CHAPTER 292: GHOSTS OF THE PAST

A few times while Irene rested, she pulled the front door open to ensure she wouldn’t get trapped during the snowstorm.

Unfortunately, in her exhaustion, she slept for several hours, and when she was ready to face the following day, it felt nearly impossible for her to break up the snow that had settled and eventually frozen overnight.

While she had noticed upon first arrival that there was another door behind Sammy’s pen, from the outside, she knew that it would be even more impossible to get out of than the front door.

"We aren’t trapped in here," she assuredly told the horse as she passed by his pen.

His tail swished in response. He seemed pleased to be indoors and in the warmth, so it didn’t matter to him whether or not they left anytime soon, because he was enjoying himself and the old hay that was there. Even though it was dry, he was still eating it every so often.

On one of the walls, there was a massive axe likely for cutting down large trees along the foothills to bring back to the township. Since there wasn’t much vegetation in the area, she imagined they would have to bring the wood a decent distance to build such a large community.

"Sorry for taking your things," she uttered to the person who owned the house long before she was ever there.

Irene had to stack boxes to even reach the axe, but when she had it, she brought it to the front door. Since it wasn’t an issue of pushing the snow away, but pulling the door from it, she wedged the sharp edge of the old, rusty axe into the bottom seam of the door. She tried to push it upwards in hopes that it would break up some of the ice.

While there was a bit of creaking when she pulled on the door, it was to no avail.

The girl settled on the floor with her eyes on the room. She searched for something else that would help her get out of there.

It wouldn’t be wise to pour hot water on the bottom of the door, even if it was tempting.

Since she planned to return to that house at the end of that day so that she could leave for the north bright and early the following morning, it was going to make it so she likely locked herself out instead during her trip around the township to see if she could find food stores. It would also cause the melted snow to freeze and be a slipping hazard.

Everyone from Chemois knew to avoid water outdoors in winter. Even further north, the people who once lived there understood the ways of winter, where a drop could freeze in seconds depending on the day.

She wasn’t deterred from her escape just yet because she wasn’t willing to wait for a warmer day to pass by so that escape would be even easier.

With a small sigh, she stood up and retrieved the axe she had dropped before.

From the woodpile, she found a small wedge of wood that she used to prop up the flat side of the axe whenever she used her boot to kick it underneath the bottom of the door. Every few inches, Irene would stick the axe in the seam and on top of the wedge of wood, and then she would stomp down with her boot and create some space or at least break up the ice that was there.

As she worked, she saw marks being created on the bottom of the door, but she felt it was more important that she build up her supplies than worry about an old door. Whoever lived there before likely understood all it took to live in such a situation and how sometimes nature decided your method of doing things, even before you could.

After this treatment, she tried to pull open the door, and it opened more than before.

She tried the bottom corners as well, and when she heard the noise of something cracking particularly loudly that time, she knew she had broken through the ice.

Irene let out a cry of victory as the door finally opened and a gust of wind caused flecks of the snow that hadn’t settled on the top of the ground to blow upward and kiss her face. She immediately pulled her scarf higher to cover her mouth and nose. It was going to be a particularly cold day, but it didn’t deter her from going outside. The clothing she had was plenty warm, and they wouldn’t be traveling around with all of their things.

The girl went to Sammy, whom she let out of his pen, and walked across the warm house.

While he seemed hesitant at first when he was at the door, he leapt out of the front door, to her shock, and pranced around in the snow as if he was stretching out his legs for the first time in a while.

"I thought you would be displeased to go back into the cold, but it seems you like fresh snow," Irene realized.

Even though she didn’t know if she would need to ride Sammy any time soon, she also knew he was important if she needed to escape somewhere quickly, or his strength for whatever reason.

The two began their exploration as they slowly walked through a town buried in snow, the only signs of life being the triangular buildings that stood out, some withstanding while others were completely buried.

It was the smaller ones Irene was interested in, considering that was usually the food stores in the townships she grew up around and was used to.

In the first door she managed to get open, Irene was displeased to see that there were more fresh items in this one. There were things like rooted vegetables and jerky in here that would likely crumble because of the years and years of freezing.

"No luck," she uttered to Sammy as they moved onto the next.

Rather than having to guide him forth, he was happy to follow her and would stay nearby whenever she explored a building.

There were a few more places that Irene couldn’t possibly open at all, or had much of the same—useless supplies that she did not need.

However, each place was observed with care. Even what she couldn’t use, she allowed her eyes to brush over fondly, thinking of the hope that went into food store preparations. It was quite possibly the greatest sign of hope anyone could express. Were there a lot of people there who needed the supplies? Were there only a few left, but someone determined to prepare just in case others arrived?

They were answers she would never receive but liked to muse about nonetheless.

After a couple more buildings, Irene was starting to build up her fodder supplies, at least. It meant that Sammy was sure to be able to keep eating. There was an entire bag that was just for his eating, after all.

Not feeling very hopeful about the next building that was larger than the store houses she had been exploring, Irene was shocked when she finally got the front door open and saw what seemed to be a trading area considering all of the supplies stacked on the wall and some sort of desk where the bartering likely happened.

From her understanding, they had silver coins, but most of the time, people just traded since they settled in a rural area, and it wasn’t one of the great cities her grandmother told her they came from.

Sammy was set on staying outside and snacking on the dried fodder that Irene had brought out for him. His packs were full of his food, so she felt at least prepared for him.

The girl was relieved when she searched a bit further and found all sorts of wild rice and dried vegetables. Both would allow her to create substantial meals if she could get boiling water. Since there was endless wood for her to take with her, there was no issue in lighting a fire and melting snow during her camping trips. It would be a couple more days before she would make it all the way to her father’s birthplace.

Even though she could tell that some of the jarred or fresh items were completely spoiled—and her father did make sure to tell her how to tell if something was spoiled because it was a common thing that could kill the unsuspecting—Irene still browsed the shelves for a little while longer.

Again, all she wanted to do was appreciate what the people who came before her did to prepare their lives, with no indication they wanted to leave. It must have been such a beautiful community when it was at its peak. She could imagine her father, looking so much like her little brother, running around such a place and causing trouble with her uncle and some of their friends.

Unwilling to disturb more of the trading post, Irene left the building and shut the door tightly behind her.

All she could do now was go on a hunt for grouse and turn in for the night. The path ahead wasn’t going to be for the faint of heart.