I narrow my eyes at her for a moment, but I don’t have time to consider her change of behavior—not right now. We need shelter before the storm gets any worse. I stand and look around for a suitable spot. Thankfully, there’s snow pretty much everywhere, and it’s all deep. I find the perfect snowbank up against the rock wall and, on my hands and knees, I start to dig.
Using the axe to assist in the digging, I gouge a round opening first, making sure it’s on the east side, away from the direction of the wind. I dig upward, pulling out armfuls of snow to make a depression, and then widen it. Before long, I’m halfway inside the snowbank with my feet sticking out of the hole.
I hit the rock wall at the back of the cave and hollow it out a little more on either side. Very little light is coming through the round entrance—the sun has nearly set—so I pick up the pace. I end up with an oblong room of snow about four feet long and three feet wide. It’s not tall enough inside to sit up, but I maneuver around enough to take off my parka and inner coat. I spread my inner coat on the ground, and it takes up most of the floor of the cave. It’s not much, but it’s better than outside. I crawl back out and grab a hold of Seri.
“What are you doing?” Her teeth are chattering over the wind, but her voice is calm.
“I need you inside and dry,” I tell her. “It may not sound like it, but it’s going to be a lot warmer inside the snow than outside of it. Once I get you in there, we’ll be all right.”
I hope I sound
convincing.
“I’m going to go in first,” I tell her. “Then you follow in right after me, head first. It’s cramped inside, and there isn’t a lot of light, so just feel with your hands. Don’t try to stand up; the ceiling is low.”
“Will I fit through?” she asks as she eyes the small opening.
“I did; so you will.”
“Good point.”
It takes a little work, but once I get myself completely inside, I help guide Seri inside as well. I keep my back against the rock wall, and she crawls inside in front of me. I adjust my inner coat a little to keep us off the snowy ground and let out a sigh. Now that we are away from the wind and the blowing snow, I can think straight.
“I can’t see anything.” I feel her gripping my arm, trying to get her bearings.
“I know. Just give me a minute.”
Using my hands to guide me in along the inside wall, I make a small shelf out of the snow. I fumble around for my parka and dig in the inside pocket for my emergency supplies, including two small candles and matches. Once I have a candle lit, she looks up and blinks at me.
“Is that a birthday candle?”
“Yeah, it is,” I grin, but I doubt she can make out much of my expression.
“Kind of small, isn’t it?”
“For this sized space, it’s perfect. You can see enough to get situated, but it won’t use up the oxygen. It won’t last long anyway.”
“Are we going to die?”
“Hell no.” I smile at her, hoping I’m not too obvious about staring at her, trying to figure out if she’s now Netti and no longer Seri. “We just have to wait out the storm. Then we can get back to the cabin.”
“Won’t we freeze?”
“We have body heat,” I tell her. “This is a small area, and the two of us are enough to keep it warm. We just need to get you dry first.”
In the dim light, I remove Seri’s wet boots and socks. I take off my flannel shirt and then my T-shirt, which isn’t easy in the tight space. I put the flannel back on and then use the T-shirt to carefully dry her feet and legs. With the candlelight, I examine her feet closely. They’re quite red, which is a good sign.
“You’re going to freeze just wearing one shirt,” she tells me.
“No, I won’t. It’s already warmer in here than out there. This is why I wear four layers when I go outside.”
“You are prepared for anything.”
“Maybe not anything, but enough.” I hold up my T-shirt. “Extra shirt is also a towel.”
I finish drying her off and then shove her wet boots, socks, and my outer shirt to the back of the cave.
“The storm came up so fast.” Her voice is calm and controlled again.