“Why didn’t you come into my room if you were afraid?” I asked curiously.
Neala grunted. “Because I knew you would have told me to get into your bed and go to sleep.”
I blinked away the image of Neala spread out on my bed, tilting my head as I looked down at her.
“How did you know I would have said that?”
She shrugged. “Because you don’t like me being scared out of me mind, unless you’re the reason for it.”
She had me there.
I gnawed on my inner cheek as I looked her in the eye. “You’re right; I would have told you to get into me bed, but it would have been just to sleep. No funny business.”
Neala snorted. “I know that.”
I frowned. “So why did you come in here then?”
She sighed. “Me pride wouldn’t let me go to you for help.”
I smiled. “You’re going to need me eventually, Neala, whether it’s for a tin of beans, a bottle of water, or even a light for your candles.”
She looked away from me. “I’ll avoid needing you until absolutely necessary.”
I laughed.
Typical Neala.
“Okay, well, I wasn’t joking about what I said yesterday evening. We’re digging our way out of here.”
Neala groaned. “That’s not a good idea. The snow has had Friday night and all day yesterday to set; it’s going to be hard as ice, and all we have to dig through it is spoons and forks. Trust me, I checked.”
I opened my mouth to correct her, but when I realised all my tools and shovels were outside the house in a shed, I closed my mouth and huffed. I had a big house, but hardly any furniture to fill it. I had bought only what I needed when the house was finished being built.
I didn’t know how to cook; the extent of my culinary skills was putting a pizza in the oven, then taking it out when the timer went off. And since I didn’t cook I had no use for anything in my kitchen except for knives, forks, spoons, a few plates, cups, and the odd bowl for cereal.
“Well, spoons and forks will just have to do.”
Neala cackled. “You’re crazy.”
“Excuse me, but I’m not the one lying on a cold floor laughing like a hyena. Nope, that would be you, nut job.”
Neala kicked at me, so I jumped back away from her. “Less of that!”
Neala continued to laugh as she got up to her feet. I frowned when she picked up the duvet from the storage room and wrapped it around herself. I hated that it was so cold and I couldn’t just turn on my heat and make it all better.
“Do you want some of me clothes to wear?” I asked. “They’ll be big, but they will keep you warm.”
I could have sworn a blush crept up Neala’s cheeks, but I couldn’t be sure.
“I’m fine,” she replied.
She wasn’t fine; she was freezing.
Neala suddenly snapped her fingers and jumped up and down in a circle around me with nothing but fake enthusiasm. “Let’s get to it, boss. Let’s dig our way out of here.”
I didn’t appreciate her sarcasm.
“If you don’t wanna help then don’t; I’m not going to force you,” I snapped.
I turned and walked out of the room.
I hoped I seemed rugged and manly, but I was holding a scented vanilla candle to see where I was going, so I doubt I looked as tough as I wanted to.
Neala followed me and snickered. “Don’t get your knickers in a twist, Miss Daisy. I’m going to help.”
I rolled my eyes. “Help me by shutting up.”
Neala scoffed from behind me, “You shut up. You’re the one who never stops talking.”
“Everyone we know would disagree; you could talk for Ireland, chatterbox.”
“I’m not a chatterbox!”
Yes, you are.
“Okay,” I said as I set my candle down on the floor.
Neala leaned against the hallway wall and snarled as I walked by her. “Don’t just say okay to appease me.”
I grinned as I entered my living room. “Okay.”
“Darcy.” Neala grumbled in annoyance.
God, it was so easy to wind her up.
“I’m only messing with you, Neala,” I said, hoping she would hear truth in my voice.
There was, of course, no truth, because she was a chatterbox – she never stopped talking. Everyone in our village could vouch for me when I said that.
“I don’t believe you . . . What are you doing?”
I sighed as I picked up the lit candles. “Bringing these out to the hall so it will make things easier to see when I dig us out of here.”
“When we dig us out of here, you mean.”
Yeah, right.
“Yep, I meant we.”
Neala grunted. “You’re such a bad liar, Darcy.”
I smiled to myself as I walked by her and headed back out into the hall.
“Could you grab a few other candles from the living room for me? I’ll get the spoons and forks.”
Neala muttered what I could only guess were rude curse words to herself, but she did as asked and went into the living room to gather more candles. I headed into the kitchen and got some spoons and forks from the kitchen drawers. I looked around for something bigger that would make digging easier, but found nothing. I regretted not letting my mother buy me a bunch of kitchen shite when I first moved in here; anything would help us right now.
I sighed to myself. Einstein squawked, so I walked over to her cage. I opened up the cage door and let her out so she could stretch her wings and have a bit of a walk around. She loved her cage, but she loved walking around on top of it even more.
“Shut up, Neala!” Einstein shouted.
I smiled at Einstein just as Neala venomously shouted, “I hate that bloody bird!”
I snickered and rubbed Einstein’s head. “Good girl,” I whispered lovingly.
I left the kitchen armed with my digging tools and headed back to my front door . . . which was filled in with snow.
“It’s weird how the snow hasn’t caved into the hallway. The door has been open a few times and nothing has happened,” Neala said as I came up beside her and stared at the doorway filled with snow.
“It hardened while the door was closed, not exactly to ice, but enough for it not to cave in when some space became available.”
Neala swallowed. “I can’t believe this is happening; we never get this much snow.”
I looked at her and raised my eyebrows. “I’ll agree that we never usually get this much snow, but for weeks we have been warned that this winter was to be our worst in over fifty years. That’s why I, and everyone else, stocked up on tinned food and bottled water in case of a blackout or if the roads weren’t safe
enough for driving.”
Neala shrugged. “I heard the warnings, but the weather people usually get things wrong. They forecast clear skies and sunshine and instead we get cloudy skies and heavy rain. The odds were just in their favour this time, since they turned out to be right.”
I shook my head. “Well, it’s done now, and it’s caused us to be stuck in here, so let’s change that. You stand back and I’ll get to work on digging us out.”
I stepped forward, only to be jolted back by the small hand that encircled my forearm. “Don’t treat me like some unstable little woman, Darcy.”
“You’re an unstable— Ow!” I yelped when Neala grabbed hold of my earlobe and twisted.
“Finish that sentence. I dare you.” She twisted harder.
I cried out, “I’m messing, I swear!”
Neala smirked at me and let go of my ear, so I quickly placed my fingers over my earlobe and rubbed. The throbbing remained when I removed my hand, but the initial stinging pain went away.
Thank God.
I focused on Neala and glared as hard as I could at her.
“Do that again and I’ll have no mercy as I tickle the life out of you.”
Neala blinked at me, and for a moment she looked shocked . . . That is, until she laughed.
“Wow!” She cackled. “For a second there you looked serious.”
I didn’t move a muscle in my face.
“I am serious.”
Neala stopped laughing and stared at me, unblinking.
“Oh. Well, okay, then. I won’t touch you ever again.”
Excellent.
“Good, now stand back and let me start digging a tunnel. I’m not blowing you off on this; you can help. We’ll just take shifts . . . Okay?”
I went into my room and put on a few layers of clothes to warm me up and help keep the cold from the snow out. When I was dressed, I went back out to the hallway and handed Neala some spoons and forks. I kept two spoons for myself, just to make raking through the snow a little easier. I gave Neala a curt nod, but she wouldn’t look at me, so it went unnoticed. I sighed and turned to the doorway of snow and narrowed my eyes.
I had this.
I got down on my knees and started to scrape a large circle. Once it was outlined I started to scoop out spoonfuls of snow and piled them by my side. Ten minutes of this and I had barely made a dent into forming an actual tunnel, and an impatient Neala started to huff behind me.