When All is Lost

Chapter 22

Heading south almost became a tempting prospect as the snowfall turned into a snowstorm. With a few windows broken in the kitchen, not even our close proximity to each other could keep us warm.

I had to make the call for us to all move into a bedroom just down the hall from the family room. Not that we'd had many options, but I was wishing we'd at least found a two-story house – or at least one with more room options. The queen-sized mattress was bare and torn, and the wooden frame beneath it was broken. Shattered glass was scattered across the floor from a large family portrait that had been knocked down.

I didn't look at the picture. Instead, we made quick work of finding a broom from a closet in the kitchen and used it to sweep up. We then pushed the broken furniture to one side of the room.

It seemed whoever had ransacked the place had also picked it over for blankets as we'd only found one faded, purple duvet stuffed in the bathroom's closet. Short on options, we ended up scouring the house for every bit of fabric we could find. By the end, we had a sizable pile of sheets, towels, curtains, and even a rug. We then closed the bedroom door, huddled together, and covered ourselves as best as we could.

It was a long day that turned into a longer night. Only Carlos and Paula in their snow gear were able to rest without bone-rattling shivers wracking their bodies. My cough had gone from sporadic to obnoxious, putting us all even more on edge. When daylight broke and the snow was still falling, a feeling of dread settled in.

There was no relief when it finally stopped around midday. The storm had left us with almost a foot of snow blanketing the earth all around us. I knew from the looks on my companions' faces that they had similar thoughts to mine.

We were trapped.

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I had thought being trapped in my apartment for two months had been difficult. I'd thought I had some idea of what cabin fever was like. After a week, trapped in a small room with mostly strangers, I had a whole new perspective.

On some level, it was nice to get to know them. However, it had become quickly apparent that three out of the four newcomers were very opinionated – about everything. And Ian enjoyed stirring the pot.

Ray was expressive and vulnerable and still grieved his sister deeply. I enjoyed his company, but his high energy exhausted me. It didn't help that he also had a tendency to always speak exactly what was on his mind. I was thankful that at least it seemed like his heart was always in the right place.

I also observed that he had a growing attachment to Ian. The pair found fast friends in each other and Ray especially found Ian's antics hilarious – even if he was on the receiving end of them.

Prisha, on the other hand, had trouble tolerating any of us. The only person she seemed to like was Carlos. They didn't agree on much, but she smiled whenever he told stories about his life before. She revealed little about herself beyond what she'd initially told us. My only new discoveries about her were that she chewed her nails when stressed and that she was stressed... a lot.

Carlos wasn't exactly a grouch, but he lacked patience for most things. The little patience he did have he used to mull things over, sometimes to the point of obsessiveness. Even still, I'd developed a bit of a soft spot for him after watching him with Paula. It felt strange to think it, but I'd never seen a love so simple yet so profound as the love between the pair. Their comfort with each other and care for each other seemed deeply ingrained in the fabric of their relationship. Watching them sometimes caused little pangs of pain deep in my chest, but mostly, I admired what they shared.

Paula was more willing to let the other strong personalities of the group work through their issues before she would speak up. I would have called her a peacekeeper between the others, but it was more that she would let the others exhaust themselves with their bickering so she could come in with the final word. It was highly strategic and it took me a few days to catch on. She was kind, but I'd learned to be wary of her sharp edges.