Free Ice by Lyn Gardner Page B

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    Propping Maggie’s lifeless form against the wall of the cabin, Alex struggled to her feet. Calling on every molecule of strength and adrenaline she had left, she forced herself to take one step and then another…and then another. Traipsing through the drifts of snow now piled on the porch, she stopped in front of the door to the storage shed. Staring at the white crucifix hanging above it, Alex swallowed hard as she removed it from its hanger. Holding her breath, she said a prayer and flipped it over.
    “Thank you, God!” she cried out, seeing a key sticking out of a slot carved in the back. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you !”
    Pulling the key from its hiding spot, she gave the crucifix a quick kiss, placed it back on the nail above the door and rushed to the front of the cabin. Stepping around Maggie’s slumped body, Alex placed the flashlight on the porch, tugged off her gloves and began fumbling with the lock. More than once the key almost fell from her frozen fingers, but finally, she found the keyway and the padlock sprung open with ease. Unfortunately, the door did not.
    Shocked, she grabbed the flashlight, and seeing that ice had formed in the cracks around the door’s edges, she began ramming her body against it. Her leg was pounding and her shoulder ached, but it didn’t matter. Determined, she continued until the door gave way, and she stumbled into the cabin triumphant.
    “Yes!” she hissed, shining the flashlight here and there. Quickly taking note of her surroundings, she went back to the porch to get her partner.
    “In you go,” she groaned, as she grabbed Campbell by the lapels of her coat and dragged her through the doorway.
    Struggling and swearing, Alex didn’t stop until Maggie was lying in front of the stone fireplace that practically filled one wall of the cabin. Standing straight, she shined the flashlight around the room again, and getting her bearings, Alex got to work.
    Although the firebox was void of wood, she reached up, opened the damper, and with purpose in her step, headed to the dining area on the other side of the room. Picking up one of the Windsor-style chairs, she raised it above her head and slammed it to the floor, shattering it instantly. Gathering what remained, Alex strode to the fireplace with kindling in hand, and taking a book from the mantle, she began ripping out the pages and stuffing them around the spokes and rungs. Searching her pockets for her cigarette lighter, she tried and failed several times to work the mechanism. Wincing at the sting in her frozen fingertips, she warmed them with her breath and tried again. Smiling at the sight of the small yellow flame dancing at the end of the lighter, she held it against the pages of the book and watched as the paper slowly began to burn and char.
    With her adrenaline now pumping, Alex quickly stood up and immediately wished that she hadn’t when the room began to spin around her. Grabbing for the mantle, she closed her eyes and prayed that it would pass. Hungry, dehydrated and well past the point of exhaustion, Alex was running on empty. There was only one problem. Alex was too stubborn to admit it. She wasn’t ready to rest, at least not yet.
    “Five more minutes, I just need five more minutes,” she said aloud. “God, please…just five more minutes.”
    When she opened her eyes again and found her dizziness gone, Alex wasted no time. Retrieving a blanket that had been draped over the back of a nearby chair, she returned to Maggie’s side and within minutes, the woman’s snow-covered coat had been replaced by a warm, albeit dusty blanket. Pausing to catch her breath, she studied Maggie in the firelight. Pulling the scarf from Maggie’s head, Alex combed her fingers through the woman’s hair, and then checked her fever. Thankful that it seemed to have eased, she tucked the blanket tightly around Maggie and sunk to the floor. Pulling the scarf from her head, Alex’s shoulders slumped as she let out a