01-11-2018, 11:05 PM
Jay hefted the ice-breaker into the back of the truck, closed up the bed and checked his surroundings for anything he missed. Sledge-hammers were in the back. As were the long poles of the ice-breakers. Two shovels sat alongside. A folded tarp was wedged in a corner. There was an extra tire, a trunk of supplies. His breath was fog in front of his face, which reminded him to grab an extra face mask. The thermal fibers in the one he wore yesterday crapped out. That left the old carhartt clava he dug out of a drawer in the garage. Although he was rather fond of his face, frostbite would not be a good look on his nose. At -20 below zero, it took minutes for frostbite to settle into exposed skin. Better not forget that bad boy. Just in case, he checked dad's truck to make sure the spare thermal Clava was in there. It would keep dad's face warmer than the thermals. One of them would have warm cheeks anyway.
The storms of the past week took their toll. He dug the front door out of a snow drift two days ago that the wind promptly pushed back into place. Jay left it since then. They could use the back door to come and go. It was better than tromping in and out on mom's carpet anyway. More than snow, it had been the perpetual cold, sub-zero cold that left the two men shivering after only a few seconds outside unless properly bundled up. The Great Plains wind was really whipping hard today. The snow had stopped falling, but the wind made a white fog that was almost as bad as any other white-out conditions.
"Loading up,"
he called through the wind. His dad turned just before getting in his own truck, Jay signaled a thumbs up and climbed into his pickup. He'd been surprised when he came home that this old girl was still around. He learned how to drive on this truck, and it had been around for as long as he could remember. They just didn't build trucks like this anymore. It guzzled gasoline and emitted more carbon than were allowed on brand new models these days.
Climbing into the warm cab, Jay eagerly shut the door and block out the wind. It was before sunup, but the clouds were thick enough it would be hard to know how much longer that would be just by looking at the sky. Food was bagged up. A thermos of coffee lay on the seat beside him. He smirked when he saw it. His mom must have put it there, unrealizing -the significance. In high school, he snuck tequila in that thermos, left it right in the same cranny between seat cushions, and made out with Jo, his main on-again, off-again girlfriend at the time, in this exact same truck. He hadn't thought about Jolene, well, since yesterday when his mom brought up that she was a Vet Tech in town and he should go say hi. Since he was apparently newly single and all. He passed, but that wasn't to say he hadn't been tempted. But shit, he just broke up with a girl because he was terrified of falling hopelessly in love. Hooking up with old girlfriends was probably a bad idea. Even if she was smokin' hot still.
Except for the face mask, Jay was otherwise covered head to toe. The first day into the cold plunge and he underestimated the painfully freezing temperatures, and barely lived to regret it. In the days leading up, normal winter weather was something he could handle with regular insulated overalls and a pair of gloves. But apparently it had been slumming it in warm weather climates for too long and forgot that winter sucked. Going out by horseback had been fun, though. The marines weren't big on cavalry. Course, everyone knew the Green Beret's legend of the Horse Soldiers. Those guys accomplished the impossible, but all from horseback. Massive respect for that group, not that Jay had an interest in becoming a Green Beret, but thinking about their mission made tolerating the cold a little easier. The next day, Jay made sure to dress better. His mom was happier too.
Last thing to check before heading out were the emergency supplies. Their destination was about 15 miles from the house, down narrow county roads and across a few harvested corn fields where the livestock were mostly congregated. Other than food and coffee, the next most important item on hand was safely hung up on the rack behind his head. Three rifles waited there, freshly cleaned and oiled by Jay himself last night. A handgun was locked up under the seat, as was an ammunition box, road flares, a fire kit, a first-aid kit and apparently a very cold and forgotten bag of french fries. He smirked. He'd chuck it out the window if it wouldn't let all his toasty warm cabin air escape, so instead he wedged it back under the seat and flipped on an old handheld radio. "I'm all ready. See you there,"
he spoke into the device. His dad's voice screeched through the radio.
"See you there."
He twisted to check the driveway behind, shifted into reverse and the truck stalled.
"The hell?"
He turned back, reset the shifter, and tried it again. His dad was already driving off, but the vehicle wouldn't shift into reverse. He made a mental note to add transmission fluid that night and put it into drive. He'd have to circle around the barn, but not a big deal. Otherwise it would mean driving over mom's flower beds and they may be dormant for the winter, but he'd hear about it later.
The horses were tucked away in the barn as were a couple of really young calves. He scanned the building since he drove the perimeter anyway. All seemed fine. Cayli and mom were supposed to go inside to feed and water everyone, not to mention milking the dairy cows and giving the horses a walk around. Jay frowned at that. They used to have farm hands that did that kind of thing, but they'd all been let go over the years for reasons Jay never really got around to investigating. Probably should do that too. But after the cold spell passed. He usually crashed at night when he got in. Not that he was complaining. He was actually going to sleep at a decent time, lately, and not tossing and turning in bed half the night. Still woke up from fucked up dreams, but who didn't?
