Ice-Age Chapter 5

[Guest guest]

Ice-Age

by andy savage

(previous chapters can be found at:

/list/uniquethings/)

 

 

Chapter 5

 

Dave submerged himself beneath the bed sheets and placed his stubbly, itchy

cheek on Mary's swollen belly. Her skin was glowing and smelt alive and

reassuring. He felt it kick and, in his delight, kissed the bulge from where

it struck. Mary did not stir. She had become a heavy sleeper these days. Her

long, blonde hair flopped over her small, round face. Dave yawned and

stretched his legs until his feet poked out from the end of the bed. He

could have stayed there all day, but he had reached that point where he

began to feel guilty that he wasn't yet up. So he slowly rolled away from

his warm wife and bravely emerged from the covers onto the chilly carpet. He

lazily put on his red dressing gown while he walked drowsily out of the

bedroom, through the living room and into the kitchen where he opened the

blinds to let the morning in.

It was the first day of April and the sun was shining. He swept his lengthy,

dark brown fringe away from his sleepy eyes with his hand and looked

exitedly at

the sunny, panoramic view through the kitchen window. The town was still

veiled in

white, some of the smaller buildings had completely vanished. In some places

the snow was now so deep that people had abandoned their homes. It was

unbelievable. Dave conceded to himself that there were, after all, some

advantages of living in a flat on the top floor of a high rise block. At

least the snow could surely never reach so far, especially now the sky was

blue. He thanked his lucky stars.

Down below, there were children playing on the square, white mass that used

to be the car park. The freak weather was still a big novelty for them,

especially with the schools having been closed for over a month. Dave

smiled. He was looking forward to going back to work, and hoped that it

would now be soon. He looked up at the cloudless sky with an optimistic

feeling.

He could hear his wife snoring and it made him chuckle. He knew

Mary had loved the snow at Christmas, but that she was utterly sick of it

now. " Sweetheart, " he called, " We have a sunny day at long last. "

Mary did not reply. Her snoring just got a little louder. Dave wandered back

into the bedroom and turned on the radio. It made a dreadful, alien hiss.

Reception had been getting steadily worse over the past few weeks. He

twiddled with the dial trying to find something just about audible. Mary

rolled over from her back to her side and grunted disapprovingly. Dave

frowned, " I'm trying to find a weather report, dear " he said.

His wife opened one blue eye and gaped, " Why bother? Snow, snow and more

snow! "

" Well that's where you're wrong, sweetie. Because right now it's gorgeous

outside, " said Dave, still fiddling, " I want to know if it's

was going to last. "

" Is it really? " said Mary, becoming more awake, " Put the telly on instead. "

" The telly's useless, you can't see anything on it anymore. "

" Well turn that damn radio off. The noise is giving me a headache. "

" I can't get anything anyway, " said Dave in defeat.

 

That afternoon, Dave and Mary took advantage of the good weather and

ventured outside for the first time in over a week. Like most people, they

had stocked up as much as they could on food and household supplies, and

this was a good opportunity to get some more. Although it was sunny, it was

still very cold, so they both wore heavy, dark coats and boots with plenty

of tread. Walking was slow and slippy, but Dave enjoyed feeling the sun on

his face and breathing the crisp air. He put on a pair of sunglasses.

" You total poser! " Mary joked. She scooped up a fistful of snow and threw it

at him.

" It's bright. The sun's reflecting off the snow in a big way, " replied Dave

defensively, ducking too late.

Mary laughed, " Don't worry, dear, I think the snow's beginning to melt, " she

said

" You know, I think you're right, " said Dave, wiping it off his face, and he

started to

hum a tune.

Mary grinned, " When the world outside is cold and blue, I get warm when I

think of you, " she sang.

The town centre wasn't far, and as they got closer they could hear the blare

of alarms and sirens coming from the shops. It didn't take the two of them

long to get there, even in the

snow. Many more people were out than usual. In the brightness of the

sun, and with time to take it all in, the full chaos caused by the snow

could be seen. Most of the stores in the mall were open, although the snow

was piled up against their broken windows. A lot of them looked like they

had been looted. Dave was amazed. It was worse than he ever imagined.

It was so noisey. There were workmen starting on repairs to damaged

buildings, and the

scraping sounds of shovels clearing paths and doorways. The hum of a

delivery wagon could be heard. Beggars were hassling passers-by for spare

change and dogs were being walked and prams pushed. " Things are getting back

to normal, aren't they? " smiled Mary, putting her hands on her bump, " I was

starting to get frightened, you know, like it was never going to end. "

" Look over there, " said Dave, pointing to a featureless mound across the

road up ahead, " That, believe it or not, is the supermarket. "

" Where? " asked Mary, squinting.

" It's just a big block of solid ice, " said Dave, laughing in disbelief.

Mary homed in on it, " Oh yes. Just look at it! It's buried! What are those

people doing? "

" I think they're trying to dig their way in, " replied Dave.

The couple went over to see more. A group of about twenty people were busy

with spades and picks. " It looks like the staff are having to tunnel their

way in to the

entrance, " Dave gasped, " It's unbelievable. Just look at how deep they're

having to dig, that hole must be at least ten metres straight down! "

" At least all the food will be fresh frozen, " Mary giggled.

 

In the evening, as the daylight was fast fading, Dave and his wife stared in

sullen silence from their kitchen window as the skies turned a familiar

ghostly grey, and snow began to fall again.

 

 

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