In the early morning somewhere in upstate New York, the frozen pale blue lake stretched endlessly. In the distance the trees were slowly dying, they were blanketed and weighed down with snow. And a small, lonely cabin halfway buried in the snow stood in the middle of it all and next to it there was a small station wagon.
Beca looked up at the sky, she was thankful that the weather decided to be merciful this morning. It wasn't snowing for once, and they had to make the best of it, because who knows when it would start up again. Beca and Chloe had spent the morning loading the Subaru Forester with pretty much everything they could take from the cabin. The rear cargo bay was loaded as much as it could without blocking her visibility. Beca took a step back to take inventory.
Without any way of knowing what was waiting for them on the road, Beca and Chloe packed whatever they thought could be handy, the bedding from the cabin, the enamel kitchenware, the pots and pans. They also took the snow shovel and the axe Beca used to chop down their Christmas Tree. They also packed their luggage with their clothing, assorted shoes, plus essential toiletries. They had considered getting rid of some of the clothing but decided against it, figuring that it might be helpful somewhere down the line.
Next to it, there was a bigger box loaded with all the food they still had left over, but it was barely a week's worth. They had an assortment of canned food like tuna, salmon, chicken, bean soup, mixed vegetables, pasta sauce, and chili. They also had some dried grains like rice and some spaghetti pasta. For snacking they had half a dozen granola bars, a half-full bag of trail mix and a sealed bag of artisan beef jerky. By miracle, they still had a pack of 32 bottles of water, that was quickly starting to freeze. Figuring it might be handy to have them nearby, Beca packed the snacks and the water in the backseat.
But what really worried Beca was that they were out of coffee, and who knew when there would be coffee again. At least they had plenty of tea left, she didn't mind it, she just preferred coffee.
Their ace in the hole was slung on Beca's right shoulder, the black tactical backpack Fat Amy had given them for Christmas, and inside there were four brown plastic Meals-Ready-to-Eat or MREs. Each MRE contained a full day's worth of calories and a flameless heater, and they were saving those as a last resort.
Looking at all of their supplies, it still didn't feel like enough. Beca worried that there would be hungry days ahead. She couldn't believe how quickly everything had changed for them. And it all started when the power died.
It was morning in the cabin, and Beca twirled loops of fiery red hair with her fingers as Chloe laid gently across her chest. Beca hated that it took this long for them to get together, and she knew Chloe felt the same way. But both women were committed to making up for lost time. Chloe sighed contently, as she listened to the soft beat of Beca's heart.
"You are - really - but like really good at that," Beca whispered softly.
"Thank you, and you know, you are not too shabby yourself," Chloe's voice was sultry, as she moved up and placed a gentle kiss on Beca's lips.
"Yeah? Well, that's cuz you totally inspire me."
"I could tell, how'd you do that thing with-" Chloe asked as she placed a finger on her lower lip.
"-Anyway!" Beca interrupted, trying not to die from sheer embarrassment, "So what do you want to do today?" Although Beca had a feeling she knew what the redhead would say.
"Hmm, More of this please," Chloe purred as she leaned in, getting dangerously close to Beca's neck.
There it is. "Sounds good, but um-" Beca closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth of Chloe's breath on her neck.
"Oh there's a but?" Chloe asked as she pulled back to face Beca with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm just saying I'm going to need like a Gatorade and to like carbo-load or something."
"So are you saying that if I get off this bed, and make you breakfast, I can have my way with you again?"
Beca froze and just stared blankly at Chloe. Chloe studied her for a second and realized she wasn't breathing, "Beca breathe baby!"
Beca took a deep breath, which made Chloe giggle, "You're adorable."
"I uh yeah, um Jesus Chlo."
"So is that a yes?" Chloe asked hopefully.
Beca blushing profusely looked away and mumbled a soft "Yeah sure."
"Hmm, then breakfast coming right up," Chloe said mischievously as she started to get up. She was actually looking forward to this, she had wanted to make her girlfriend breakfast in bed for a while now. And now that her cold was completely gone, she wanted to go all out for the woman she loved. She stood up and for a brief second while she wrapped her robe around her, Beca managed to catch a glimpse of her naked body and her jaw dropped realizing what was to come she whispered, "I should stretch or something."
Chloe shivered and noticed she could see her breath and said, "Wow, it's freezing. Is the heater on?"
