Chapter 4Joe hated this indigo sky. Despised the pine trees fighting the wind. And the sound of snow being crushed under boots, he’d come to hate as well. The Taïga: it was like nothing he’d ever known. This wilderness wanted him dead.
Nonetheless, he’d rather be out here, than locked inside the Icebox.
“It’s good to have you back,” Levin said, grinning. His hat stood crooked on his head and already his ears were turning red. But Levin puffed and grunted happily, carrying debris and broken branches to the designated area. “I was beginning to think you’d turned soft, sitting in your cell all day, reading romantic novels and writing those long aching letters.”
Joe shot him a dark look, but then cracked a smile. “Yeah, right.’’ He swung the ax into the trunk of a large larch tree, scarring
