Page 45 of Unexpected Pickle
I shove my feet in my chef shoes, which are thick and waterproof. “I’m ready.”
He nods. “Don’t close your door. The locks are electronic and your key won’t work.”
“Good thinking.” We step out and stick a rolled-up towel at the base. I’m glad he thought of that. If we were both locked out of our cabins, we’d be in real trouble.
We head up the sidewalks. The snow is defeating the steam-warmed sidewalks, piling up in slushy patches that are turning to ice.
Hex takes my hand. “Don’t fall.”
We hurry toward the back entrance to the lobby. Before we even get there, though, I know we won’t get in. It requires a key card to enter, and the lock needs power to work.
We press against the glass. Inside, we see a glow of low emergency lights, probably on a generator. There’s nobody inside.
“Did they ditch us?” I ask.
“I don’t know.” Hex turns to look at the other cabins. “Without any power, it’s hard to see if there’s anyone in the other cabins.”
“You think they told everyone in class to leave, and since we weren’t there, we didn’t know?”
“That’s some negligence,” Hex says. “But I told the front desk I was planning on leaving early. Maybe they assumed I did.”
“And if they called my room or even came by, I wasn’t there,” I say.
“Shit,” he says.
We fall silent.
“Let’s knock on a few doors,” Hex says. “Just to be sure. Then we’ll go back to one of our cabins.”
“You have food,” I say, already thinking ahead.
“You have more firewood.”
“Okay, you get your food and meet me in my cabin.”
He nods.
We dash up to the closest cabin and beat on the door. Hex looks in the window.
“Nobody there.”
We try two more, then get too cold. Hex heads for his cabin, and I hurry to mine. The snow is quickly overtaking the sidewalks. Either the steam quit functioning, or it isn’t made to withstand a storm like this.
I kick off my shoes and switch to dry socks and sweatpants. The snow has melted on everything from my shins down.
I search for additional blankets and find two more. I pile them in front of the fire.
How big of a storm is this? Big enough to evacuate the retreat, it seems.
Hex enters without knocking, pushing the door open with his shoulder.
I jump up, taking his duffel so he can drop the load of firewood next to mine.
I close the door.
This retreat just got intense.
15
