“Let’s check it out,” Tom said. They slowly made their way to where they thought they’d seen the object.
Tom didn’t know what they would do if it turned out to be nothing useful. Perhaps they could make a snow shelter and wait out the storm and hopefully not freeze to death. He tried to remember back to his boy scout days. They’d done something like that on one of the camps.
“It’s a barn!” Mike whooped with joy. “We’re not going to freeze to death!”
They’d reached the side of a bright red barn. They pushed their way through the snow and tried to find the entrance. They had to backtrack when they turned the corner and discovered the back of the barn.
Tom’s feet felt like ice-blocks by the time the pushed their way to the front of the barn. There was a small man-sized door next to the larger doors. Tom yanked it open, and they fell over each other to get inside. Mike slammed the door shut behind them, blocking out the snow and wind.
It was warmer inside the barn, but dark. Mike fished out his phone and used it as a flash light. That made Tom feel around for his phone.
“Shit, Mike. I can’t find my phone.” He patted all his pockets desperately.
“Hang on, I’ll call it.” Tom waited impatiently to hear it ring or feel it vibrate. Nothing.
“It must still be in the plane.” He cursed again.
“Well, we can go back and get it when the storm lifts and there’s some daylight. You can text Claire from my phone if you want to.”
“Thanks. Lets get comfortable first.”
Mike held his phone up, and they looked around. Tom could hear the shuffling and grunting of animals. He could see a horse in a stall to their left.
“I wonder if we can find any blankets in here?” Tom took a few steps into the barn.
“You know, if there’s a barn, there’s probably a farmhouse nearby.”
“I don’t want to go out into that snow again, not right now. I feel like I’m almost frozen solid,” Tom said quickly.
“Yeah, okay. Fair enough. We can check it out in the morning.”
They found an empty stall in between a horse and two cows. It didn’t smell the best in there, but it was dry, and warmer than outside. Tom scrounged around and found a couple of old blankets that smelt like horse. They’d have to do. They settled themselves into the stall, and sat closely together under the blankets and straw, sharing body warmth. Tom took off his soaked shoes and tried to rub some warmth back into his feet.
“You don’t happen to have any food do you?” Tom asked morosely after his stomach grumbled.
Mike fished around his pack by the light of phone. He pulled out a granola bar and a squashed chocolate bar.
“Split them?”
Tom nodded. “Yeah.” Half a granola bar and half a chocolate bar wasn’t his idea of a meal, but it would have to do. After breaking the two bars in half, Mike handed his phone over to Tom, along with his share of the food.
“Here, call Claire if you’d like.”
“Thanks, buddy.” He took the phone and stared at the numbers. He started tapping and then stopped.
“I don’t know her number,” he said bleakly.
“Huh?”
“I… I don’t know her number. I can’t remember the last four numbers. I never have to dial it! I just press her name, and it calls her! I don’t know her number!” He slapped his hands to his face and rubbed his eyes. “I’m a terrible husband. How can I not know my own wife’s cell phone number?”
“Hey, calm down. I think I’ve got your landline number in there.”
Tom shook his head desolately. “We cancelled it a few months ago. Figured we didn’t need it and it was a waste of money.”
“Oh. Hey! I know, duh. Facebook her. You can log me out.”
“Oh!” Tom exclaimed and slapped his forehead again. “Why didn’t I think of that?” He picked up the phone again and then groaned. “No data out here.”
Mike put a consoling arm around his shoulders. “It’s okay, buddy. We’ll go back to the plane and find your phone in the morning.”
“Yeah. I guess we can’t do much else.”
The two men huddled down together, trying to keep warm. It was definitely better than being outside in the snow, but after a few hours, Tom would have given his right foot for a warm, comfortable bed in a room with a fireplace — preferably cuddled up to his wife instead of Mike.
Tom blinked, slowly coming awake. A dog was growling somewhere. He didn’t know where he was at first, but then it all came rushing back. The plane, the crash landing, finding the barn. He opened his eyes properly, and nudged Mike. A large dog that looked sort of like a German Shepherd was standing stiffly at the entrance to the stall they’d occupied. His hackles were up and he was growling softly at them. Tom jumped when the dog barked.
An older man, bundled up against the cold, strode over and stood above them, looking down at them curiously.
“Well, hello there!” The man put his hand reassuringly on the dog’s head. The dog sat down by his master’s side and stopped growling, but didn’t take his eyes off the two strangers.
Tom brushed the sleep out of his eyes and tried to stand up. His left foot was a bit numb though. He winced as he felt pins and needles shoot through his foot as the limb came alive again.
“Uh, hi. Good morning,” Tom stuttered. He pulled himself up and tried to brush the straw off him. He couldn’t do much about the horse smell. He didn’t quite know what to say.
“And what are you two doing in my barn, may I ask?” The farmer asked somewhat blandly, after Tom just stood there dumbly.
Mike had woken up and sat blinking up at the old man, looking slightly confused. Tom nudged him again and he slowly stood up as well.
“Um, good morning, sir. We’re terribly sorry to trespass, but you see, we got stuck out in that storm and we found your lovely barn and thought it looked a bit warmer than outside. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all. Nasty weather we had last night. That wouldn’t happen to be your plane out in my field would it?”
“It would indeed,” Mike replied.
“Well, then. Why don’t you come into the house. It’s nice and warm in there, and you can tell me your story.”
Tom shuddered as he pulled his wet shoes and socks back on. The old man eyed him.
“You’re not really dressed for these parts.”
“No, I’m afraid I’m not,” Tom said.
Tom and Mike followed the farmer out of the barn. The sky was overcast, but it had stopped snowing. The landscape was white as far as Tom could see. He glanced around, looking for the wreckage of the plane. He couldn’t see it anywhere.
The dog led the way to the farmhouse, slowly wagging its tail. The farmer walked calmly along, barely sinking into the snow. Mike and Tom struggled along behind him. Tom’s feet and legs were soon freezing cold again. He could feel the warmth leeching out of him. The house wasn’t too far away from the barn. Tom was surprised they hadn’t noticed it the night before. Apart from the barn, the house and a collection of sheds, there were no other buildings in sight. Tom shuddered, thankful once again that they’d managed to stumble across the barn. He had no doubt it had saved them.
He was shivering badly by the time they reached the house. The farmer held open the back door and let them in.
“Take off those wet shoes, you can put them by the fire to dry.”
The house was warm and toasty. It smelt delicious too.
“Cora!” the farmer called out. “We’ve got some visitors!”
An older woman, with steel grey hair tied up in a messy bun and a floral apron came out of what Tom supposed was the kitchen. She looked them up and down and then gestured for them to come into the kitchen. It was a warm and cozy room, with an old-fashioned wood stove burning merrily away.