07: Ice
"Ice is so boring. What we need is something to spice it up a little."
Mr. Slushy
Days had past, and no sign of the plane, or its wreckage any were. The group was tired, and moral was low. Every one dragged there feet into O'Malley's of the morning boost to the sprit and a warm drink.
"What can I get the weary travelers?" Patrick inquired.
"Huuuuuuu CHOOOO" Magnolia sniffed and was handed a tissue.
"Oh, that doesn't sound good, let me get you some tomato soup." Patrick ran off to the kitchen.
"Umm, Magnolia," Geegaw drug his feet, "you've been a real trooper."
"But?" She prompted in a nasally voice.
"It's up to you, but we feel that maybe you should sit this one out. Get some rest. You've been working at 110% for the past week. Take a day off."
"Are the rest of you going out?" She asked, her eyes adverted, scanning the distance as if looking for something.
"Yes" Geegaw said flatly.
"Then I'm going with you," she snapped back to reality, a fire burning in her eyes, "and that's final."
Geegaw knew that when Magnolia set her mind to something that there was no turning back. Jennifer was about to protest, but stopped, her words losing their strength.
After a few uncomfortable minuets, Patrick walked in with a tray full of thermoses. "I thought you might need these. Be careful out there, a storms coming on. I've lived here long enough to tell when something being cooked up, and this feels like a big one."
Tammy did a visual check of the weather, sunny, warm for the area, and not a cloud in the sky. "I think we'll be fine."
"Just be careful."
"Aren't we always?" Tammy sarcastically replied to Patrick's caution.
Magnolia had found that she could 'see' metal in the snow, if there was no ice in the way. She found this ability by accident. On a hunch she tried doing some sonar readings of the snow. Most of the time it returned as a giant void. Then she found something big. Returns came back everywhere. What she had found was the wreckage of a WWII P-51 Mustang that had crash-landed in 1946. Although this was not what they were looking for, she was surprised at how far into the snow she could see, and the clarity that the sound returned, all be it, weak. In addition, she found that ice came back as large sleets of static, causing miss readings and difficulties in locating anything, especially near the water, were ice was abundant.
Jennifer was concerned. She had never given her plane a real stress test, and had wanted to take the day off for a check of all the systems. Geegaw had promised that they were going to take a day off soon, but she didn't know if it would hold that long. She had checked the batteries overnight. They were being charged and discharged at a rapid pace through out there courses here and she was concerned that they were losing their edge. Though they were holding, she was noticing that the charge wasn't lasting as long as before. 'Why had I gotten the cheep batteries?' She cursed under her breath. 'To late now for that.'
They flew on; constantly scanning the never-ending show for anything that seemed abnormal. Magnolia had taken up position on the starboard nacelle. Partially for a better view of the snow for her echolocation, but mostly for the warmth it gave off.
'Its curious,' she thought to her self, 'the engines seem warmer that they had been before. I must be imagining things.'
The plane flew on, morning turned to noon, then afternoon. It was an hour till they had to turn back. They were deep into their search area for the day, and the farthest from the town they would get. The worst place for something to go wrong, but nothing happened. Jennifer noted that the engines were running slightly hotter than they should, but nothing beyond tolerance. They banked to head home after a long days work. Suddenly there was a power spike in the Starboard engine then it cut out completely. A strange smell, like burnt silicon, emanated from the engine.
Jennifer checked the gauges. Nothing, the batteries were fine, but the engine wasn't seeing any power, no current what so ever. She did a quick continuity check while Geegaw struggled to keep them on course. The air was getting cold, and the wind was picking up, and to top it off snow started to fall gently.
As Jennifer expected, the right engine had developed a short some were in the circuit and had blown the fuse, but there was no way to know with out opening it up. Something had come loose and the current had no resistance. This was bad any way you looked at it, but in an electric powered plane, it was a nightmare. If it could happen to one engine, it could happen to the other, especially now that all the power was running through their good engine.