"Umm, I'll check," Beca snapping out of her trance got out of bed and donned her own robe. She checked the thermostat, and it was indeed on, but after examining it closer she noticed the power was gone.
"Power's out, I guess last night's blizzard must have knocked it out."
"Darn, could you make us a fire? It's freezing," Chloe said as she walked over to the gas stove.
"Yeah, I'm on it," Beca walked over to the fireplace and expertly got the fire going for them. She placed her hands close to warm them. It felt colder today than it had since they got here.
After examining what they had left in the pantry, Chloe decided to make pancakes with what was left of the mix, she grabbed her phone out of force of habit and noticed it wasn't turning on, "Hey Beca? My phone is dead."
Beca grabbed hers and tried turning it on but no luck, "Mine's dead too, we must have forgotten to charge it last night," and Beca blushed as she remembered exactly why they'd forgotten.
"Well, that's not good!" Chloe complained.
"Oh, wait, I think there's an emergency battery pack in the bag."
Beca grabbed the black tactical bag from the corner and brought it over to the kitchen table. Beca grabbed Chloe's phone and plugged it on.
"Thanks, baby," Chloe said as she whisked the batter.
"I'm never going to get used to you calling me that," Beca said with a smile.
"Would you rather I call you boo? Or bae? Do people still use bae?"
"If those are the only two options, then baby is fine," Beca said with a blush as she made sure the phone was charging.
"Baby, it is for now, I'll figure something else out later," Chloe said as she placed the first bit of mix on the hot pan.
Beca knew it would take a minute or two for the battery pack to charge the phone enough for it to turn on. Her eyes landed on the bag and, curious, she rummaged through it and found a small crank handle radio.
"Oh, check this out," Beca said excitedly.
"What is it?" Chloe asked, glancing over her shoulder, not wanting to let the pancakes burn.
"Looks like a little emergency radio, it has a crank, that's weird," Beca said as she examined the crank on the radio.
"Oh, turn it on! Maybe there's some news about the storm from last night," Chloe said, as she flipped the pancake, happy with its golden color.
Beca found the on switch and a voice immediately came on, she raised the volume The blaring national alert emergency alert system started chirping loudly, and then a slightly robotic voice began its alert message,
"THE FOLLOWING IS A NATIONWIDE EMERGENCY ALERT, THIS MESSAGE IS ORIGINATING FROM THE WHITE HOUSE THIS IS NOT A TEST, DO NOT TURN OFF YOUR RADIO, OR MOBILE DEVICE, I REPEAT THIS IS NOT A TEST, DO NOT TURN OFF YOUR RADIO OR MOBILE DEVICE, THE FOLLOWING IS A MESSAGE FROM THE WHITE HOUSE, PLEASE STAND BY FOR A MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT, THIS MESSAGE WILL BE REPEATED CONTINUOUSLY UNTIL JANUARY 6TH, 2024 PLEASE STAND BY FOR A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT, THIS MESSAGE WILL BE REPEATED CONTINUOUSLY UNTIL FURTHER NEWS DEVELOP."
Chloe's eyes widened at the message and stopped what she was doing, then walked over to the kitchen table and listened. The robotic message repeated on a loop for a few minutes and Beca and Chloe looked at each other, both women were tense, they couldn't remember the last time they heard the national alert system stating that "this was not a test."
"My fellow Americans."
The voice started, Beca and Chloe turned to look at each other again, knowing that whatever message was about to be delivered would change everything.
"As you know, during the last couple of days, the world has been facing an unprecedented weather phenomenon. It's been snowing almost nonstop all across the globe, and we don't know why. The nations of the world have come together and formed a coalition with each and every single brilliant scientific mind available on the planet with the mission to explore, explain and ultimately resolve this weather phenomenon, before it worsens," The president paused.
"And as the elected leader of the nation, it is with a heavy heart that I have to report that-"
"That the combined efforts of these brilliant minds and united governments have been largely unsuccessful. And as I speak to you right now, so do the rest of the leaders of the world to their citizens to inform them that we don't know when weather conditions will return to normal."
The president stopped and cleared his throat, and Beca could swear that she could hear him sweat as he spoke.
"Is he saying that the snow won't stop?" Chloe asked incredulously.
"Hold on, Chlo," Beca said as she leaned closer to the radio and raised the volume.
