6. Xyla

6

Xyla

X yla screamed when she heard the explosion. She looked out the window and saw the wall of snow rushing toward them.

"Shut the shutters. Hurry. Shut them now," Xyla yelled. "We have to keep the snow from breaking the windows and getting in."

The three of them managed to get the shutters closed over the windows. The roar grew louder and louder as the snow hit the cabin, shaking it. Xyla covered her ears because the sound was deafening. Edward pressed up against her side, covering his ears. His eyes were wide with fright.

Xyla wrapped her arms around her brother and held him close to her as the shuddering and thunder went on for an eternity. She was terrified that they would be buried under a pile of splinters and snow. Finally, it stopped.

Edward was trembling and she sat on the couch, pulling her next to him. "It's okay. We're okay."

Sucking in a huge breath and trying to calm her racing heart, she looked around. They were in complete darkness except for the tiny fire that still burned in the fireplace.

"The snow didn't cover the chimney or the place would be filled with smoke. That's a good sign."

Elliot walked over to the front door and cautiously opened it. A wall of packed snow greeted him. He shut the door and walked over to the couch, sitting next to Xyla.

"I knew coming here was a bad idea," he growled.

Xyla looked at him sharply. "Dad, that's not going to help. We have enough wood to last the day and probably night if we use it sparingly. We have enough food to last a few days. Surely, by that time, we'll be rescued. People know we're here. It'll be fine."

"I should have known better. Why couldn't you ask for something normal for your birthday?"

"Knock it off, Dad. If you don't have something positive to say or a solution, then keep your mouth shut."

Elliot looked at her, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. Xyla had never stood up to him before. He stood up and walked toward his bedroom, growling loudly as he hit his shin against the coffee table. Xyla closed her eyes. Being shut up with her father was going to be pure hell for her and Edward.

"Are we going to die? Are we going to starve to death or freeze to death?" Edward's voice was high-pitched with fear.

"No, we aren't. People know we're here and they'll send help. This is a mountain and avalanches happen on mountains. The owners of the resort will have a plan."

Edward slowly nodded.

"Look at me. This is not your fault. You know how Dad gets. A situation could have happened no matter where we were. Okay?"

Edward nodded.

"Stay here for a second. There's a closet off of the kitchen. I'm sure they'll either have lamps or candles in there."

He nodded again.

Xyla used the flashlight on her phone to find the cabin. She was happy to see that there were three lanterns on the shelf. There were also a couple of shovels. Xyla briefly thought about the possibility of digging them out, but she was certain her father wouldn't help and Edward couldn't.

She grabbed the lanterns and turned one of them on. "Let's just use one at a time to preserve the batteries. When this one goes dead, we have another."

"Okay." Edward's voice sounded weak.

"Let's see if we can get a little more sleep. We'll just stay on the couch where the fire will keep us warm. I'll grab the blankets off the bed and we'll wrap up in them."

"Okay."

Xyla was pretty sure that her brother was in shock. Hopefully, he'd snap out of it soon.

He was able to go back to sleep for a couple of hours. Xyla thought that she dozed lightly, although she was on high alert for any sounds of more danger or a rescue.

She fully woke up when Edward said, "I'm hungry."

"Okay. We have some breakfast bars, a couple of apples, or a small box of dry Fuity Circles."

"Fruity Circles and some apple sauce."

"Coming right up."

She quickly ate a breakfast bar and then packed a bag of clothes and necessities for her and Edward. Her father could take care of himself or not. At this point, she didn't care.

The two of them spent the next couple of hours putting together a jigsaw puzzle she had brought with them. They opened a couple cans of soup and heated them in a pan over the fire for lunch.

"See, this is just like camping," Xyla told Edward.

"You don't run out of wood in the forest," the little boy said dryly.

"We'll be fine. I promise."

They finished putting the puzzle together in the early afternoon. Edward had enough battery left on his game system to keep him busy for a couple of hours. She pretended to read a book but spent most of her time staring into the low fire, hoping that someone got them out in time.

The entire day had passed when Edward looked at her with a mixture of fear and hope. "Do you hear that?"

"Yes."

Both of them watched the door intently until Xyla was sure her eyes were going to fall out of her head. The sounds got louder and louder. She held her breath as she saw the door handle turn.