"Gee, throttle back. Don't push it." She called
Geegaw throttled back to half power. The weather wasn't going to give them a brake. The temperature was dropping fast, and Barometer on the plane was following suit. That storm they had been warned about, was barring down on them. The wind kicked up signaling rougher weather.
The plane was tossed this way and that. The single working engine strained against the force of the wind. Visibility had dropped to zero, and Magnolia's echolocation was intermediate at best. Most of the time Magnolia was just hanging on for dear life. If she lost her grip, they would never find her, or if they did, then it would be to late. She pictured her self as an ice cube. The image sent chills down her spine. Slowly she made her way toward the middle, toward the fuselage, toward safety. She climbed in, fastening a seatbelt around herself tightly.
"WE HAVE TO LAND." Some one yelled.
"WERE?" Came a response.
"THERE," Magnolia yelled, "AT THREE O"CLOCK."
The plane was buffeted as it strained to maneuver against the wind. Creaks were heard as the wings threatened to shear off. They held, but the gauges in the cockpit showed that the Port engine wasn't going to last much longer. It was freezing over. Jennifer had never expected to fly in this type of weather and to make matters worse, the helium in the balloon was contracting beyond normal levels.
Her lips moved, but no one could hear what she said. "No way I'm loosing the plane here. History will not repeat it's self. Not here, not now."
She forced the plane into a nosedive while readjusting the engines position, to help in the recovery. Their speed increased. The altimeter spun out of control, as they raced to the ground, a true screaming eagle. The unseen earth raced towards them, closing ever faster. Suddenly Jennifer strained on the stick, pulling it close to her, jamming the throttle to maximum. Every one was thrown into there seats as the g's increased.
The plane slammed into the soft snow, spewing it everywhere. The sound of metal ripping could be herd above the blizzard. The plane slid sideways the left wing catching in the snow, digging in. The plane stopped with a sudden jerk expelling its passengers into the snow despite the harnesses.
Shelter had been set up quickly. The emergency tent had been put up in no time, and the kerosene lantern was lit. Now it was time to reflect. Jennifer sat eyes transfixed to a single point. 'It's happened again... Another Hackwrench, another wreck. History is a fickle friend, one day with you, the next against you. What went wrong, why did I let us crash. Why didn't I do more.' Tears ran down her face, slowly at first, but quickly increased. She buried her head in her drawn up knees.
Geegaw had hit his head hard in the landing, causing him to black out momentarily. He sat, shell shocked, delayed by the adrenaline rush that hit him when the cold white snow engulfed him. He sat, unable to focused on anything for long, shaking uncontrollably from adrenaline withdrawals.
Tammy cradling her arm. It wasn't in a natural shape, and was obviously broken. She tried to keep her mind clear, but the pain when her arm moved, even a centimeter, was unbearable.
Magnolia sat shivering; Zipper curled up in her wings. 'Cold... so cold. Mustn't go to sleep, can't go to sleep, won't go to sleep.' It was increasingly harder for he to stay awake. Suddenly she fainted from exaction.
"Maggie!" Tammy exclaimed. The tent had only enough headroom to crawl. She tried to rush over to her fallen friend but tripped and fell on her arm. She inhaled through her teeth, hiding the true pain she felt.
Geegaw had enough sense to not hurry, as he probably suffering from a head wound. He placed his hand on Magnolias forehead. It felt cold, to cold. All Zipper could do was buzz sleepily above the fallen bat, himself close to collapsing. Now was a bad time to be cold blooded.
"Tammy, Jen, she's suffering from Hypothermia. We have to keep her warm."
Tammy inched her way over, removing her jacket. She placed the bat next to her, and was covered in a blanket, hoping that her body heat would help. Magnolias fur sent shivers trough out Tammy's body. It was too cold.
Jennifer just sat, staring at the tent in the direction the plane rested in. 'Great,' Geegaw thought to himself, 'just what we need, the only uninjured member is suffering from psychological harm.' "Jennifer, snap out of it. We need you."
