Snowed In Anthology

Chapter 1Ross fought to keep his SUV on the road. Another massive gust of wind rocked in from the north, threatening to knock him over. Ice caked the roads, hidden by blowing snow, and they were going to stay that way until the storm wound itself out. According to Weather Center Power Five or whatever they were calling themselves these days, that could be two days from now. The emergency arteries would probably get cleared at some point, but even clearing that much would be a fight for plows. With any luck, news about the travel ban would have spread and people would have engaged their common sense. No one needed to be out on the roads at a time like this. He grabbed his radio. “Huber to base, checking in from Route 27 near the Maynard-Sudbury Line. No stragglers that I can see. Over.” The dispatcher’s voice crackled back to him right away. “Bring it on home, Huber. No need to risk getting stuck out there.” Ross hated to admit it, but he relaxed a little in his seat. He had no problem doing the job in front of him. He’d give his life to protect the people of Massachusetts if he had to, just like he’d sworn in his oath when he took the job. He just didn’t see a point in making that kind of sacrifice without good cause. It was much better to head back to the State Police barracks in Framingham. At this rate of speed, with this kind of visibility, it would take him about two hours at best to get back to base, and the storm was only going to get worse between now and then. He’d be sleeping at headquarters, but he could live with that. They’d all prepared for it anyway, having known about the storm days in advance. They had food, they had coffee and hot chocolate. They had plenty of cots and blankets and whatnot. They’d be fine, and he’d rather it be him than some of the guys who had young kids or aged parents at home. He inched his way along, eyes as alert as they could be for any sign of people or animals in distress. As he drove, visibility steadily got worse. The snow was bad enough, but the wind blew it around so much it was impossible to see. He could only hope he made it back to State Police headquarters at this rate. Between the wind, snow, and ice, he couldn’t be a hundred percent sure he’d make it. Some guys farther west didn’t make it back to their barracks. Ross heard it on the radio, every time they checked in. Most of them called it quits when they got to someplace relatively safe to hole up until things died down. A couple of them decided to bunk down in a grocery store with stranded workers. Another took shelter in a Dunkin Donuts, living the stereotype but at least finding safety (and donuts.) One just parked his cruiser under the shelter of a self-serve car wash and hoped for the best. Ross didn’t envy him at all. If the stranded car hadn’t had its flashers on, and its wipers, Ross would never have seen it. He threw his lights and blinkers on and pulled in behind it. It was entirely possible that whoever had left the car there had already been picked up and rescued, but Ross couldn’t take the chance of leaving someone in the vehicle. Not when he could see that the tailpipe had already been covered. He picked up his radio again. “Base, this is Huber, still on Route Twenty-Seven, probably somewhere in Sudbury. I’ve come upon a stranded vehicle, tailpipe buried, lights flashing. Intend to check for passengers. Over.” “Roger that, Huber.” Dispatch always sounded calm and collected. “Be advised your road has not been cleared and ambulances cannot pass. Over.” “Roger that. Making contact now.” Ross didn’t need someone sitting pretty in their socks in Framingham to tell him the miserable road he was driving on hadn’t been plowed. He knew it was just for the recording, in case someone tried to sue later or something, but it still rankled. Or maybe he was just cranky because of the weather. He slipped his gloves and hat on, grabbed a window breaker just in case, and headed over to the other car. It was a Volkswagen Golf with summer tires, completely inappropriate for this kind of weather, and the motor was running. Now that Ross was on the ground and closer to the vehicle, he could better guess what had happened. The driver had skidded out and gone halfway into a snowbank, and then he couldn’t get out again. He used his forearm to brush away snow from the driver’s side window. He hoped he wouldn’t find anyone inside, just some dim bulb who’d left the car running when he jumped into the rescue vehicle of his choice. Once he’d cleared enough snow to see, he knew he wasn’t going to be that lucky. He fumbled for his radio, no easy task with his gloves on. “Dispatch,” he shouted trying to be heard over the wind. “This is Huber. We have one adult male, unconscious, and one canine, semi-conscious, in the vehicle. Over.” Dispatch came back to him right away. “Extract from vehicle if you can, but we cannot send a truck. Repeat, no truck is coming. There is a tree down two miles from your location.” Well, s**t. “I’ll deal with that once I extract the victims, over.” He took his window breaker, found an appropriate location, and smashed the driver’s side window. It shattered under impact, collapsing down as it had been designed to do. By the time someone got to the car to tow it, the thing would be a total loss. At least the owner would be alive to fight with his insurance company. Ross reached into the car and unlocked it. The dog growled at him when he reached inside, but made no more hostile moves when he reached over to turn the car off. “It’s okay, buddy,” Ross told the dog. “I’m trying to get you out of here.” The dog probably didn’t have the strength to fight Ross at this point. He wagged his tail on the passenger seat twice and drooled a bit. Ross couldn’t quite tell the breed. He’d guess it was a mutt, with a good amount of German shepherd in him. The dog nosed at its human, trying to get him to wake up. “He’s not