Now we're finally getting into the arc's main plot.

Winter Wonderland: Part Five

Group Chat - Captain Thorne's Crew
Members: Captain Thorne, Cinder, Cress, Jacin, Kai, Scarlet, Winter, Wolf

Kai: So, you're all home?

Cress: Just got here. I was nearly tailing the car in front of me because I was so scared.

Captain Thorne: Even my snowplow is buried under snow. Smh, I wanted to roam the streets.

Jacin: I'm getting sunburned but it's not like any of you can relate.

Cinder: I would kill for a sunburn right about now.

Cinder: By the way, Winter and I passed Wolf's house on the way home. Man's got no service or data and was shovelling like crazy so he told us to tell you he made it through the storm.

Winter: Cinder and I just got here, btw.

Cress: Anyone hear from Scarlet?

Jacin: Maybe she drove to France lol.

Kai: She's not picking up.

Jacin: Oh spades, I was kidding.

Captain Thorne: Sure you were…. I was.

Winter: JACIN!

Cress: CARSWELL!

Cinder: Ha, Carswell.

Jacin: Aces, someone better start driving to France. I won't but I believe in you guys.

Cinder: No you don't.

-o-

Scarlet has always loved living on the farm. It was just on the outskirts of town, the neighbours were far away, and each property had so much land. It was immense compared to houses in the suburbs, and incomparable to apartments in the city. Some farmers had livestock and animals Scarlet would visit when she was younger. She even rode her first horse here! Even winter on the farm was beautiful. Seeing everything covered in snow … because the snowplows almost never visit these streets.

That's Scarlet's one complaint about living on the farm. It's not the isolation or manure smell because she's grown to like those; it's that the plows take forever to reach the farms since they start in town and work their way out to the countryside. Scarlet understands that the cities have more road traffic and use, but the farms are a part of town and even tougher to navigate since it's so open. At least with the city, the constant cars would eventually flatten the snow and make a semi-decent driving route.

The farms are just a pile of snow. Scarlet isn't even sure she's driving on the road.

Scarlet's driving slowly until her car stops moving. Scarlet pushes on the gas but nothing. She hears her engine running and wheels spinning. There's snow spitting upwards and that's when she stops trying.

She's stuck and Grandmère's farm is still a ten minute drive away.

"Aces…" she curses, sitting back in her seat.

Scarlet checks her phone and she has no service. Her friends would be so worried. Where was Thorne and his stupid snowplow?

It doesn't help that she's stuck in the middle of two properties so the farms won't even see her. As if they could spot her nearly-white car in a nearly white landscape with snow falling. It's the polar bear in a snowstorm scenario all over again.

-o-

Winter and Cinder are grateful to walk into their house and see that they still have power. Instantly, they rip off their snow gear and run to their rooms to change. They come out in sweatpants and a sweatshirt but different styles. Cinder's is a monotone grey and black scheme while Winter's in pastel colours. If they ever wore the same outfit, it'd have these colour schemes.

"We should invite our friends over," Cinder says, "especially if they have no power."

"But then they'd have to drive here in the storm," Winter reasons.

Levana steps out of her room and leans against her doorframe. "Depending on where they live. Most neighbourhoods as of now still have power."

"What are you doing home?"

"It started snowing so I left before it built up."

Cinder snorts a laugh. "We're so related."

Almost as if they've been jinxed, their lights start flickering. In Artemisia, they never had to worry about power outages like this since they never had snow. The worst they ever got were freak thunderstorms (which led to their eventual mud sliding in parks to pass the time with no electricity.)

Cinder and Levana are cursing and stare at Winter oddly when she's cheering. Again, related.

And they're in the dark.

Winter claps excitedly. "I can use the candles Jacin bought me."

"A few tiny flames…" Levana mutters. "We're doomed."

Winter pulls out her phone and uses its flashlight to head back to her room. She hums to herself as she rummages through her drawers to find the candles.

"I know what you're thinking," Levana says to Cinder.

"What?" Cinder asks.

"You think Jacin caused the storm so Winter would light those candles."

Cinder fakes a gasp. "How did you know?"

"I thought the same thing."

Cinder laughs. "I hate the snow."

The power's been out for two seconds and she and Levana were agreeing and laughing with each other. They really are doomed.

"I still love it!" Winter exclaims from her room.

Cinder ignores her as she looks at her phone, lowering her brightness since she won't be able to charge it. She regrets using her phone during class since she doesn't have a lot to work with and she still has to check if her friends are okay.

-o-

Wolf changes into jeans and a sweatshirt, happy to be out of his stupid school uniform. He looks out his window and sighs when he sees that his parked car in the driveway is already submerged in snow. He'll have to shovel again. Cinder and Winter offered to help when they drove by but he didn't want them to get submerged here so he told them to put his arrival in the group chat.

It sucked spades when he arrived home and saw that he had no internet or data. His power must be out which he guessed when the traffic lights were off on his way.

It was even worse when he saw all the snow at his house.

When he pulled up to his house on the way home from school, his driveway had at least a foot of snow on it. He had to park next to the curb on the road, run to the garage to get a shovel, and clear enough room to park his car. The sprint from his spot to the garage to return the shovel and then back to his car was the fastest he's ever moved (and through snow!) He had to park his car before the snow built up.

He has never felt more accomplished in his entire life … he won't tell Scarlet that point.

For once, he wishes Thorne would come by … but only if he brings the snowplow.

Why did Thorne's snowplow become iconic in this chapter? I have no idea.