She turned her head, eyes still distant. "What could I do, I can't even keep from crashing." Her eyes watered some more. "I couldn't keep from repeating history." Her already pale completion now endured another tear.
"I don't care if you started World War Three. So what if were grounded, if history repeated! Mom did not let any body die! Now there's a friend that needs our help. What is it going to be, feel sorry for your self, or help Maggie, you're choice." Geegaw shed his bomber jacket and covered Zipper with it then joined Tammy in trying to keep Magnolia warm.
Jennifer, looked at where the plane would have been, then at Magnolia, then back to were the plane was. She exited the tent, and made her way to the plane. Climbing over the side she searched in the darkness for a moment. Finding what she needed, she made her way back to the tent, not more that two feet away. The wind blew in her face, ice stinging her nose, snow trying to disorient her, but she pressed on, not certain that she was heading in the right direction. Her feet becoming heavier, and it was harder to move in the snow, but she went on, her foot catching something in the snow. She fell face first in the snow. It was calling to her, insisting that she to join it. It was seductive, enveloping her. She gave one last look around, barley able to keep her eyes open. Nothing, except snow could be seen, but she had to press on. Every body in the tent depended on her to return. Through the storm a shadow appeared. Undistinguishable at first, but as the cloaking snow gave way, its form became clearer. It was a figure of a young adult mouse. He stood about five inches high, slender build, with blond hair and mustache. He an outfit suited for an aviator. From his boots, to the aviation cap on top, every thing about him had 'Pilot' written all over. She reached out to him, his blue eyes filled with concern. He saluted and disappeared into the snow again.
"Wait," she called out fruitlessly.
Finding new strength she crawled on in the direction the stranger had been, though not certain she had imagined the whole thing.
Geegaw had been too harsh on his sister. He regretted it, but it was her choice to leave, wasn't it? He felt numb, both inside and out. Tammy and himself were trying to warm Magnolia with any heat they could muster. Time would tell if it would work or not.
He had brought them here, to their deaths. It was his foolish idea that had drugged every one out to die in the snow. He had witnessed his sister leave the tent, as if embracing the cold. It had been an hour since she had left, and still no sign of her. The snow had taken its first victim, now it loomed out side waiting to be let in, to embrace them all.
The wind howled through the tent flap, occasionally ripping it from the Velcro strip that held it closed. Once again the storm had mustered enough force to try another attack. It burst through like nothing was there. Geegaw sat up, startled by the sudden coldness. Jennifer stood before him with barley enough strength to stay up. At first he thought he was dreaming, next that she was an apparition, then he came to grips with the fact that she was alive.
Jennifer coughed, falling to her knees with its intensity. Geegaw was at her side in a flash. Her pink nose was now a light shade of blue, her rose colored complexion now pale. She reached up unzipping a pocket in her jacket, stiffening a cough, pulled out a small bag. She twisted it and handed it to Geegaw. He examined the bag. It was made out of a latex glove. Suddenly he dropped the bag. It was hot. He picked it up again, letting the warmth seep into his had. He looked at his sister, still curled up on the floor coughing quietly, then back at the bag.
She gave a weak smile. "I thought we might need these in case of emergencies. Their similar to the cold packs athletes use, but backwards." She tried to continue, but another fit of coughing over came her. He wrapped her arm around his shoulder and guided her under the blanket they were using to warm Magnolia. He went back to close the flap to the tent, but tripped over a carelessly placed objected. He looked back, ready to through the item out the door. Under his feet, laid a backpack, bulging at the seems. He recomposed himself, and lifted the backpack, nearly falling over backwards. It was light. He unzipped it and peered into the curiously light bag. Blankets, it was filled with blankets, and more of thoughts packs.
Geegaw quickly sealed the tent up again, then proceeded to assist his fatigued sister in removing her jacket. Magnolia lay on the floor, breath rattling in her chest. Jennifer laid next to her, arms draped over each other, Zipper in the middle, keeping each other warm. Jennifer occasionally entering spouts of uncontrollable coughing lay exhausted on the floor, but unable to sleep.
