Natural Disaster

Chapter 29

The next morning came far too soon Launa's liking. Sunlight filtered in through the dingy windows and into her eyes, making her turn over in Avi's grip to face him, shifting sleepily and edging her knee between his. A sharp groan of pain woke her completely as her leg was pushed away and her partner curled in on himself.

"Are you okay?" she slurred, her speech functions not yet entirely online.

He gave her a pained glare. "You've got to stop waking me up with things like this," he wheezed, "Unless I piss you off, those are not to be violent with."

Launa laughed, embarrassed, and apologized profusely for kneeing him in the balls.

______

They set off from the truck stop in a hurry, grumbling at the increase of snow. Funnily enough, Avi didn't seem quite as enthused about the snow as he had been, before.

Just as it had been the previous two days, the trek was slow-going, the snow sticking to their boots and pant legs, blowing into their faces when an enthusiastic wind kicked up, leaving them with numbed fingers, noses, and ears.

The sun was just starting to set, the lighting hitting the snow at an angle that bounced it into theirs eyes, when they came upon McLelland Lake and Reservoir. They'd hope to refill old bottles with water and purify them with the tablets. Their faces fell as they discovered the hard, slippery surface of the lake that greeted them.

"Of course it froze over," Launa groaned, rapping the ice with her knuckles, "and our good luck seems to have ditched us." She glanced over, movement out of the corner of her eye catching her attention, and she watched, horrified, as Avi took a tentative step onto the ice. "What the fuck are you doing?!"

"Probably tempting fate," he said simply, sliding further out onto the ice carefully.

She gaped and flailed, violently beckoning him back. "We don't know how thick the ice is! Get back here!!"

He turned to face her and hopped on the ice once, twice, and slipped on his third, landing hard on his backside with a pained groan. "The point," he grunted, getting back to his feet, wincing and ignoring her amused snort, "is that it can hold my weight, plus the speed of my fall and gravity. Which means it's probably safe."

" 'Probably safe'," she echoed sarcastically, "Bullshit. Get back over here!"

Avi shrugged, then beckoned her to follow him with a crook of his finger and a smirk. Ugh, don't do that. "Come ice skate with me," he called, sliding backwards out to the middle of the lake, "Or come retrieve me. Whichever floats your boat."

She gave an exasperated noise through clenched teeth. "Avriel, I swear to God, I'm gonna hurt you," she threatened, stepping out onto the ice, a little more confident in her traction and balance than he was.

"Promise?" he teased, winking.

"This isn't the time for dirty jokes!" she shouted, ignoring the heat creeping up her neck, "Get your ass over here!"

"Just my ass?"

"Avi!"

As soon as Launa was within arm's reach, he took her by both of her hands and spun her around, both of their feet slipping on the ice. He flailed to get his balance back, holding tight to her hand as she righted him, scolding him about the center of the ice being thinner and tugged on his hand to bring him back to their bags, which they'd dropped at the edge of the lake. When he resisted and stood in place, she glared at him, mimicking his overexaggerated frown. "If we die, out here," she said, highly annoyed, "I want you to know that I hate you."