"Fireside Diaries"
Story Written by Freedom Fighter
Happy 2013, everyone! How are you?
Anyway, this is going up later than usual. A lot later. Late enough most of you will probably be asleep when this goes up. Just know, whenever you read this... this is the first of two new episodes this week. The second's coming up later tonight, hopefully. In the meantime, enjoy the first one right now!
Disclaimer: The characters of 'Phineas and Ferb' belong to Disney.
Entry #206 - Written by Katie
This will b-b-b-b-be my f-f-f-f-f-final entry as a F-F-F-F-Fireside Girl. Why, you a-a-a-a-ask?
Katie looked up from typing on her cell phone as she heard the wind howl loudly outside, pushing into the door in an attempt to blow it off of its hinges. She was sitting on the floor in a wooden shack. The screen of the phone was her only source of light at her disposal, and it was barely bright enough to make her face visible in the dark room.
I m-m-m-m-made the m-m-m-m-mistake of staying out t-t-t-t-too long and ended up getting caught in this b-b-b-b-blizzard.
Katie was again interrupted by a frightening sound. This time, it was coming from above her, from the roof. She aimed her screen upwards and saw that the top of the shack was beginning to sag. Any minute now, Katie's worst fear would be realized, and the snow piling up on the roof would be too heavy for it to handle.
B-b-b-b-before I get b-b-b-b-buried alive, I g-g-g-g-guess I s-s-s-s-should explain how I g-g-g-g-got into this p-p-p-p-predicament.
-
Entry #206 [FSD306] - Snow Bound (01.14.03)
-
It all began earlier that d-d-d-d-day...
A routine mid-week Fireside Girl meeting had ended just minutes ago. The entire troop was just hanging out at the lodge, but they all seemed to have one eye looking out the window.
"Wind's starting to pick up," Milly said, as she stood with Holly and Katie.
"You really think we're gonna get more than a foot of snow tonight?" questioned Holly.
"I know we're getting enough to get at least one snow day out of it! That's all I care about!"
Isabella cut into the conversation.
"Nevertheless, we'd all better get home. The last thing you want to happen is to get stuck in that mess of heavy, fluffy snow and cold, blustery winds."
With that, the girls headed out of the lodge. Isabella, Adyson, and Holly walked one way, while Milly and Katie went the other. The younger pair was rather quiet as they made their way down the street. Suddenly, Katie started to make an unexpected left turn.
"Katie, where are you going?"
"To the arcade."
But, of c-c-c-c-course, Milly knows me too w-w-w-w-well to believe that.
"Are you still feeding that stray?"
Katie thought about how to respond to the question, and then finally slowly nodded in confirmation.
"You should really take it to the animal shelter."
"But he's old, Milly! No one's gonna want to adopt him, and he'll just get put down."
"So why don't you adopt him?"
"Can't. I asked my parents, but we just can't afford it."
"Well..."
"I just want to give him enough food to survive the storm. Afterwards, I'll tell Isabella about him, and we can figure out what to do about him."
"Alright. Just don't dawdle!"
With that, the two best friends parted ways.
A f-f-f-f-few weeks ago, just shortly after New Year's, I found this stray dog, j-j-j-j-just wandering around the old abandoned industrial d-d-d-d-district of D-D-D-D-Danville.
Katie was now walking in that section of the city. Many of the buildings there had been razed or were scheduled to be in the coming weeks. Others were being repurposed and repaired for other uses.
"Where is he?" she thought.
This p-p-p-p-part of the city is under m-m-m-m-major reconstruction. It would not s-s-s-s-surprise me if one day I came here and he wasn't here, having been found by s-s-s-s-someone and taken to a s-s-s-s-shelter.
Katie started whistling for the dog.
"Here, Trooper! Here, boy!"
Suddenly, a golden labrador retriever slowly made his way out from a nearby factory that happened to be missing a door. Katie met him halfway, and upon reaching him, wrapped her arms around the back of his neck with a loving embrace. He returned the act of kindness by licking her face several times.
I don't know what his r-r-r-r-real name is, so I just call him T-T-T-T-Trooper. Y'know, 'cause he's such a t-t-t-t-trooper for surviving so long on his own.
"Okay, Trooper, heel!"
He politely obeyed, pulling away and taking a seat on the cold pavement.
"I brought a few things to help you out for the storm. We might all get snowed in, and I might not be able to visit you for a day or two."
Katie motioned for Trooper to follow her back into the factory he had come out of. It used to be a canning plant, given the conveyor belts and machines left behind by the company that had owned it before they went bankrupt. The two of them made their way up a metal ramp that led to a raised walkway overlooking the entire floor. They then arrived at Trooper's home, so to speak, which was the foreman's office. The original contents had long been removed, and all that was in there was a futon, two doggie bowls, and...
