Page 14 of The Wolf I Sworn To Hate

Instead of duelingthe next morning, they decided to shift and go for a run. Once again, Sean made sure to walk in front of Xyla’s cabin. He knew he was acting like a two-year-old, but he couldn’t help it. There was a little bit of satisfaction in knowing that he was going to irk the piss out of her.

They grabbed breakfast and did several runs down the black diamond slope. After lunch, they hit the double diamond. Sean took a spill on one run but wasn’t hurt. He and Sawyer laughed as the doctor pulled him out of the snow.

It started snowing around two, but the men weren’t about to let the wet snow spoil their fun. Apparently, no one else was, either. The slopes were very busy with skiers.

Marcie and Ellie sat with Esme and Blake for dinner. They smiled apologetically at Sawyer and Sean and gave a little flirtatious wave.

“Is it bad to say I’m a little relieved they are eating with those folks tonight?” Sean asked.

“Nope. The flirting was getting a little awkward. It’s good to have a little bit of a break.”

The heavy wet snow was fiercely coming down when they walked back to their cabins. It had already snowed at least four inches that afternoon.

“If it keeps up at this rate, we’ll get more than just a foot of snow.” Sawyer held out his gloved hands and caught some of the white stuff in his palm.

“You’re not going to stick your tongue to something metal to see if it sticks, are you?”

“No. I tried that once when I was a kid. My tongue was sore for a week.”

Sean laughed. It felt good to act like a goofy kid for a while. Up here, he had no responsibilities. There were no rowdy bikers to toss out, fights to settle, spills to clean up, or the absolute worst – paperwork. He could be a dork if he wanted.

They watched a couple of movies and then went to bed. Sean was in a deep sleep when he sat straight up in bed as a loud explosion seemed to rock the cabin. He ran into the living room, almost slamming into Sawyer.

“What the hell was that?” Sawyer’s eyes were wide as he rushed to the door.

“I don’t know. It sounded like someone set off a ton of dynamite.”

They ran outside. Sean’s heart stopped when he saw the wall of snow rushing toward them. Sean gasped as he saw the rolling white wall completely cover the first cabin. They dove back inside the cabin, the door banging shut behind them. They ran to the shutters, slamming them shut. Just as the last one was closed the cabin shuddered violently. Sean was terrified that the structure would be ripped apart, and he and Sawyer would be buried under several feet of snow.

He breathed a sigh of relief when the cabin finally stopped shaking. They were in complete darkness as the snow had knocked out the electricity and blocked out all possible light from outside. Sean looked at Sawyer who looked like he was in shock.

Sean put his hand on Sawyer’s shoulder. “You alright?”

“Yeah. Just scared the hell out of me. Let’s see what the damage is.”

Sawyer slowly opened the door, making sure that none of the snow fell into the cabin, making it impossible to close it again.

“It’s packed against the door, almost all the way to the top of the door. I think there might be six inches at the most.” Sawyer shut the door and looked at Sean.

“Well, now. That could present a problem. We have enough wood for about a day and food for a few days. However, I don’t really like the idea of staying here, buried alive.”

Sawyer shook his head. “Me, either.” He looked at his phone. “No service. Didn’t expect there to be.”

“I guess we try to dig our way out. There are shovels in the closet, or we can pretend we’re wolves and do what they would do.”

“Let’s try the wolf version first.” Sawyer started stripping.

Sean followed suit. “Do you want to pack the snow against the tunnel walls as we go or one of us stays in the cabin and kicks it into the corner?”

“Pack it to try to keep the tunnel from falling in on itself. It’ll mean going slower, but I think it’s the safer bet. I’ll go first.” Sawyer shifted.

The two men took turns digging and packing the snow until they had a tunnel big enough for them to crawl out of. It seemed like it took an eternity before they saw the morning sun peeking over the horizon. Snow continued to fall, although it wasn’t as fierce, heavy, or wet as it had been.

They dropped back into the cabin, shifted, and got dressed. They packed their bags full of clothes, toiletries, and essentials. Sawyer went up first and Sean tossed the two bags before stepping into the tunnel, shutting the door behind him, and climbing the tunnel.

Sawyer and Sean slowly walked to the main resort building, grateful that they had thought to pack their snowshoes. They were glad to see that the resort wasn’t as covered in snow, since it sat on top of a ridge.

Howard, the maintenance man, had just finished shoveling the porch enough that he could open the door all the way. William greeted Sean and Sawyer as they stumbled into the living room.

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