At least the radio in the truck still worked. He cranked up some good classic rock and tapped the steering wheel as he drove.
Edited by Jay Carpenter, Jan 11 2018, 11:37 PM.
The storms of the past week took their toll. He dug the front door out of a snow drift two days ago that the wind promptly pushed back into place. Jay left it since then. They could use the back door to come and go. It was better than tromping in and out on mom's carpet anyway. More than snow, it had been the perpetual cold, sub-zero cold that left the two men shivering after only a few seconds outside unless properly bundled up. The Great Plains wind was really whipping hard today. The snow had stopped falling, but the wind made a white fog that was almost as bad as any other white-out conditions.
"Loading up,"
he called through the wind. His dad turned just before getting in his own truck, Jay signaled a thumbs up and climbed into his pickup. He'd been surprised when he came home that this old girl was still around. He learned how to drive on this truck, and it had been around for as long as he could remember. They just didn't build trucks like this anymore. It guzzled gasoline and emitted more carbon than were allowed on brand new models these days.
Climbing into the warm cab, Jay eagerly shut the door and block out the wind. It was before sunup, but the clouds were thick enough it would be hard to know how much longer that would be just by looking at the sky. Food was bagged up. A thermos of coffee lay on the seat beside him. He smirked when he saw it. His mom must have put it there, unrealizing -the significance. In high school, he snuck tequila in that thermos, left it right in the same cranny between seat cushions, and made out with Jo, his main on-again, off-again girlfriend at the time, in this exact same truck. He hadn't thought about Jolene, well, since yesterday when his mom brought up that she was a Vet Tech in town and he should go say hi. Since he was apparently newly single and all. He passed, but that wasn't to say he hadn't been tempted. But shit, he just broke up with a girl because he was terrified of falling hopelessly in love. Hooking up with old girlfriends was probably a bad idea. Even if she was smokin' hot still.
Except for the face mask, Jay was otherwise covered head to toe. The first day into the cold plunge and he underestimated the painfully freezing temperatures, and barely lived to regret it. In the days leading up, normal winter weather was something he could handle with regular insulated overalls and a pair of gloves. But apparently it had been slumming it in warm weather climates for too long and forgot that winter sucked. Going out by horseback had been fun, though. The marines weren't big on cavalry. Course, everyone knew the Green Beret's legend of the Horse Soldiers. Those guys accomplished the impossible, but all from horseback. Massive respect for that group, not that Jay had an interest in becoming a Green Beret, but thinking about their mission made tolerating the cold a little easier. The next day, Jay made sure to dress better. His mom was happier too.
Last thing to check before heading out were the emergency supplies. Their destination was about 15 miles from the house, down narrow county roads and across a few harvested corn fields where the livestock were mostly congregated. Other than food and coffee, the next most important item on hand was safely hung up on the rack behind his head. Three rifles waited there, freshly cleaned and oiled by Jay himself last night. A handgun was locked up under the seat, as was an ammunition box, road flares, a fire kit, a first-aid kit and apparently a very cold and forgotten bag of french fries. He smirked. He'd chuck it out the window if it wouldn't let all his toasty warm cabin air escape, so instead he wedged it back under the seat and flipped on an old handheld radio. "I'm all ready. See you there,"
he spoke into the device. His dad's voice screeched through the radio.
"See you there."
He twisted to check the driveway behind, shifted into reverse and the truck stalled.
"The hell?"
He turned back, reset the shifter, and tried it again. His dad was already driving off, but the vehicle wouldn't shift into reverse. He made a mental note to add transmission fluid that night and put it into drive. He'd have to circle around the barn, but not a big deal. Otherwise it would mean driving over mom's flower beds and they may be dormant for the winter, but he'd hear about it later.
The horses were tucked away in the barn as were a couple of really young calves. He scanned the building since he drove the perimeter anyway. All seemed fine. Cayli and mom were supposed to go inside to feed and water everyone, not to mention milking the dairy cows and giving the horses a walk around. Jay frowned at that. They used to have farm hands that did that kind of thing, but they'd all been let go over the years for reasons Jay never really got around to investigating. Probably should do that too. But after the cold spell passed. He usually crashed at night when he got in. Not that he was complaining. He was actually going to sleep at a decent time, lately, and not tossing and turning in bed half the night. Still woke up from fucked up dreams, but who didn't?
At least the radio in the truck still worked. He cranked up some good classic rock and tapped the steering wheel as he drove.
Edited by Jay Carpenter, Jan 11 2018, 11:37 PM.
Only darkness shows you the light.