Free Snowed In by Teodora Kostova Page B

reached Emery or how bad it was there.
    Nate didn’t reply, and he stayed mostly quiet for the rest of the drive. He offered Quinn to switch places and drive for a while, but Quinn declined. He was tired, but he was also used to the snow and the wind now, navigating the car slowly but surely through the storm. The snow didn’t let up one bit; if anything it was falling faster, the wipers working on full speed to clean the windshield.
    The radio signal came and went, and so did the mobile network coverage. Nate managed to get a signal for a while, texting back and forth with his brother, updating him on the situation.
    “Brandon says the cabin should be OK. They stayed there with Faith a few months ago and he says everything was working fine,” Nate said, his fingers tapping on his phone as he spoke. “He also sent me directions to the big WinCo Foods in the outskirts of Emery – I can’t get a good enough signal to load any maps.”
    “How’s Faith and the baby?”
    “He says they’re both fine. Faith’s still in the hospital, but they managed to stop the contractions for now. Bran says if she doesn’t get any for twenty four hours they’d let her go home.”
    Finally, after what seemed like days instead of a couple hours, Quinn saw the big, glowing sign with the name of the supermarket. The parking lot was nearly empty, which was no surprise in this weather. Parking the car as close to the entrance as possible, Quinn switched off the engine, his head falling back against the seat. He exhaled loudly, relief flooding his body. They were nearly there. They’d be alright.
    “You OK?” Nate asked, unbuckling his belt and turning to face him. Quinn hummed in reply, too exhausted to talk. “That was some driving you did.”
    Yeah, it was, but he felt shattered. He couldn't wait to get to the relative safety of the cabin.
    “I’ll go find our jackets,” Nate said, and before Quinn could protest he was out of the car. The trunk popped open and he heard Nate rummaging in their bags. A few moments later he knocked on Quinn's window, holding his jacket.
    “Come on, let’s stock up on food and alcohol, and get this over with.”
    Quinn shook his head in amusement, and jogged after Nate towards the supermarket.
     
    *    *    *    *    *
     
    The cabin was exactly as Quinn remembered it – wooden floors, bare brick walls, a huge L-shaped couch in front of the fireplace, small kitchen in the far corner. There were two bedrooms on Quinn's left, and a bathroom on his right. All doors were closed and the place was tidy and clean. Quinn switched the light in the living room and exhaled in relief when it blinked to life. The cabin’s heating and hot water system were electrically powered. Had it been down because of the storm they’d have been pretty screwed.
    They left a puddle of melting snow as they walked back and forth, carrying their bags and the groceries. In the supermarket, Quinn went a bit overboard, filling their shopping cart with everything he could think they’d need – food, water, candles, batteries, books, personal hygiene items. Nate’d joked that Quinn was preparing for the zombie apocalypse instead of a snow storm, but Quinn preferred to be equipped for any scenario. They could always take whatever they didn’t use back to Denver.
    “Right. I think that’s it,” Nate said as he dragged the last of the bags in, the door slamming behind him.
    The snow had gotten even worse while they were in the supermarket, and the short drive to the cabin had been slow and dangerous. The small, winding road was completely covered in icy snow, the car fishtailing a few times despite Quinn's careful driving. Thank god there hadn’t been any other cars around.
    “I could kill for a hot shower right now,” Quinn said, taking off his shoes and jacket, falling onto the couch.
    “Let’s put away the groceries first. I don’t want any of the frozen stuff to melt.”
    By the time they finished