Frostbite & bruises

After Nox left, Shane began his daily routine. Well daily…, it was just past midnight. Usually he wouldn’t be here for at least another seven hours or so, but with the new group around they didn’t have a choice.

A smile formed on his mouth as Shane dug his fingers into the moist soil.

Though the light had been gone from his eyes for years, the feeling of rooting his hands in the earth and growing something was wonderful, and his knowledge of it had only increased.

Even as a child he had had green fingers. So the best memories of his childhood were the summer holidays he spent with his aunt and uncle. Aunt Femke and uncle Diederick lived in the Netherlands in a wooded hamlet somewhere in the Achterhoek.

They had a small nature campsite with a huge vegetable garden, some chickens, goats, a few calves and a fat old pig they called Ingrid, after Uncle Diederick’s sister. The name had been a joke, something Shane hadn’t understood as a child because Ingrid had been an extremely thin lady.

It was only later, when he was a bit older and had been to her house once on a shopping trip, that the joke became clear to him. Her house had literally been a pigsty. Everywhere he had looked there had been rubbish. Dirty dishes were piled high on the kitchen counter, the living room looked as if it hadn’t been dusted or vacuumed in months, and when he’d sat down on the sofa, he’d sagged through it. Fortunately, despite her disinterest in housekeeping, his uncle’s sister had been a cheerful and good-natured woman, and had dismissed the couch mishap with a simple ‘oh well, I can go back to scouring the free pick-up sites for something new’!

He had loved it there, unlike his brother. It wasn’t that Nox had hated it, not at all, but where he, Shane, had loved wandering around his aunt’s vegetable garden and digging his hands into the soil, his brother had been mostly busy fixing the showers, electricity and all the other odd jobs that were needed on the campsite, not to mention the animals.

Even though his brother wasn’t very good with people, he was quite the opposite when it came to his aunt and uncle’s animals. Even the stubborn goats listened to him, but especially the three dogs the couple had. From the moment the two boys arrived for the holidays, the dogs never left his side. Needless to say Nox had been heartbroken when his favourite dog, a big, jet-black old German shepherd called Silas, died.

Their childhood interests had saved their lives after the earth had completely frozen over.

Nox had found a small cache of undamaged seeds and some soil in a ramshackle gardener’s farm near the factory and carried it home. He had lined the walls of one of the least draughty rooms with insulation and plastic, built tall containers for Shane to plant a vegetable garden in, and placed mirrors in strategic locations to provide daylight for the vegetable garden.

It was on his poaching trips that he had come across the animals they now had, much to his surprise and delight, and now, after three years, they were practically self-sufficient.

Shane’s mind wandered to the newcomers. The old man was a lively fellow, Shane liked him, at least he was not, as was usually the case, afraid of his brother. He hadn’t really spoken to the old woman yet, she slept a lot and he didn’t want to burden her with questions.

The young woman, Morgan... she had definitely caught his attention with her sweet voice and her friendliness. Her laughter had sounded like music to his ears, but that might have been because he had been used to the sound of Nox’s gruff voice for years.

Once Shane had finished his activities, he made his way back to the living quarters.

The top of his watch clicked open with a soft click and Shane gingerly ran his fingertip over the face to see what time it was. Quarter past six... He had worked longer than he thought.

Feeling exhilarated, he walked further up the stairs. Nox had said it would most likely be sunny today, maybe the old man and the children could help find and chop wood for the hearth fire, then maybe Nox could start repairing the roof on the side where the sled dogs slept. The last heavy snowstorm had caused part of the roof to collapse due to the thick layer of snow on top.

Footsteps in the living room made him stop halfway up the stairs and listen intently. It was the young woman.

Carefully, he continued up the stairs, pausing outside to listen to what the woman was doing. He heard her move the chair closest to the fireplace, followed by the crackle of someone taking a seat, which meant she was sitting with her back to him.

Grinning, he opened the door. “You’re up early.”

An icy scream was his answer and he heard something flying towards him. But before he could do anything, he felt something hit him hard, making him stagger. Surprised, Shane reached for his forehead and his eyes grew wide as he felt the injury on his forehead.

“OHHH! I’m so sorry!!! I thought you were a... a... robber.” Shane heard an awkward rumble from someone who almost tripped over the dog basket.

A few moments later he felt a small hand grasp his, pulling it away from his forehead. Then cool, soft fingertips began to gently stroke the skin of his head.

The soft scent of femininity penetrated him and a shiver ran down his spine. She smelled delicious... A soft, sweet, musky scent entered his nose and he closed his eyes to savour it. It had been so long since he had seen or felt a woman and he couldn’t even remember a scent.

“Are you all right?” The concern in her voice didn’t escape him and a smile played around his lips.

“Yeah...I just wonder why men always said women had no sense of direction.... Judging by my forehead, there’s nothing wrong with your sense of direction.”

There was a moment of silence and Shane wondered if he had said something wrong when suddenly there was a gurgle of laughter. Her laughter was so infectious that Shane broke into a wide grin, suddenly realising how much he had missed interacting with someone other than his brother.

It did not take long for the rest of Morgan’s group to wake up. After everyone had eaten and the tasks had been distributed, everyone got down to work.

Together with Reah, Morgan tended to Mads’ injuries. Elize helped Shane to fix the broken chair and Steve and Viggo had gone outside to look for wood for the fireplace, something Shane had hinted at during breakfast.

Having been allowed by Nox to bring enough flour the day before, Morgan had gone back to making bread when the barking of the dogs reached her. Nox was back and a knot began to form in her stomach.