"As it stands right now, our scientists have not been able to establish a clear timeline. And as the weather worsens we need to face the real possibility that it will significantly impact our agriculture and livestock sectors, commerce, and supply chains. This means that there is a very real possibility of food shortages, as crops and livestock are impacted by the weather and our supply chains get disrupted."
"Presently, said scientists are working around the clock on resolving this issue. And there is some promise in that area, and we will have more information on that soon. In the meantime, as of December 27th, I have placed the country in a state of emergency and established a nationwide curfew, I have deployed our military to help maintain and protect our delicate infrastructure, our supply chain, and other essential emergency services. FEMA will also be working closely with your state and local government deploying vital resources, establishing emergency shelter, food and warm blankets for those displaced by the crisis. They will also be coordinating logistics and chain supply management to distribute supplies to areas experiencing the worst shortages."
"As more information progresses develops on this, we will be disseminating it to you through emergency channels. For now, I urge you to continue to shelter in place, stay calm and warm, ration your supplies, comply with your local state government emergency guidelines, and under no circumstances wander into the snow, but more importantly, I ask you to have faith. Faith that we as humans will pull through this together. Now is the time for unity and collaboration. Your government officials, your police officers, and the military will continue to work tirelessly until this situation is corrected. We will outlast this storm, we will survive, we will adapt, and we will overcome. The human spirit will not be extinguished! God Bless You, God Bless the Nation, and God Bless the Human Race."
Beca and Chloe turned to look at each other once more, their eyes wide in panic. Beca mouthed a "what the fuck?"
"Did he say - that the storm wasn't stopping?" Chloe asked incredulously.
"I don't want to believe it, but yeah, he did." Beca shook her head, this felt like a bad dream.
"Beca is this real?" Chloe voiced exactly what she was wondering. "This is a joke, or a hoax right?"
"I uh-" Beca didn't know what to say, she hoped it was a joke so she checked other stations, but they were all broadcasting the same thing. "It's on every station? If it's a hoax, then it's the most elaborate hoax ever."
Chloe scrambled to turn on her phone, her hands were shaking and the seconds it took for it to boot up felt eternal. When it came to life, the very first thing that appeared was a notification that read "ALERT DUE TO CURRENT EMERGENCY SITUATION, ALL NON-ESSENTIAL COMMUNICATION HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED FOR EMERGENCY SERVICES" Chloe tried to open different apps, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook but none of them were working without a signal. Chloe showed Beca the message, and they looked at each other. Chloe shook her head and said.
"And seriously not funny," She was starting to panic, and neither of them cared that they could smell the pancakes burning.
Beca shook her head, she could still hear the tone in the voice of the president, it was trying to convey confidence but Beca was a musician and, she could hear the pitch of fear. Tirelessly, he said I'll believe that when I see it, it didn't take long for the power to go out. I just hope things are better the further south we go.
Shivering, Beca adjusted her thick black beanie and adjusted the shoulder strap of the black tactical backpack. She was wearing a navy down drift parka, and a black puff jacket beneath it. She was wearing some black REI insulated snow pants. Around her neck was a black, and white neckwarmer. And some black snow boots. Even with all of this on, it didn't feel like enough. The cold was bracing, merciless and unending.
Beca closed the hatch of the Subaru Beca and circled it, appreciatively. Digging it out this morning had been a pain in the ass. But working together using the big shovel from the cabin and the small collapsible shovel Beca found on the black tactical bag, they were able to work together to make the process more bearable.
Beca had complete confidence in her evergreen pearl color Subaru, she knew it could handle most of these roads, thanks to its relatively high ground clearance and its AWD, but she knew she still had to be extra careful and drive slowly. Beca would never admit it to her mother, but she loved the 2006 Subaru Foster, XS. Her mother had even splurged when she bought it new and gone for the L.L. Bean trim, with fancy tan leather and embroidery that Beca couldn't care less about, but it had a moon roof, which she always thought was cool. In this car her mother taught her to drive, and in it, she'd sneak away in the dead of night for youthful shenanigans. So when her mother gifted it to her as a graduation present, she couldn't have been happier. It was a nostalgic reminder of simpler times taken for granted.
Beca sighed and placing a hand on the hood of the Subaru thought, Well Bertha, we have a long road ahead of us, but I believe in you. Then she turned around to look towards the cabin and shouted, "You ready Chlo?"
