The next morning, we all woke just after sunrise to the sunlight coming in the window. We hadn't seen the sun in three days, and it took us a minute to realize what we were seeing. Jesse realized it first, but soon all of us were at the windows. The storm had stopped in the night, leaving a total of four and a half feet of snow on the ground.

With the storm gone, the Stephens' wanted to inspect their house, and the four of us decided to head out too. We all bundled up (except Cindy, who'd had enough of the snow and couldn't help anyway with her arm) and grabbed shovels, the sled, and anything else we could use to dig our neighbors out of their house.

Walking up the driveway, I studied Mr. Stephens—John, he'd told me to call him. He seemed to be a bit unsteady, but that might be the crudely made snowshoes. He'd hit his head pretty hard when the house collapsed, but didn't seem to have sustained any permanent damage.

Machaela, the resident healer, being the best at first aid, had decided John had a slight concussion, but probably nothing about which to worry. Cindy, she'd decided, probably had either a hairline fracture or a bruised ulna, both of which are extremely painful, from subconsciously using her arm to protect herself from the falling debris as she ran under the sink. Susan and John were just glad she was alright.

Susan and John separated from the rest of us, bringing me out of my thoughts, and I looked around. We had five houses in our general area, four now with the Stephens house gone. One had a family with two wheelchair-bound children, one was an elderly widow, and the other two were middle-age families who were already starting to dig themselves out.

The wheelchair-bound family was closest and would probably need to get out first, so that's where we went.

Using the shovels to dig, and the sled to carry the snow away, we slowly cleared the door. Their porch was much smaller than ours was, and the snow had drifted quite a ways onto the porch, shutting them in. Once we got the porch cleared, Dave, the father, came out to help, and by midmorning, we had a way cleared to the street. When plows got around to us, which might be a while, he would be able to make it to town. He decided to clean the rest of the wheelchair ramp off, but we left to help someone else.

Next, we went over to Jean's house. She'd lived alone since her husband, Bud, died, and as far as we knew, she didn't have any family. We found the house dark, and while the sun was out, there should have been one light on. She always had a lamp next to her chair on whether she needed it or not.

Not knowing Jean as well as us, Jesse and Machaela opted to start working on her driveway and very long porch, while Mom and I checked on Jean.

We tried knocking on the front door first, of course, but Jean wasn't answering, so we went around to her bedroom window. All we could see in there was a bundle of blankets, no movement.

After knocking on her window trying to get an answer, we had no choice. I went around to the door. With a quick divine word, we were in. Mom checked the kitchen, while I went straight to the bedroom.

I found Jean there, huddled under the covers, trying to keep warm in her frigid house. She hadn't noticed me yet. Checking a light switch confirmed she had no power, and probably hadn't since the night before. Without a wood-burning stove, nor the ability to stock it if she had one, she had no way to heat her house.

"Jean?" I asked, trying to alert her I was there without scaring her. "Jean, can you hear me?"

She moved a bit at the sound of her name, but she probably thought my voice was outside, and didn't bother trying to answer.

"Jean," I said again as I touched her shoulder. At the contact, her eyes popped open and she stared at me, initially not fully comprehending I was there.

Just then, Mom came into the room. "Kitchen's empty," she told me before "noticing" Jean there. "Jean, why didn't you call us?"

We both knew Jean wasn't in the kitchen. Mom meant there was no food left. Apparently, Jean had run out of supplies before the storm ran out of snow.

While Mom and Jean talked, I walked around the room gathering a few clothes and blankets and stuffing them into a suitcase. I knew Jean would be staying with us until the power came back on, no matter how much she tried to protest being a burden.

"You're not a burden," I told her when she voiced this yet again. "We have plenty of room, and there's no way we're leaving you in a forty-degree house with no food."

Mom helped her get up. She was already dressed in her warmest, so Mom wrapped her in a couple blankets and helped her walk out to the porch. I followed behind, carrying the bag I'd packed for her.