Tammy assisted Geegaw in covering them in the blankets, and then placed some of the warm packs between the two girls. Tammy crawled back under the covers on Magnolias side. She had not spoken a word; she just starred at everything, to emotionally drained to speak. Geegaw covered himself with the blankets, his sister at his back. She muttered a soft thank you. He listened as her breathing became soft and long, with an occasional cough. Sleep hit him last, the warm blankets soothing him as he thought about their situation.
* * * *
Geegaw awoke with a start. He looked around and moaned. They were still in the tent. He had hoped it was all a bad dream. Their situation was so surreal. He looked over, Tammy was sleeping peacefully, and Zipper curled up in her arms. Magnolia was asleep, her breathing calm, her temperature normal. Jennifer was... not there. He began to panic. 'What if that was a dream. What if she hadn't returned after all.' Bracing himself, he placed his hand down on something warm. He looked down to see a small latex bag under his paw.
Determined to get the whole picture, and to see if Jennifer was around, he quickly dressed and hurried out side.
The sun was bright, and the snow reflected every ounce of its rays in appreciation. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust. No more than three feet away was there plane, and a lone figure sitting on its side. Geegaw walked over, the fresh snow crunching under his weight. The air was crisp, and a deep shade of blue. If it wasn't so cold, he might of found it beautiful.
Geegaw stood next to his sister, admiring the scenery. They were on a hill, the ocean not more than a quarter mile away. Its blue waters rivaled that of the sky. Small ice burgs glistened like diamonds as seals used them for a playground.
"Beautiful, isn't it." Jennifer said, eyes forward.
Geegaw only grunted his approval. Silence again. Nothing was said, but nothing was needed to be said. They knew what the other was thinking, and took comfort in the fact that they weren't solely to blame for were they were.
Geegaw broke the silence, eyes unwavering "Can she be fixed?" He asked as he patted the fuselage.
"I don't know." Jennifer responded her gaze pinned to the sea. Then she looked down. The left engine was buried in the snow, the right, sticking up into the air about three inches.
She pulled out a walky-talky, from her jacket. It was a crude model but it had been moms. "I've been trying the Rodent Emergence Channel (rec), but no ones out there to hear it." She looked at Geegaw, his eyes still on the ice floating in the harbor. "I guess we'll have to dig the engine out." She said in a dejected voice. "Come on, I have a couple shovels in the plane."
* * * *
Tammy yawned and stretched. She sat up, smacking the sleep away, absent-mindedly starting her routine. She got up and looked for a mirror, but there wasn't one. Then it dawned on her. She wasn't in a room, but in a tent. She went to smack her forehead, but remembered her arm as needles shot up to her head. Remembering their circumstances, and fearing the worse she looked down. The bat at her feet lay motionless. Tammy knelt down. "Maggie... Maggie wake up, please wake up." She franticly said as she shook the lifeless form with her good paw.
Magnolia moaned and turned over. "No Dad, I've got school tomorrow. I'll watch the Vampire movie marathon some other time."
Tammy decided to find out how well Magnolia was feeling. She lowered her voice slightly in attempted to imitate Dale. "But Maggie, their starting off with 'Vampire Bats from Mars."
Magnolia shot straight up. "They are?"
Tammy giggled. It was mean, but she still derived a little pleasure from the joke.
The twins started digging out the port engine from the snow. It was slow laborious work. They had to dig form under the belly of the plane while freeing snow from the outside and insides of the engine mount. Jennifer was busy removing snow from under the plane while Geegaw freed the sensitive equipment. Tammy watched for a moment. There was a loud metal on metal sound.
"Watch it Gee, she's doesn't need you putting more dents in the fuselage." Jennifer yelled.
" It wasn't the plane I hit, it was something else." Geegaw yelled in response.
Tammy's curiosity over came her. She proceeded to the plane to see what the commotion was about. She rounded the plane to see Jennifer crouched over the area Geegaw had been digging.
"What's all the hub-bub over here?"
"You wont believe this Tammy, but I think we've found the Eagle."