"Oh, Trooper!" Katie groaned as she fanned the air with her hand. "I thought you knew better!"
All Trooper could do was place his paws on top of his head and bow in shame.
20 minutes later, Katie had cleaned Trooper's home as best as she could, using paper towels and an air freshener spray.
"That'll do for now."
"Woof!" barked Trooper in appreciation.
She put the cleaning supplies back in her bag and then took out a gallon jug of water, a plastic bag with dog food in it, a chew toy in the shape of a bone, and a blanket. She started by filling Trooper's bowls to the brim with food and water, respectively. While he immediately went to eating dinner, Katie moved on to setting out the blanket. She unfolded it atop the futon so that it was easy for Trooper to get into.
Once she was done, she took a seat on the blanket and placed the toy down next to her. She then watched Trooper eat and drink, not paying any mind that he was ignoring her in order to do so.
"I wish I had some place warmer that I could take you," Katie said aloud. "But I know you can survive this blizzard! You've lasted this long just on what little help I've been able to give you."
Trooper had heard her, but again, was too busy stuffing his face to deliver a response. Katie, meanwhile, started to rub her arms. Despite the winter coat she had on, she was beginning to get cold. She got up, picked the blanket up, and wrapped it around her body. It warmed her up almost instantaneously.
"I forgot how warm this blanket gets! Mmmmm..."
She started to relax, content on sitting there until Trooper had finished her meal. But as she sat, she began to get comfortable. Before she knew it, she was lying down on the futon.
"I suppose five minutes won't hurt..."
She felt herself drifting off...
Five m-m-m-m-minutes?
Try t-t-t-t-two-and-a-half hours!
"Woof! WOOF WOOF!"
Trooper's loud barking snapped Katie out of slumber. She sat up in a hurry, as the portion of the blanket covering her upper body fell onto her lap. She quickly realized two things: that it was now much colder than it was earlier and, as a result, Trooper was trying to get into the blanket to warm himself up.
"What happened? What time it is?"
She pulled out her cell phone. The display read 6:47.
"I have to get home!"
She threw off the blanket, causing it to land on Trooper. He barked loudly in response as she whipped open the office door. The chilly air really hit her, as she could feel the cold blow into the factory through the half-hinged entrance door. Katie grabbed her backpack and then made her way down there as fast as she could, making sure not to trip over her own two feet.
"WOOF! WOOF!"
I heard Trooper b-b-b-b-bark at me repeatedly from the top of the r-r-r-r-ramp. I'm s-s-s-s-sure he was begging me to stay with him. But I couldn't! I had to get h-h-h-h-home, before the blizzard hit.
As Katie reached the front door, though, she saw that some snow had already drifted into the building. Upon stepping outside, Katie observed that enough snow had fallen to cover the ground entirely. In addition, more snow was falling to the ground, and seemingly, in bunches.
At that p-p-p-p-point, I knew I was in trouble. I had to get home, and f-f-f-f-fast!
"Let's see," Katie thought aloud. "Nearest subway station is 13 blocks away. Bus stop, eight. Taxi service or any vehicular traffic of any kind, five."
As she debated what to do, she again heard Trooper barking at her from inside.
"WOOF WOOF WOOF! WOOF WOOF WOOF!"
She turned around and peeked her head back in. Trooper was still at the top of the walkway, continuously barking at her.
"Trooper, quiet! QUIET!"
But he would not stop. Katie had no choice.
"Sorry, but this is for your own good!"
Katie grabbed the door and tried to arrange it so that it was upright and would at least keep some, if not all, of the snow and the cold air from getting in. Without any tools on hand to permanently keep it in place, she had to hope nothing would knock it over. Once she was done, Katie backed away. She could still hear Trooper barking at her, even though the sound was muffled.
"Trust me," she said aloud, "you'll be okay as long as you stay in there."
She then ran off into the night, finally deciding that it was the only option she had.
T-t-t-t-turns out... I should've followed my own advice...
Given that she was in a part of the city in the midst of reconstruction, much of the area had no electricity, which means Katie was running in complete darkness. The falling slow also affected her visibility, as some of it tried to land in her eyes. The flakes that made it to the ground were quickly piling up, and it was already beginning to slow Katie down.
"This cannot get any worse."
And then it started to get windy. Snow on the ground began to drift, while snow in the air was blown towards her.
"Oh, me and my big mouth!"
Conditions had worsened even more by the time Katie had reached a block where the street lights were working. By this point, there were very few vehicles moving on the road, if any at all.