But Chloe couldn't hear her, she was out of earshot. Chloe had just nailed a piece of paper on the cabin's door and then turned around, noticing Beca waiting for her patiently. The redhead smiled and made her way towards her, as soon as she stepped outside the shelter of the cabin the cold struck her and she shivered. Chloe wore a rainbow puffy beanie on her head that protected her ears. She was also wearing Beca's extra orange quilted bomber insulated hoodie, and Beca loved how it looked on her. Beneath it, she was wearing a yellow hoodie, a long-sleeved blue shirt and a shirt underneath, Beca had insisted she wear multiple layers. For pants, she wore a pair of purple snow pants that Beca gave her, with thermal underwear beneath. But the problem was the footwear, she was wearing a pair of cute black leather boots that were definitely not weather-appropriate. She layered it with multiple socks, but the second she stepped in the snow, she could feel her toes were already getting cold. She tried her best to ignore it and kept walking.
"What's that?" Beca asked, pointing at the piece of paper.
"Just a note," Chloe responded with a shrug as she walked towards Beca.
"What about?" Beca raised an eyebrow.
Chloe stopped in front of Beca and wrapped her arms around her, Beca without a moment of hesitation wrapped her arms around Chloe's lower back. Beca secretly always loved that from the second they met, Chloe had always been unapologetically affectionate, which had only increased after that Christmas. Beca was more than happy to reciprocate.
"Us," Chloe responded with a smile.
"Ah, that clears nothing, but OK,"
Chloe noticed the black backpack and asked, "You're not putting this in the back?"
"No way dude, this thing is staying with me 24-7," Beca said, tightening her grip on the shoulder strap.
"It's very fashionable, apocalypse chic," Chloe said teasingly and Beca chuckled softly. Chloe understood that Beca still felt guilty about what happened to her, and nothing she said could alleviate that. After a second, Chloe released Beca and stood next to her. They got one last look at the cabin.
"I'm going to miss this place," Beca whispered as she leaned her head against Chloe's shoulder.
"Me too," Chloe exhaled. She almost lost herself in the snow to come here, but it had been worth it. Because here, she got her Beca back. Beca who had run into a blizzard for her and when she'd gotten sick, had undressed and warmed her back to life with her body heat. It was here where Beca had chopped a tree with her bare hands so they could have a tree for Christmas. And it was here that on Christmas night, Beca had sung "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," just for her, moments before she called her "My Chloe."
Leaving behind this place so full of wonderful memories made her heartache. That's why she left a note, she wanted to leave a piece of their story.
"Maybe we'll come back one day," Chloe said, because more than anything she wanted to have hope. Hope that the world will go back to normal someday. And that coming back to this place would go back to being a simple matter of booking it online with a credit card. And maybe one day she'd come back with Beca for an anniversary or for Christmas, and they'd relieve all the wonderful memories they shared.
"I'd like that, I'd like that a lot, actually," Beca responded, her eyes fixed on the cabin. In her own way, Beca was mirroring Chloe's sentiments. Because for the last couple of days, this place had been home. Even though this is where she had experienced the worst fear she'd ever felt in her life when she almost lost Chloe to hypothermia and cried her heart out when she couldn't find medication to help her. Beca's eyes softened and became misty. Even after all that pain and misery, this was also where she'd been the happiest. Here she got her Chloe back. And here in the darkest of moments, with her ear pressed against Chloe's chest, she heard her heartbeat softly coming back to life and that soft beat, made music become music once more. Beca would miss this place dearly.
After a few minutes of quiet reflection, Chloe turned to Beca and placing a hand on her shoulder said, "You ready? Or do you need more time?"
"No, I'm OK," Is what she said, but her heart felt differently. She looked at Chloe who as always looked just so beautiful but here surrounded by the unending snow, she became an ethereal vision.
Noticing how Beca was intently staring, Chloe smiled and leaned in to give her a soft kiss on the cheek and said, "Come on, let's hit the road."
"Yeah," Beca said quietly, still feeling raw, and started to make her way toward the driver's seat. As Chloe was about to open the passenger door her eyes glassed over, distant, and she froze with her hand inches from the handle, Beca noticed a slight tremor in her hand and asked "Chloe? Are you alright?"
