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“I hear it too,” I confirm. It sounds familiar for some reason, but I can’t place it.
“It’s getting louder,” she says.
The anticipation mounts within me, a blend of curiosity and caution. The buzzing sound continues to grow, now unmistakable in its intensity. Until it finally clicks.
“Wait, is that…” Ollie trails off.
Ed nods as if understanding exactly what he’s talking about. He steps toward the door, putting his boots on. I follow him, shrugging into my jacket on the way out.
Susan is at our heels. “Wait, this is a good thing?” she asks.
“You’ll see,” Ollie says.
“What is it?”
Ollie grins. “It’s a snowplow! Looks like the town sent someone to clear the roads.”
“Oh,” Susan says. Her response makes me pause. I turn around to see the look on her face. I see a flash of fear and uncertainty before it’s quickly replaced by a weak smile. “I mean, yay, they’re finally clearing the roads.”
“It was about time,” Ollie says, shaking his head. “I think sometimes they forget about us folks up here on the mountains.”
At this, Susan’s eyes widen. “Wait, there are more people living out here?”
“Of course. At least four more families that I know of,” Ollie says. “Maybe more. Not everybody is friendly.”
“They probably say the same thing about us,” I point out.
Ed is already out, trudging through the snow till he gets to the end of our driveway.
The snowplow’s headlights pierce through the waning daylight, illuminating the surrounding area with a dull glow.
The machine is gigantic, its massive blades scraping against the icy ground. Its yellow exterior contrasts against the pristine white landscape, its powerful engine roaring to life, sending vibrations through the ground beneath our feet. The swirling snow and ice are forcefully pushed aside, creating a clearer path.
Ed doesn’t flinch as the machine stops a few feet away from him.
Ollie and I walk over to him. As the snowplow comes to a halt, my eyes widen in recognition as the driver steps down from the machine. It’s Kevin. Kevin and I went to school together. We were kind of friends until he moved away for a while and got married.
He removes his winter hat, revealing a head of tousled brown hair, slightly damp from the exertion of snowplowing.
“Well, well, look who it is!” Kevin exclaims, his voice filled with warmth. “I heard you guys got snowed in and thought I’d lend a helping hand.”
“How are you, man?” I ask.
“Great,” he says with a grin, but I see the bags under his eyes. He hasn’t slept well for a while.
“You didn’t have to go through all this trouble,” Ed says. “But we really appreciate it, Kevin. Thank you.”
Kevin shrugs, a modest smile playing on his lips. “No trouble at all. We look out for one another around here. We hadn’t heard from you guys for a while, and everybody was a little worried. Thankfully Calvin got through to Ollie this morning.”
“My phone was the only one working,” Ollie says. “I told you satellite phones were a good investment.”
I roll my eyes at his words. The only reason he doesn’t use a regular phone anymore is because scorned women keep blowing up his phone.
“Did you guys hear from the Tellers?” Kevin asks.
The Tellers live a few miles ahead of us, perched on a sweet spot below a particularly large cliff on the passage. I always thought that place looked a little too precarious to build a home in, let alone live there. It’s a massive place, much bigger than ours, and if rumors are to be believed, they even have direct access to a hot spring.
“Nope,” Ollie says. “I’m sure they’re okay.”