Jesse met us on the porch with the toboggan after getting my (telempathic) call. As Jean settled herself onto the sled, I studied the driveway. Almost a quarter-mile long, it was going to take a while to clear. In the time Mom and I were gone, Machaela and Jesse had only finished the porch and about five feet from the garage. I glanced around; we were out of sight from any neighbors and the road should someone come by.

"Hey, Machaela!" I called. Both she and Jesse looked over. "I'm taking Jean to the house. Take the shortcut." They both looked around and realized that once Jean and I were out of sight, there would be no witnesses. They grinned and nodded, and I started pulling the sled towards home.

Jean waited until we were halfway to the house before voicing her thoughts. "Which shortcut?"

I glanced back at her, my question clear on my face. What do you mean? I thought about giving her a vague answer about clearing the driveway, but decided to hear her out.

She chuckled. "Well? Greek or Egyptian?"

I looked back at her again, grinning, but waiting for her to elaborate. We were almost to the driveway by now.

"Do Greeks even have a spell for clearing snow?" she mused. "I guess it'd have to be Egyptian, then, wouldn't it?"

I laughed. "It would have to be," I finally told her. "We're not children of Hecate. How do you know about that?"

"Pharaoh keeps the House well up to date," she explained in her shaky voice. "We knew about the Greeks within a week of the meeting, and we also know about the three siblings who are Greek and Egyptian. Though he didn't announce the names, it seemed to fit."

I laughed again and started telling her about the three worlds, finishing just as we came up to the house. I helped her stand from the toboggan, then handed her the cane I'd found next to her bed. Staying close in case she needed a hand, I carried her bag and we went to the living room.

Walking inside, I saw a large pile of bedding piled in the middle of the floor and no sign of Cindy—until the door closed behind Jean, that is. At the slam of the door, the pile jumped and Cindy poked her head out from beneath the layers of blankets.

"Are you comfy?" I asked her with a grin. She nodded and I continued as she noticed Jean behind me. "Jean will be staying with us for a while until she has power back. Help me set up a bed on the couch?"

Climbing out of her nest, she hugged Jean, then started clearing John's bed. Jean couldn't sleep on the floor, so we'd build her a bed on the couch. Mom had had the couch the first night, and John had slept there the previous night, but I knew he wouldn't mind giving it up. We finished setting her bed up as Mom, Machaela, and Jesse got home.

"The drive is clear," Jesse told us as they walked in.

"An emergency worker came through shortly after you left," Machaela picked up. "FEMA and Tennessee Emergency Management are leading efforts to get up here. The trucks are currently fifteen miles south of us. They should get through soon with supplies and to start clearing the roads."

I looked at her funny. "If the trucks aren't through yet, how is he up here?"

"He lives near here, and has a radio on the same channel. He's going through the neighborhoods on skis helping where needed and telling everyone he can."

Before I could answer, footsteps sounded on the porch, then someone used a foot to knock at the door. Mom hurried over to open it, and Susan and John walked in, each carrying a full trash bag.

I grabbed the bag from John and Jesse grabbed the one from Susan, and we brought them into the living room.

"What's all this?" Machaela asked what we were all wondering.

"Open it," Susan replied with a smile.

I opened the bag I had to find it full of canned goods mixed with slightly damp clothes. Susan started talking again, "We dug through the rubble to find anything we could use. After finding the pantry, we grabbed everything we could, and the clothes were all stored in the extra bedroom."

"That's great!" Machaela replied. "I'm glad you were able to find so much."

John shrugged. "It's not a lot, and it's not even the treasured stuff, but it's better than nothing."

We all moved into the kitchen for a late lunch, and conversation turned to how long the snow would stay.

His comments had sparked an idea for me, though, which I noodled until everyone finished eating. Susan and John agreed to take over the fire, and I talked Mom and my siblings into coming back outside with me. I made sure to grab my Hunter's bag and the sled as we left.

Hello, my readers! Thanks to ILikeReading1 and stormrunner74 for their reviews, and I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. Don't forget to let me know what you think!