The concern in Beca's voice helped Chloe snap out of it, and she looked at her hand, then immediately went back to her usual chirpy self and nodded a little too eagerly, ""Sorry, Beca -I just, I don't know what came over me. Let's just go, okay?"
Beca frowned for a second and examined Chloe unsure, but she shrugged and got in the driver's seat, figuring that whatever it was, Chloe would tell her when she was ready. Chloe jumped in the passenger seat next to her buckled her seat, and took a deep breath. That caught Beca's attention.
"You sure you're alright, Chlo?"
"Yeah, I'm alright, I think it's leaving the cabin just- I guess it stressed me out a bit." Chloe forced a plain smile.
Beca decided to let it go and settled in her seat. Beca took off her beanie and placed it on the dashboard. She turned the ignition key, and after a moment of struggle, the Subaru roared to life, and Beca sighed with relief. Out of instinct, she turned on the radio and the voice of the president came on, it was the same message from last time on a loop. Beca clicked it off and looked over at Chloe, who was looking at the radio concerned.
"I guess there's nothing new, huh?"
"Guess not," Chloe almost whispered, her eyes still fixed on the radio. Beca could see Chloe becoming concerned and decided she needed to say something.
"It's going to be alright Chlo, we'll make it to Mama Beale's place in no time."
"Um yeah! Of course! Totes, things can't be that bad, it's only been snowing for a few weeks, right?" Chloe responded a little too hurriedly.
"Exactly, and the president said that they were going to keep working and stuff."
"Yeah, he did, we'll be totally fine," Chloe smiled and while she wasn't entirely convinced she decided that she would stay hopeful for their mental health.
Beca noticing the mood was getting a bit heavy decided to change the subject, "Hey, so you really up for navigating Chlo?"
"Yeah! Totes! I can handle it! Just gotta keep up pointed in the right direction!" Chloe responded as she opened the glove box and brought out the map and started to unfold it.
"Because I distinctly remember you mentioning that you failed maps, or you know Geography," Beca said a bit of concern in her voice.
"Right! And that's why I can totally do this because I took the class a bunch of times," Chloe responded with what she believed was flawlessly logical.
Beca thought about this for a second and wanted to question the logic behind her statement but decided against it, "I -uh OK, I'm leaving it to you then."
"And you can count on me, Captain! We just need to get on the road here and keep going straight!" Chloe said eagerly.
"Alright!"
They drove away, and while they knew what was being left behind, they had no idea what perils and hardships the road had in store. Using their rearview mirrors, Beca and Chloe looked back one last time. Somehow they both knew that this would be the last time they'd see the small cabin they once called home. And as the snow continued to fall it would soon consume the cabin itself, and it is only through luck, that the note on the door would remain secure in place.
Beca was so grateful that she had made it a point to fit the Subaru with the winter tires before all this happened, her dad had even paid for it and Beca hadn't minded one bit. The snow wasn't frozen over, it was powdery enough and the snow tires made short work of it. But she still had to drive at half the speed she was used to, which meant the drive was slow and grueling. She looked ahead scanning for any dangerous ice patches or snow banks that might impact their drive, yet there was nothing for what seemed like miles. And after what felt like hours on the road, Beca spotted a large snowbank, and what looked like the roof of a vehicle.
"Oh! Hey, Chloe, look familiar?" Beca asked as she pointed at the glint of yellow metal almost buried in the giant pile of fresh powder.
"Oh yeah, forgot about the little guy," Chloe said with a soft voice. It all came back in a flood of painful memories, her losing control, and skidding into the snow bank, then just below that memory there was a more dangerous one, that Chloe didn't want to think about.
"Should we stop?" Beca asked, but she was already slowing down.
Chloe shook her head and said, "No, keep going."
"You sure? There wasn't anything in there you needed?"
"Y- Yeah I'm sure," Chloe answered, her smile tight.
Beca was slightly confused but complied and said "OK, we'll keep going then," Beca sped up and as she passed by the abandoned car she noticed Chloe closing her eyes. Chloe was navigating the cobweb of painful memories, but there was one in there that was important. She remembered a brief stop before making the climb up the mountain. A friendly old man, who helped her buy a bunch of groceries and stow them in the trunk. Beca was staring now, concerned.
"Chloe-" Beca started, she wanted to ask if she was sure everything was alright, but Chloe interrupted her.
"Stop!" Chloe shouted a little louder than intended, startling Beca.
"What?"