"Ice is so boring. What we need is something to spice it up a little."
Mr. Slushy
Days had past, and no sign of the plane, or its wreckage any were. The group was tired, and moral was low. Every one dragged there feet into O'Malley's of the morning boost to the sprit and a warm drink.
"What can I get the weary travelers?" Patrick inquired.
"Huuuuuuu CHOOOO" Magnolia sniffed and was handed a tissue.
"Oh, that doesn't sound good, let me get you some tomato soup." Patrick ran off to the kitchen.
"Umm, Magnolia," Geegaw drug his feet, "you've been a real trooper."
"But?" She prompted in a nasally voice.
"It's up to you, but we feel that maybe you should sit this one out. Get some rest. You've been working at 110% for the past week. Take a day off."
"Are the rest of you going out?" She asked, her eyes adverted, scanning the distance as if looking for something.
"Yes" Geegaw said flatly.
"Then I'm going with you," she snapped back to reality, a fire burning in her eyes, "and that's final."
Geegaw knew that when Magnolia set her mind to something that there was no turning back. Jennifer was about to protest, but stopped, her words losing their strength.
After a few uncomfortable minuets, Patrick walked in with a tray full of thermoses. "I thought you might need these. Be careful out there, a storms coming on. I've lived here long enough to tell when something being cooked up, and this feels like a big one."
Tammy did a visual check of the weather, sunny, warm for the area, and not a cloud in the sky. "I think we'll be fine."
"Just be careful."
"Aren't we always?" Tammy sarcastically replied to Patrick's caution.
Magnolia had found that she could 'see' metal in the snow, if there was no ice in the way. She found this ability by accident. On a hunch she tried doing some sonar readings of the snow. Most of the time it returned as a giant void. Then she found something big. Returns came back everywhere. What she had found was the wreckage of a WWII P-51 Mustang that had crash-landed in 1946. Although this was not what they were looking for, she was surprised at how far into the snow she could see, and the clarity that the sound returned, all be it, weak. In addition, she found that ice came back as large sleets of static, causing miss readings and difficulties in locating anything, especially near the water, were ice was abundant.
Jennifer was concerned. She had never given her plane a real stress test, and had wanted to take the day off for a check of all the systems. Geegaw had promised that they were going to take a day off soon, but she didn't know if it would hold that long. She had checked the batteries overnight. They were being charged and discharged at a rapid pace through out there courses here and she was concerned that they were losing their edge. Though they were holding, she was noticing that the charge wasn't lasting as long as before. 'Why had I gotten the cheep batteries?' She cursed under her breath. 'To late now for that.'
They flew on; constantly scanning the never-ending show for anything that seemed abnormal. Magnolia had taken up position on the starboard nacelle. Partially for a better view of the snow for her echolocation, but mostly for the warmth it gave off.
'Its curious,' she thought to her self, 'the engines seem warmer that they had been before. I must be imagining things.'
The plane flew on, morning turned to noon, then afternoon. It was an hour till they had to turn back. They were deep into their search area for the day, and the farthest from the town they would get. The worst place for something to go wrong, but nothing happened. Jennifer noted that the engines were running slightly hotter than they should, but nothing beyond tolerance. They banked to head home after a long days work. Suddenly there was a power spike in the Starboard engine then it cut out completely. A strange smell, like burnt silicon, emanated from the engine.
Jennifer checked the gauges. Nothing, the batteries were fine, but the engine wasn't seeing any power, no current what so ever. She did a quick continuity check while Geegaw struggled to keep them on course. The air was getting cold, and the wind was picking up, and to top it off snow started to fall gently.
As Jennifer expected, the right engine had developed a short some were in the circuit and had blown the fuse, but there was no way to know with out opening it up. Something had come loose and the current had no resistance. This was bad any way you looked at it, but in an electric powered plane, it was a nightmare. If it could happen to one engine, it could happen to the other, especially now that all the power was running through their good engine.
