole at the animal. He missed but the pole flew through the air and banged against a tree causing snow to fly off in every direction.

“Oh, my god, that was frightening,” Sidney said. She could feel hot tears trailing down her cheeks. “Matt, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you move so fast.”

“God damn that was close, Sid. I guess he knew who we were. He must be watching us.”

The stood and watched as the coyote kept running, first toward Ben’s cabin and then up the driveway and out of sight.

“Look at those tracks, Sid. Are those the ones you’ve been talking about?”

Sidney blinked a few times and then nodded her head. “Yes, I think so, Matt. That’s what I saw before.”

 “Come on, let’s get this stuff in the house,” Matt said.

They quickly brought up all the supplies and dumped them on the kitchen counter and table. Sidney would put things away once they caught their breath. Matt went after the broom, which he’d left by the jeep and then recovered the ski pole. Once the chores were done and the doors locked tight and the shades drawn, they began to calm down.

“Where’s Toast? Matt, have you seen the cat?” Sidney said, searching the room. Toast was usually in the window watching the sun go down by late afternoon. The cat was nowhere to be seen.

“I haven’t seen her, Sid? She must be scared too. She must have heard me, or maybe she saw the Coyote from the window. That would do it. Look upstairs. I’m guessing that’s where she is.”

“Here kitty-kitty-kitty,” Sidney called. She started up the stairs, softly calling the little cat’s name. “It’s okay. Here kitty, kitty.”

Eventually Sidney heard Toast answer her with a very small meow. Sidney turned on the light and saw the cat on top of the curtain rod of their upstairs bedroom, shivering, with her fur still standing on end.

“Oh, you poor thing. That coyote really scared you. Come on down here, everything’s okay now.”

Finally Toast was convinced that everything was okay. She jumped onto the bed where Sidney was sitting and nosed her way onto her lap. Sidney spoke softly to the little animal until she calmed down.

They had all had a most frightful afternoon.

To be continued.

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