"Stop the car!"
Beca slammed on the brakes. Chloe gasped, and her breathing became fast, but after a second she was able to calm herself down and said softly, "I just remembered that I did leave something in the trunk."
Beca pulled over in the middle of the road, not much use worrying about traffic. Beca got the impression that no one has traveled this road in a long time. She got out of the car and circled around and opened Chloe's door. Chloe took her hand and got out of the car, her feet immediately sank in the snow. Beca helped her navigate the deep snow. Chloe looked up at the barely identifiable mound of snow that contained the rental car. Her heart started to race and her hand shook, Beca noticing something was wrong squeezed Chloe's hand, grabbing her attention. Chloe saw the concern in Beca's eyes.
"I'm fine Becs, stupid snow, you know I really need some proper winter boots for this," Chloe said as she pulled her foot off the snow.
"Yeah, next mall we see we'll get you some," Beca agreed, though she got the feeling that malls weren't going to be opening any time soon.
"That would be awesome."
"So, do you remember if you left something worth taking?"
"Yeah, um oh," Chloe panicked for a second as she checked her pockets but relaxed when she found what she was looking for "OK good, found the keys, yeah there's some stuff in the trunk," Chloe said as she pushed the button on the fob that unlocked the trunk, but it was covered in a mountain of snow.
"Hold on, let me get the tools," Beca said as she walked back to the Subaru and opened the hatch. After a second of rummaging, she found the small collapsible shovel and the snow shovel.
"Shovel or shovel?" Beca asked lifting both options.
"Shovel," Chloe answered, grabbing the snow shovel.
"Good choice," Beca said as she got to work shoveling the snow off the trunk as Chloe went to work with the big shovel. They focused on the trunk area, and while the work was arduous the snow was soft and manageable but the cold made the work daunting and they could see their breath as they worked. After a few minutes of working together they were able to pry open the trunk.
Chloe peeked inside, and smiled, "Yes! Becs! Look!" Chloe pulled out the two pieces of luggage she had left over and two brown bags of frozen groceries. Stopping was the right call after all.
"What's in there?"
"It's not much, but umm eww the veggies are off and frozen," Chloe squirmed and threw out some frozen wet and wilted-looking greens to the side of the road. "Gross, anyway let's see here," Chloe started to go through the contents of the bag, she found assorted cans and boxes, everything was cold and possibly frozen but relatively intact.
"Here I have four cans of that soup you like, one box of milk, it's frozen too, umm, a box of Fruity Pebbles, a box of instant oatmeal-,"
"Oh! I love Fruity Pebbles" Beca quickly grabbed the box and stared at it with glee then looked up "Wait, what canned soup do I like?"
"Yeah, you know the Minestrone one? The one that you used to fuss over when we'd get groceries for the house." Chloe responded, not bothering to look up as she kept going through the contents.
"Wow, you remember that?" Beca asked surprised.
"Of course, you're not the only one with good memory you know," Chloe smiled and went back to checking the bags, then her eyes widened, and she quickly pulled something out of the bag
"Oh Beca, look what I got!" Chloe sand excitedly and extended a hand holding a full 10 oz jar of instant coffee. Beca's eyes lit up at the sight, and grabbed it and examined it carefully.
"Dude! Is that coffee! Are you freaking serious right now! This is amazing, thank you!"
Chloe beamed as she swayed her hips from side to side, pleased with herself and then remembered "Oh wait I think I have more stuff!" And carefully made her way back towards the trunk of her car.
Beca stared at the jar and considered how long it would take to make some right now but decided against it, she could wait until later, once they were settled for the night or something, "Seriously Chlo, thank you! This means so much to me!"
"You are very welcome, baby!" Chloe yelled as she kept rummaging through the truck, "I could have sworn I had- it must have fallen off the bag" Chloe almost jumped into the trunk and after a second of searching she suddenly exclaimed.
"Yes! Wine!"
"Oh sweet!" Beca responded excitedly.
Chloe pulled out a bottle of wine triumphantly, it was a very inexpensive Red Blend Chloe examined it, "Aw it's frozen!"
"I'm sure it's fine, we can warm it up or something, right?" Beca had no idea if that would ruin the wine, but it seemed like the thing to do.