"Gee, throttle back. Don't push it." She called
Geegaw throttled back to half power. The weather wasn't going to give them a brake. The temperature was dropping fast, and Barometer on the plane was following suit. That storm they had been warned about, was barring down on them. The wind kicked up signaling rougher weather.
The plane was tossed this way and that. The single working engine strained against the force of the wind. Visibility had dropped to zero, and Magnolia's echolocation was intermediate at best. Most of the time Magnolia was just hanging on for dear life. If she lost her grip, they would never find her, or if they did, then it would be to late. She pictured her self as an ice cube. The image sent chills down her spine. Slowly she made her way toward the middle, toward the fuselage, toward safety. She climbed in, fastening a seatbelt around herself tightly.
"WE HAVE TO LAND." Some one yelled.
"WERE?" Came a response.
"THERE," Magnolia yelled, "AT THREE O"CLOCK."
The plane was buffeted as it strained to maneuver against the wind. Creaks were heard as the wings threatened to shear off. They held, but the gauges in the cockpit showed that the Port engine wasn't going to last much longer. It was freezing over. Jennifer had never expected to fly in this type of weather and to make matters worse, the helium in the balloon was contracting beyond normal levels.
Her lips moved, but no one could hear what she said. "No way I'm loosing the plane here. History will not repeat it's self. Not here, not now."
She forced the plane into a nosedive while readjusting the engines position, to help in the recovery. Their speed increased. The altimeter spun out of control, as they raced to the ground, a true screaming eagle. The unseen earth raced towards them, closing ever faster. Suddenly Jennifer strained on the stick, pulling it close to her, jamming the throttle to maximum. Every one was thrown into there seats as the g's increased.
The plane slammed into the soft snow, spewing it everywhere. The sound of metal ripping could be herd above the blizzard. The plane slid sideways the left wing catching in the snow, digging in. The plane stopped with a sudden jerk expelling its passengers into the snow despite the harnesses.
Shelter had been set up quickly. The emergency tent had been put up in no time, and the kerosene lantern was lit. Now it was time to reflect. Jennifer sat eyes transfixed to a single point. 'It's happened again... Another Hackwrench, another wreck. History is a fickle friend, one day with you, the next against you. What went wrong, why did I let us crash. Why didn't I do more.' Tears ran down her face, slowly at first, but quickly increased. She buried her head in her drawn up knees.
Geegaw had hit his head hard in the landing, causing him to black out momentarily. He sat, shell shocked, delayed by the adrenaline rush that hit him when the cold white snow engulfed him. He sat, unable to focused on anything for long, shaking uncontrollably from adrenaline withdrawals.
Tammy cradling her arm. It wasn't in a natural shape, and was obviously broken. She tried to keep her mind clear, but the pain when her arm moved, even a centimeter, was unbearable.
Magnolia sat shivering; Zipper curled up in her wings. 'Cold... so cold. Mustn't go to sleep, can't go to sleep, won't go to sleep.' It was increasingly harder for he to stay awake. Suddenly she fainted from exaction.
"Maggie!" Tammy exclaimed. The tent had only enough headroom to crawl. She tried to rush over to her fallen friend but tripped and fell on her arm. She inhaled through her teeth, hiding the true pain she felt.
Geegaw had enough sense to not hurry, as he probably suffering from a head wound. He placed his hand on Magnolias forehead. It felt cold, to cold. All Zipper could do was buzz sleepily above the fallen bat, himself close to collapsing. Now was a bad time to be cold blooded.
"Tammy, Jen, she's suffering from Hypothermia. We have to keep her warm."
Tammy inched her way over, removing her jacket. She placed the bat next to her, and was covered in a blanket, hoping that her body heat would help. Magnolias fur sent shivers trough out Tammy's body. It was too cold.
Jennifer just sat, staring at the tent in the direction the plane rested in. 'Great,' Geegaw thought to himself, 'just what we need, the only uninjured member is suffering from psychological harm.' "Jennifer, snap out of it. We need you."