"Well, that rules out pretty much everything."
By this point, my options were very limited. Either continue trying to get home on foot, which was still a 20-block trek, or attempt to find a place to take shelter for the time being.
G-g-g-g-guess what I decided to do?
"I can cut through Danville Park to get home!" Katie exclaimed.
Katie headed off in that direction.
Yeah... I'm starting t-t-t-t-to realize it's my fault I'm in this m-m-m-m-mess.
The storm continued to intensify. The wind was now howling loudly and blowing hard. Katie could see snow-covered tree branches swaying to and fro. When she could actually see them, that is. Conditions were so bad with snow flying every which way; she was having trouble seeing more than six inches in front of her. And now she was walking in what had to be a half-foot of snow, enough to cover her boots. She had to high-step every time she moved, and doing so allowed a small bit of snow to slip in, making her feet colder and wetter with each passing second. She also no longer had her backpack, which she had apparently let slip off of her at some point.
"It was a mistake coming out here!" she thought. "I have to go back."
She turned around to follow her tracks back out, but poor visibility and drifting snow quickly made that impossible. Katie began to shiver, as her coat started to fail to keep her warm as the temperature continued to drop.
"G-g-g-g-gotta find s-s-s-s-somewhere to g-g-g-g-get w-w-w-w-warm..."
Katie continued forward.
I knew my only hope for survival was to keep moving. But to where? I figured that I could become hypothermic in a matter of minutes, and then I'd really be in trouble!
And then...
Katie stopped. Her eyes picked up the shape of a manmade structure ahead of her. She could not tell what it was exactly, but at the same time, she could not afford to be picky. She had to get to it.
"Alright, Katie. Time to high-step like you've never high-stepped before!"
Step by step, Katie slowly headed off in the structure's direction. As she got closer, the shape and size of it became clearer to her. But it was not until her gloved right hand made contact with one of the walls of it that she realized what it was.
A wooden park maintenance shack.
She felt her way along it, searching for the door. It ended up being right around the corner, as she grabbed a hold of a doorknob. Twisting it, the door immediately swung open, spilling Katie into it, as well as a little bit of snow. Her instincts immediately compelled her to get up and close the door. The wind started blowing directly at the doorway, making it a little difficult. But it relented, and Katie was able to get the door shut.
The blonde girl breathed a sigh of relief, even though she was once more in complete darkness. Not to mention that she was still cold. She took a seat on the bone-chilling concrete slab that served as the floor, and reached for her boots. She took off her left boot first, then her left sock, her right boot, and her right sock. Sure, her now exposed feet were cold, but they would have frozen faster if she had left her boots on. She rubbed her feet together, trying to generate some warmth in them. As she did that, she took out her cell phone so she could at least see what she was doing.
"Now what?"
For the time being, she was safe from some of the harsher elements of the storm. But it was still quite cold in the shack, and a quick scan of it using the light from her cell phone showed that there was nothing in there to keep her warm. Or anything at all, to be frank. The only thing in there besides her and the four walls was a solitary light bulb that hung from the ceiling, as well as the wire that connected it to a switch on the wall.
Katie got up to flip the switch on, giving her a little more sight. But not much warmth, though.
"Well, it's better than nothing."
With the bulb illuminating the room, Katie could use her phone to call for help. She dialed Isabella's number as fast as her fingers would allow. But...
"No signal? No signal!"
She walked from one corner of the small shack to another, in hopes of picking up a signal. But it was no use.
"Wait! Isabella said once that, in an emergency, text messages are more likely to go through than phone calls!"
She started typing.
"'Izzy. Stuck in Danville Park. S.O.S. Katie.'"
She pressed send. At that very second, her phone started picking up a small signal. She held her phone still, hoping to keep connected long enough for her message to get through. A few seconds later, the words 'Message Sent' appeared on her screen.
"YES!" Katie exclaimed, pumping her fist in glee.
The celebration would be short-lived, though, as seconds later the wind howled the loudest it had yet. Katie could hear the wind whipping up, tossing snow at the outside of the shack. The light bulb began flickering on and off, as the storm assailed some nearby power lines.
And then they went out completely.
Katie went back over to the light switch and flipped it on and off several times. Nothing happened.
"One step forward. Two steps back."
Some unknown amount of time later...
Katie quietly sat in the dark, occasionally turning on her phone to check the time and to light up the room temporarily. The wind would start howling hard, then die down for a few minutes, and then begin blowing again. Occasionally, the wind would blow directly into the door, giving Katie a blast of cold air that made things even chillier.
Realizing that there was a possibility that she might not survive the night, the blonde girl got her cell phone and started typing away on it.