"Yea you're right, Oh we can make Mulled Wine again! Remember?" Chloe was talking about that faithful night all those months ago when they had gotten a little tipsy on Mulled Wine and after watching Miracle on 34th's Street, they were filled with the Christmas Spirit and had the brilliant idea to book the cabin for all the Barden Bellas. In a way, it was thanks to the Mulled Wine that they were here in the first place.
Chloe turned back to the trunk and her eyes widened, "Oh my god! I forgot about this! Vodka!" Chloe waved around a familiar-looking clear bottle with a black label, it was the cheap stuff they had in college, the secret ingredient to a few undergrad black-out nights.
"Oh God Chlo! We aren't in college anymore!" Beca could almost feel her stomach turning with the memories of its taste.
"Hey, pickings were slim, besides, if I remember correctly someone gets a teensy bit handsy after a few vodka cranberries."
"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," Beca responded as she crossed her arms and looked away.
"It's OK, you can be as handsy as you want now!" Chloe flirted, while Beca tried to hide her blush and cleared her throat, "Anyway, maybe it's not the worst idea, could be used for antiseptic or something."
"Sure, antiseptic, didn't know I was dating freaking Bear Grylls over here."
Beca had to laugh at that, "Come on we should get back on the road, daylight's wasting."
"Oh daylight's wasting! Sure whatever you say, Mrs. Grylls!" Chloe and Beca laughed as they made their way back to the Subaru. This time Chloe was able to get in the car more easily and relaxed once in her seat. Beca paused, something was bothering her, and she asked, "Where did you say you got these groceries?"
"I stopped at a gas station on the way here," Chloe explained.
"Far?"
"Not really, I mean like 2 hours or so? It's umm," Chloe examined the map for a second and said, "Yeah, it's pretty much a straight shot from here."
Beca looked at her tank, she had half a tank left, which she knew was just enough to get them there, she also hadn't counted on the fact that navigating the snow would use up more fuel than during normal driving conditions.
"We should check out the gas station then."
"Are we low on fuel?" Chloe asked concerned, leaning to get a peak at the fuel gauge.
"Not yet but we will be soon, I hadn't considered how driving in the snow was eating up our gas, but I think we'll make it, it's just going to be tight."
Beca turned the engine over and slowly crept out of the snow. And in an attempt to save fuel, she turned off the heater. Chloe noticed and tried her best not to think about the implications as she shivered from the cold. She grabbed her rainbow beanie from the dashboard and put it on her head. She looked over at Beca who was so focused on the road she hadn't noticed she too was shivering. Chloe reached across the dashboard and grabbed Beca's beanie and unceremoniously placed it on Beca's head.
"Ow! Chlo what the hell! I'm driving here!" Beca protested as she adjusted the beanie with one hand.
"You forgot to put your hat on! You have to stay warm! We lose most of our body heat through our head, you know!"
"I'm pretty sure that's a myth, Chlo."
"Don't argue with me Beca Mitchel and just put your hat on, OK?" Chloe scolded playfully.
"Fine, jeez," Beca grumbled.
Chloe satisfied, crossed her arms and stared at the window. Beca sighed and looked over at Chloe, she was suddenly overwhelmed by this wave of deep appreciation for her. Chloe was just looking out for her, making sure she was comfortable and warm, and that was just so very much like her Chloe. If you have to be with anyone during any apocalyptic event, at least be with the one you love the most. And Beca knew that not many people were as lucky as them.
"Hey um, Chlo?"
"Yeah?" Chloe looked at her with those impossibly blue eyes that always made her melt.
"I uh nothing, just thanks."
Chloe turned to her, and smiled, "You're welcome, baby."
To be continued.
Author's Notes: And so their journey begins...
Quick note: This project was initially named, The Cold Way Home, but something about it never sat right with me. So after some soul-searching I finally landed on something that actually felt right, A Snowdrift Serenade. I actually made the fix on the Epilogue on To Lose You In the Snow too so everyone's on the same page. Believe it or not titles are usually the hardest part for me nothing ever feels quite right. Hotel California was actually named Sparks for awhile lol.
You wanna know what was the hardest part of this entire chapter for me? The President's message, I must have watched every disaster Movie that had a president speech in it for inspiration, and BTW the president's speech in Independence Day is 100% the best one. And I'm still not satisfied, I wanted a blend of serious official lingo with maybe a little bit of losing your shit at the same time y'know lol. Anyway Thank you so much for reading! It means the World to me!