Page 33 of The Artist
Changing Weather
Mason
“I have a bad feeling about this,” Indiana said as he, Thor, Aubri, and I rummaged the shed for tools.
“Me too, we’re gonna look bad,” Thor grumped. “We should have insisted on the challenges we had planned.”
“Do we need this one?” Indiana held up a shovel.
“Yes, give it to me. I want it.” Thor reached for the long shaft.
“Just remember there’s no I in teamwork,” I said because I was pretty sure Indiana and Thor would end up fighting while making the sculpture.
“Maybe not, but there are three U’s in shut the fuck up,” Indiana said and handed over the shovel.
“Is it safe to leave them out there without one of us close?”
My question made Aubri roll her eyes. “They aren’t children and it’s not like building a sculpture is dangerous work, unless you think them too clumsy to handle a bucket.” We all laughed at Aubri’s sassy comment and I knew she was right. I just felt protective.
“What about Belle? Her group was never nice to her.”
“They will be today since she’s their hope of winning this challenge.” While talking Thor gathered tools and placed them outside. “Mason, stop imagining worst case scenarios. It’s just a few hours and everyone will be fine.”
I suppressed my worries about wolf packs showing up and Belle’s delegation giving her shit. Helping Thor and the others, I filled up the drones with tools.
Looking up at the sky, I frowned. “There’s some dark clouds out there.”
Thor lifted his gaze and squinted. “Hmm… tell you what, we’ll leave a drone with each of the groups and program it for the cabin. If it begins to snow or our fragile guests get too cold, they have a way to get home.”
That calmed me a bit and when the twelve people divided into the three drones, I raised a hand and smiled. “Have fun. Remember to take a lot of pictures so we can decide on the best artwork.”
“And be back by two o’clock. We’ll have lunch ready by then,” Harper called after them.
As we returned back inside, Celeste sat on one of the couches with her feet up and her hands on her belly. “I’m pretty sure that my group will win this round. Belle has to be good forsomething.”
“Just remember that the three of us have to be impartial,” Harper pointed out before checking the clock. “We have three hours so would you mind if I go and meditate in my room?”
“Not at all.” Celeste smiled.
I spent the time chopping more firewood, fixing a door handle that was loose, and taking a private moment to myself in one of the bathrooms where I played with fantasies about what could have happened if Belle and I had been roommates.
It was far from the first time that I’d fantasized about her. Knowing that I was destined to marry a Northlander woman, Belle had been a forbidden sexual fantasy for years.
At a quarter past two I went down to the kitchen and found Celeste standing by one of the windows close to the fireplace. One look outside filled me with worry.
“Have you heard anything?” I muttered and walked over to stand next to her.
“No, but I don’t like how dark it suddenly became. It was like it went from day to early evening in ten minutes. Look at the sky.”
“Hmm.” I drummed my hands on the window frame and leaned forward to see better. “Looks like a storm is coming.”
“A snowstorm?”
“Yes. The weather was supposed to hold steady, so I don’t understand why it shifted that fast.”
“Maybe you should call and warn your friends.” Celeste’s eyebrows were knitted together in worry. “We French have no connection over here, so I can’t contact my delegation.”
I was already pressing my wristband to connect with Thor. “He’s not picking up.”