A-a-a-a-and this is where I am n-n-n-n-now.
Suddenly, Katie heard a creaking sound. She looked up and saw that the roof was beginning to sag. She was afraid that the snow piling up on top of it will be too much and collapse the roof down onto her, burying her alive. Instead of waiting for the worst to happen, though, she looked back down at her cell phone and resumed typing.
If this really is my final entry, there are a f-f-f-f-few things I'd like to say.
Gretchen, thanks for t-t-t-t-tutoring me after I struggled to catch up after being out of s-s-s-s-school for a week with the flu. And for the chicken s-s-s-s-soup you made for me and went o-o-o-o-out of your way to deliver to me.
Holly, t-t-t-t-thanks for teaching me how to sing, dance, and p-p-p-p-play numerous musical instruments. I just w-w-w-w-wish I could've mastered playing the harp. I probably would have already if I didn't d-d-d-d-ditch you that one time to try to score Tiny Cowboy VIP p-p-p-p-passes. Trying to eat a k-k-k-k-kitchen sink's worth of ice cream in an hour to get 'em wasn't w-w-w-w-worth it.
Adyson! That o-o-o-o-one time you lost your beret and h-h-h-h-had to make a new one? I have it. Or, did. I gave it to that one b-b-b-b-boy who likes sniffing things. That's why he keeps trying to sniff your h-h-h-h-hair. Forgive me?
Ginger? Baljeet's NOT cute. G-g-g-g-get over him.
Isabella? Phineas IS cute. G-g-g-g-get all over him!
And Milly... we've been the b-b-b-b-bestest of friends ever since we first met, on the day we both j-j-j-j-joined the Fireside Girls. In case you never see me again after this... I'd like to bequeath you with all of my p-p-p-p-patches. It's only f-f-f-f-fair. After all, without each other, we wouldn't n-n-n-n-nearly have as many patches as we do. So thanks for always being there for m-m-m-m-me, like I've always been there for y-y-y-y-you.
Katie stopped, taking time to shed a tear as her emotions began to get the best of her. And then reality set in, as the roof creaked a second time, reminding her of her impending doom. She gathered herself so she could finish her letter.
Finally, I'd like to t-t-t-t-thank all of my family, friends, fans, and other supporters. It's been g-g-g-g-great telling you all of our a-a-a-a-adventures, even if I haven't r-r-r-r-really contributed all that much personally. Thanks for all the kindness you've showered us with these past few months. At the very least, you should know that if this is the last time you'll hear for me, I can take pride in saying that I met my e-e-e-e-end doing what I love.
Being a Fireside Girl.
With love,
Katie.
Katie clicked save. She then reached for the button to turn her phone off, when, suddenly, it began to vibrate. She saw that she had two messages from Isabella that had just gotten through to her.
"What? She got it!"
She opened the first text and read it aloud.
"'Katie, are you alright? Your mom just called my mom asking where you are. Izzy.'"
Katie was confused. Then she read the time stamp and discovered that it had been sent before Katie had sent her S.O.S. text. The lack of a signal had kept her from getting it until now. The second text from Izzy, though, was from just minutes ago.
"'We just got your message. Are you safe? We'll get to you as soon as we can, but the blizzard's making it hard to get you.'"
Knowing she could not afford to wait much longer, Katie quickly typed a response.
"You have to hurry! This place might collapse on me any sec-"
Katie never got to finish her text, as the roof creaked a third time. This time it gave way, wood, snow, and all, coming down directly on top of her.
"K-K-K-Katie?"
Katie slowly opened her eyes. As she did, she realized that she could not feel anything. Not her arms, not her legs, not her face... not anything.
"Katie! KATIE!"
Two voices were shouting at her. They sounded familiar, but Katie could not place them. Her eyes started to close again, but they shot back open when one of the voices spoke up again, louder.
"KATIE! IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, COME TOWARDS THE LIGHT!"
Katie moved her head to look at a bright yellow light, which was shining down on her from a small tunnel ahead of her. The blonde girl nodded in compliance, and then started to move. She struggled mightily, attempting to find the strength to follow the command of the girl calling out to her.
At first, nothing happened. But then, slowly and surely, Katie made progress. The light brightened as it inched closer and closer and closer. She started hearing the sound of something large and mechanical coming from the end of the tunnel. She did not know what was making it, but it seemed as if she was compelled to keep going towards it.
Finally, she was just inches away from the light and end of the tunnel. It was so bright that her vision whited out, obscuring her from seeing...
End Entry
Author's Notes:
What's waiting on the other end for Katie? Is she even still alive? Find out in the next thrilling entry of the "Fireside Diaries"... coming later tonight!