going anywhere on his own, boy.” Ross’ teeth chattered as he slipped his glove back on. “Are you going to bite me if I try to move your friend here?” The dog growled. “Well, sorry. I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do. I want you to come too, okay?” Ross felt like an ass, talking to a dog. He knew he should grab the dog’s leash, but right now he had to prioritize the human. If he’d already lost consciousness, time was of the essence and it might already be too late. He put his arms underneath the victim’s shoulders and dragged him out of the car, into the snow. The man was only a little shorter than Ross himself, and he seemed to be made of solid muscle, so all Ross could do was drag him. He’d deal with any other injuries later. Ross dragged him to the back of his SUV, opened the lift gate, and hoisted the stranger into it. This seemed to be the best way to keep him lying down, although Ross had to fold him into the coma position to fit him inside. The dog hadn’t followed, although he’d moved into the first guy’s seat to get more of the fresh air. That was fine. “What’s up, Fido?” Ross let the dog sniff him, and grinned when the dog gave two more wags of his little tail. “Want to go see Daddy?” The dog barked, twice, and looked into the back of the car. Apparently, whoever the victim was, traveled with a bunch of equipment. Ross sighed. He hadn’t signed on to play porter for some guy. At the same time, the dog clearly wasn’t going to come willingly unless Ross grabbed the guy’s stuff. He grabbed it, and then he frowned. The man had a military-style duffel, which seemed light to Ross. He had a bag that, upon further examination, contained a laptop, other electronic equipment Ross couldn’t identify, and an expensive looking camera. Now that, Ross could see not wanting to leave hanging around for the elements to take. There was another little duffel with supplies for the dog, to include a large jar of kibble. “Don’t want to forget that,” Ross said to the dog, who barked. Ross found a leash to put onto the dog. He managed to lug the other things over to his car. Then he turned the Golf’s electronics off and returned to his vehicle to check on his victims. The dog piddled on the Golf and rushed to join Ross. He helped his furry companion into the back of the car beside his master before checking his breathing. The man, whose stubbled face looked oddly familiar, had the cherry-red complexion of someone with carbon monoxide poisoning. He was already looking better now that Ross had moved him into fresh air, and the dog had perked up too. Hopefully they hadn’t been out for too long, and they’d recover. He closed the lift gate, circled back to the driver’s seat, and climbed in. “Christ it’s cold out there,” he complained, and then grabbed his radio. “Base, this is Huber. I have the human and canine victim in my vehicle. Is there a detour to accommodate the tree you mentioned, over?” Dispatch came back in a second. “Officer Huber, this is dispatch. You and your victims are directed to seek shelter immediately and shelter in place.” Ross looked around. “Dispatch, there’s nothing here. It’s a wildlife refuge. I don’t know what the vic was doing out here, but there are no buildings within miles.” He flipped the radio off, out of view of the camera so no one would know. “Over.” Dispatch came back after a second. “Officer Huber, we have your location on GPS. There is an abandoned home approximately half a mile down Route Twenty-Seven, on your right. Seek shelter there and we will send crews for you as soon as it becomes safe. Do you have your emergency kit with you? Over.” “Yes, ma’am.” Ross bit back a curse. Of course he had his kit with him. He checked it out every shift, just in case. “Good. Please stay safe, Officer.” “Roger that.” Ross immediately regretted barking at the dispatcher. She was just doing her job, and it didn’t hurt to make sure everyone had a handle on where they were supposed to be and what they were supposed to be doing. “Huber out.” He put his radio down and looked in the rearview mirror. “Looks like we’re going for an adventure,” he told the dog. The dog didn’t reply. He probably had the same dim view of adventuring that Ross and maybe most hobbits, had. Maybe he’d already had enough adventuring for one day. It took a while to ease down the road, but he found the driveway leading up to the house the dispatcher had told him about without a problem. Getting up to the door would be more of a challenge, but these little Ford SUVs had a few extra modifications that didn’t come standard from the showroom floor. Ross made it over the snow eventually, and turned the vehicle around for ease of unloading and so he could get the car out more easily the next day. He picked the locks on the front door and did a quick sweep, but as near as he could tell the house was undisturbed. It had been cleaned out when the owners moved and then simply left, for several months. Bad luck for them, excellent luck for him. He went back out, unloaded his guest’s gear, and then he brought in the man and his dog. He went back for his supplies and guns. He didn’t think anyone would be stupid enough to try to break into the vehicle right now, but there was no reason to take a chance. He had water, and he had blankets, and he had first aid supplies. When he was done unloading, he checked the light switches and found the place still had electricity. Thank Heaven for small favors. It turned out they had running water and sewer, too. It was a miracle the pipes hadn’t frozen yet. He settled in to check on his patient. The man still looked familiar. He looked more than familiar, if Ross was being honest. He looked like a guy Ross had dated in college, but Ash had been skinny. This guy was built, solid muscle and taller than Ash had been, too. While the dog was responding quickly to the fresh air, the human seemed to be having more trouble with it.