“Yes and no.”
“What do you mean?”
“The melt can actually be just as dangerous as the cold,” I say. “A lot of the land around here is marsh, and it freezes and thaws quickly since it’s not very deep. Great for the birds looking for water, but it can be hazardous to people walking over it. Like I said, you can go from solid ground to snow-covered marsh and not even know it. If the ice breaks and you fall in, you’re going to get very cold very quickly.”
“How far away are the marshes?”
“Small ones are all over, really. There’s a big one east of the cabin.”
“So, keep stepping carefully.”
“Yes.”
I head into the barn and haul the sled over to the woodpile, which is completely covered in snow. After brushing loose snow from the top of the pile, I go back into the barn and get a large bucket of bluish rocks and haul it outside. I start tossing the crumbled minerals over the woodpile.
“What is that?” Seri asks.
“Copper sulfide,” I say. “It’ll melt the snow about as fast as hot water does, and I can use a little bit I bought in Yellowknife to grow crystals.”
“That’s cool!” Seri smiles as the blue crystals start melting a bunch of the snow on top of the pile, revealing the wood beneath.
As I start grabbing logs from the top, Seri comes over to help. She pulls a few small logs off the pile, but the larger ones are covered in ice and stuck to each other. I kick at the pile a few times, loosening some, and Seri loads them onto the sled carefully.
When the sled is half full, I find a whole new layer of ice on the woodpile. It’s thick, and the wood is really stuck. Seri tugs at a piece of wood, but she’s getting nowhere. It’s too frozen, and she doesn’t have the strength.
“I’ve got an ice shovel in the barn,” I tell her. “Let me go grab it, and maybe that will help you loosen some more pieces.”
Even with the metal blade, Seri isn’t making any progress. I take over removing the wood as she rearranges the logs already on the sled. It’s slow going, and Seri grows tired of standing around.
“What’s in the wooded area?” she asks.
“Trees.” I give her a half smile. “When it’s warmer, you can find all kinds of animals and edible plants. If I end up needing the meat, I can set traps for rabbits back there.”
“Poor Bugs.” Seri makes a pouty face and then smiles. “Can I go check it out?”
“I’m not going to stop you. Just be careful.”
“I will.”
I go back to digging out logs frozen in ice, but there’s just too much of it. Inside the barn, I find an axe and chop up a few of the felled trees I pulled out of the woods in the fall. Chopping wood works better than digging, and I quickly knock out a dozen more pieces of wood for the sled.
The sky darkens slightly as clouds cover the sun, but I stay focused on my mindless and repetitious task. My head goes blank as I continue to hack at the woodpile.
My arms are getting sore, but the sled is nearly full. There is room for maybe another fifteen or so pieces of wood, but I decide to head into the barn for some other supplies. Seri was tired of eating caribou, so I grab some frozen fish to add to the sled. I also add the hide from my most recent caribou kill. It would make a decent coat for Seri, and I could spend a little time in the cabin working on it. I pause for a moment to catch my breath.
Wind suddenly whips around the edge of the barn, throwing snow off the roof and into my face. I glance up at the darkening sky and take a few steps to the side to get a better view.
The sky to the southwest has gone black with heavy clouds, nearly blotting out the sun. The temperature has dropped significantly. Snow is blowing everywhere, and I can’t even make out the shape of the cabin in the distance. I’d been so immersed in my work, I hadn’t been paying attention. Before I have a chance to berate myself, I hear a high-pitched scream.
I turn around, trying to identify the direction of the sound. I know it’s Seri, but I can’t see her, and I’m not sure how far she may have walked away from the barn.
“Seri!” I look left and right, nearly frantic when I see no sign of her.
Snow begins to fall, and a giant gust of wind blows more snow around me. I shove the axe into a loop on my parka and begin walking south and east, hoping that’s the direction of her scream and that the sound hadn’t just bounced off the rock wall to the north.
“Fuck!” I can’t believe I let myself lose track of time. It’s one thing to do that when it’s just me, but I’m responsible for her now as well, and I can’t even find her. I yell for her again. “Seri!”
“Bishop!”