She turned her head, eyes still distant. "What could I do, I can't even keep from crashing." Her eyes watered some more. "I couldn't keep from repeating history." Her already pale completion now endured another tear.
"I don't care if you started World War Three. So what if were grounded, if history repeated! Mom did not let any body die! Now there's a friend that needs our help. What is it going to be, feel sorry for your self, or help Maggie, you're choice." Geegaw shed his bomber jacket and covered Zipper with it then joined Tammy in trying to keep Magnolia warm.
Jennifer, looked at where the plane would have been, then at Magnolia, then back to were the plane was. She exited the tent, and made her way to the plane. Climbing over the side she searched in the darkness for a moment. Finding what she needed, she made her way back to the tent, not more that two feet away. The wind blew in her face, ice stinging her nose, snow trying to disorient her, but she pressed on, not certain that she was heading in the right direction. Her feet becoming heavier, and it was harder to move in the snow, but she went on, her foot catching something in the snow. She fell face first in the snow. It was calling to her, insisting that she to join it. It was seductive, enveloping her. She gave one last look around, barley able to keep her eyes open. Nothing, except snow could be seen, but she had to press on. Every body in the tent depended on her to return. Through the storm a shadow appeared. Undistinguishable at first, but as the cloaking snow gave way, its form became clearer. It was a figure of a young adult mouse. He stood about five inches high, slender build, with blond hair and mustache. He an outfit suited for an aviator. From his boots, to the aviation cap on top, every thing about him had 'Pilot' written all over. She reached out to him, his blue eyes filled with concern. He saluted and disappeared into the snow again.
"Wait," she called out fruitlessly.
Finding new strength she crawled on in the direction the stranger had been, though not certain she had imagined the whole thing.
Geegaw had been too harsh on his sister. He regretted it, but it was her choice to leave, wasn't it? He felt numb, both inside and out. Tammy and himself were trying to warm Magnolia with any heat they could muster. Time would tell if it would work or not.
He had brought them here, to their deaths. It was his foolish idea that had drugged every one out to die in the snow. He had witnessed his sister leave the tent, as if embracing the cold. It had been an hour since she had left, and still no sign of her. The snow had taken its first victim, now it loomed out side waiting to be let in, to embrace them all.
The wind howled through the tent flap, occasionally ripping it from the Velcro strip that held it closed. Once again the storm had mustered enough force to try another attack. It burst through like nothing was there. Geegaw sat up, startled by the sudden coldness. Jennifer stood before him with barley enough strength to stay up. At first he thought he was dreaming, next that she was an apparition, then he came to grips with the fact that she was alive.
Jennifer coughed, falling to her knees with its intensity. Geegaw was at her side in a flash. Her pink nose was now a light shade of blue, her rose colored complexion now pale. She reached up unzipping a pocket in her jacket, stiffening a cough, pulled out a small bag. She twisted it and handed it to Geegaw. He examined the bag. It was made out of a latex glove. Suddenly he dropped the bag. It was hot. He picked it up again, letting the warmth seep into his had. He looked at his sister, still curled up on the floor coughing quietly, then back at the bag.
She gave a weak smile. "I thought we might need these in case of emergencies. Their similar to the cold packs athletes use, but backwards." She tried to continue, but another fit of coughing over came her. He wrapped her arm around his shoulder and guided her under the blanket they were using to warm Magnolia. He went back to close the flap to the tent, but tripped over a carelessly placed objected. He looked back, ready to through the item out the door. Under his feet, laid a backpack, bulging at the seems. He recomposed himself, and lifted the backpack, nearly falling over backwards. It was light. He unzipped it and peered into the curiously light bag. Blankets, it was filled with blankets, and more of thoughts packs.
Geegaw quickly sealed the tent up again, then proceeded to assist his fatigued sister in removing her jacket. Magnolia lay on the floor, breath rattling in her chest. Jennifer laid next to her, arms draped over each other, Zipper in the middle, keeping each other warm. Jennifer occasionally entering spouts of uncontrollable coughing lay exhausted on the floor, but unable to sleep.