Sean's face popped into view. "I think you guys can squeeze out of here. Pack some clothes. We'll wait for you at the top of the tunnel to help you out. The main house has a generator. You need to hurry."

He shut the door as soon as he finished speaking. She was so glad to see that help had arrived, even if it was Sean.

Xyla jumped up and put the fire in the fireplace out because she didn't want the cabin burning down.

She called to her father, "Pack some clothes and what you need. We're getting out of here."

Xyla and Edward hurriedly put on their coats, gloves, hats, scarves, and boots.

She opened the door and pushed Edward out. "You go first. I'll hand our bags up to you and then I'll come."

Edward used the handholds that Sean and Sawyer had dug into the packed tunnel and climbed his way to the top. Sean and Sawyer reached down to pull him out of the hole.

"Can you catch our bags?" Xyla called.

"Yeah. Throw them as high as you can."

She tossed the packs into the air, and Sawyer snagged them with the shovel and pulled them to the top. Xyla's heart thundered a million miles an hour as she slowly climbed the tunnel walls. She was terrified that it was going to cave in on her any minute. Finally, she reached the top and the two men pulled her out.

"Follow the tracks back to the main house," Sawyer said.

She looked down to see her father standing at the bottom of the tunnel, waiting to throw his pack up. Sawyer caught it, and then Elliot climbed up. The three of them slowly walked toward the resort. The snow was up to Edward's chest in places, and Xyla and Elliot had to pull him out. There were a few times that Xyla was afraid they weren't going to be able to get him to the main house. Finally, though, they made it to the front door. The three of them were frozen stiff when they stumbled inside.

Sara hurried over to them. "Let's get you out of those coats. Sit down by the fire and warm up. I know you're freezing."

Franny, the resort's cook and Howard's wife, bustled up to them with a tray. "Two cups of coffee and one cup of hot chocolate to warm your insides."

"Th-th-thank y-y-ou." Edward's teeth chattered so much that he barely got the words out.

"You're welcome, Son. I know you're hungry. I have some food as soon as you're thawed out enough to eat."

"Thank you," Xyla said.

Elliot sneered. "The least you could have done was made a path from our cabin to the main house. Edward struggled the entire way and got stuck several times. It took us forever to get here."

William glared at him. "You're lucky that you got out of your cabin at all. Darren, Tristan, Sawyer, Sean, and Howard have been working since sun up to get everyone dug out of their cabins. Sean and Sawyer dug themselves out. Darren, Tristan, Sawyer, Sean, and Howard are still out there looking for firewood. Maybe they should have left you in the cabin."

Elliot's jaw dropped, and Xyla had to put her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. People didn't often stand up to her father because his money always bought people and they constantly kowtowed to him.

With a last hard look at Elliot, William turned toward the crowd. "We have seven rooms here. Sara and I have our suite, and Howard and Franny have their suite. Ginny also has her suite. Marcie and Ellie have a room, and the men have a room. Esme and Blake have one of the rooms. The Hansons have a room. Xyla, you can decide whether you want to room with your brother and father or with the women."

Xyla looked at Marcie and Ellie. "Would you mind?"

"Nope. The more the merrier," Marcie said.

William continued. "We have cots, sleeping bags, blankets, and pillows so everyone can be comfortable."

A few minutes later, a cold blast of air chilled the room as the five men came in with armloads of wood. They dumped it into the box next to the fireplace.

"Thank you, men. That should keep her going for the night," William said.

Elliot looked at them and snarled. "You brought in a ton of snow. You should have cleaned off outside."

"Maybe it would be better for all of us if you returned to your cabin. You can carry some wood back to keep yourself warm," William said, glaring at Elliot.

Once again, Elliot looked completely shocked, and Xyla had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. She kicked Edward, who snickered a little.

Then William addressed the crowd again. "We are running on a generator. Shower time is limited to five minutes a person. You have twenty minutes a day to charge personal devices. We're going to keep the heat off in most of the rooms, including the bedrooms. We'll turn the heat on in the bedrooms around ten at night when we kick on the second generator. Heat will be turned off again at six sharp."

He looked at Elliot as though daring him to open his mouth. Elliot pressed his lips together and looked away.

Sean caught Xyla's eye and grinned at her. Butterflies exploded in her stomach and her heart beat a lot faster as a warmth flooded through her that had nothing to do with hot coffee.