Tammy assisted Geegaw in covering them in the blankets, and then placed some of the warm packs between the two girls. Tammy crawled back under the covers on Magnolias side. She had not spoken a word; she just starred at everything, to emotionally drained to speak. Geegaw covered himself with the blankets, his sister at his back. She muttered a soft thank you. He listened as her breathing became soft and long, with an occasional cough. Sleep hit him last, the warm blankets soothing him as he thought about their situation.
* * * *
Geegaw awoke with a start. He looked around and moaned. They were still in the tent. He had hoped it was all a bad dream. Their situation was so surreal. He looked over, Tammy was sleeping peacefully, and Zipper curled up in her arms. Magnolia was asleep, her breathing calm, her temperature normal. Jennifer was... not there. He began to panic. 'What if that was a dream. What if she hadn't returned after all.' Bracing himself, he placed his hand down on something warm. He looked down to see a small latex bag under his paw.
Determined to get the whole picture, and to see if Jennifer was around, he quickly dressed and hurried out side.
The sun was bright, and the snow reflected every ounce of its rays in appreciation. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust. No more than three feet away was there plane, and a lone figure sitting on its side. Geegaw walked over, the fresh snow crunching under his weight. The air was crisp, and a deep shade of blue. If it wasn't so cold, he might of found it beautiful.
Geegaw stood next to his sister, admiring the scenery. They were on a hill, the ocean not more than a quarter mile away. Its blue waters rivaled that of the sky. Small ice burgs glistened like diamonds as seals used them for a playground.
"Beautiful, isn't it." Jennifer said, eyes forward.
Geegaw only grunted his approval. Silence again. Nothing was said, but nothing was needed to be said. They knew what the other was thinking, and took comfort in the fact that they weren't solely to blame for were they were.
Geegaw broke the silence, eyes unwavering "Can she be fixed?" He asked as he patted the fuselage.
"I don't know." Jennifer responded her gaze pinned to the sea. Then she looked down. The left engine was buried in the snow, the right, sticking up into the air about three inches.
She pulled out a walky-talky, from her jacket. It was a crude model but it had been moms. "I've been trying the Rodent Emergence Channel (rec), but no ones out there to hear it." She looked at Geegaw, his eyes still on the ice floating in the harbor. "I guess we'll have to dig the engine out." She said in a dejected voice. "Come on, I have a couple shovels in the plane."
* * * *
Tammy yawned and stretched. She sat up, smacking the sleep away, absent-mindedly starting her routine. She got up and looked for a mirror, but there wasn't one. Then it dawned on her. She wasn't in a room, but in a tent. She went to smack her forehead, but remembered her arm as needles shot up to her head. Remembering their circumstances, and fearing the worse she looked down. The bat at her feet lay motionless. Tammy knelt down. "Maggie... Maggie wake up, please wake up." She franticly said as she shook the lifeless form with her good paw.
Magnolia moaned and turned over. "No Dad, I've got school tomorrow. I'll watch the Vampire movie marathon some other time."
Tammy decided to find out how well Magnolia was feeling. She lowered her voice slightly in attempted to imitate Dale. "But Maggie, their starting off with 'Vampire Bats from Mars."
Magnolia shot straight up. "They are?"
Tammy giggled. It was mean, but she still derived a little pleasure from the joke.
The twins started digging out the port engine from the snow. It was slow laborious work. They had to dig form under the belly of the plane while freeing snow from the outside and insides of the engine mount. Jennifer was busy removing snow from under the plane while Geegaw freed the sensitive equipment. Tammy watched for a moment. There was a loud metal on metal sound.
"Watch it Gee, she's doesn't need you putting more dents in the fuselage." Jennifer yelled.
" It wasn't the plane I hit, it was something else." Geegaw yelled in response.
Tammy's curiosity over came her. She proceeded to the plane to see what the commotion was about. She rounded the plane to see Jennifer crouched over the area Geegaw had been digging.
"What's all the hub-bub over here?"
"You wont believe this Tammy, but I think we've found the Eagle."