Broken Orbit | ONC

Ram

   Ram opened his mouth to speak when Chance wedged his head back out. Ram's eyes widened and he pointed. "Is that a dog?"

   I hesitated. "Yes. This is Chance."

   Ram finally lowered the shotgun. "You can let him down. I have a sack of dog food we haven't opened. He looks hungry." He stepped out into the light. The boy couldn't have been older than eleven. His brown hair was long and grungy. Dirt marred his face and his eyes held a sorrow I didn't know. I looked back down at Chance and up at him. "Where are your parents, Ram?"

   "They went hunting for food."

   There were no prints around the house... Nor any sign that anyone had opened a door in ages. "How long ago did they leave?"

   His lips pursed. "About three weeks ago."

   My heart panged. His parents were likely gone. Either dead in the snow, killed by travelers, or they had simply left him behind. I unzipped my coat and set the wriggling puppy down. Ram hurried over, smiling, as he reached for the puppy. I watched as Chance nibbled on his fingers. "Are you alone, Ram?"

   "No. My sister is here."

   "Where?"

   "I told her to hide."

   "She can come out, okay?"

   He eyed me suspiciously. I pointed at my chest. "Cop, remember? I won't hurt you. I will be leaving soon, anyway."

   "You're not trying to steal our food?"

   "I'm not. I promise."

   "Fine." Ram stood up and left the room. I rubbed my head slightly. A boy, all alone with his sister. He had somehow survived three weeks. How long until he ran out of food? Anyone that found him would kill him for this house. I was starting to feel better now that the wind wasn't biting at me. This kind of shelter was worth more than Ram could ever realize.

   Ram returned, holding the hand of a small girl. She looked to be around five. Her hair was braided delicately and glasses perched on her nose. She wore a set of overalls with a blanket wrapped around her top. I forced a smile. "What's your name?"

   "Maria," she said softly.

   "Hi Maria, I'm Drifter. This is Chance." I pointed at the puppy. Her eyes alit and she made to step forward. Ram tightened his hold on her hand. She frowned and he hesitantly let go. To make him more comfortable, I backed up and let Maria sit down to see Chance. Ram had taken on the role of the male of the house. His caution was warranted.

   "Where are you going?" Ram finally asked me.

   "I'm heading to the Equator."

   He frowned. "Why?"

   "It's less cold. Secondly, I heard that there might be a place to live. Somewhere with power." I slowly sat down on the floor. My bones popped slightly. I pulled down my hood and lowered the scarf to show the rest of my face. I hesitated for a second before asking, "would you like to come with me?"

   Ram studied me. "You said there might be somewhere warm?"

   "Yes."

   "Then no."

   I blinked. "Oh."

   Ram pushed a strand of hair from his head. "There's no proof that there's anything warm there. We wouldn't make it. We're too young. Besides, I've got enough food in our storage that we can survive several years in here."

   "The problem with that is that by the time you don't have food, it's going to be much colder." I pulled my tarp from my bag and moved to the window. "The temperature is dropping. By the time you need to search for food, it will be too cold to survive for longer than a minute outside. You need to find a home sooner rather than later."

   "We're staying here," Ram said shortly. "I can get food now, then. But we're staying here and waiting for my parents."

   His parents weren't coming back. The look on his face said that he wouldn't listen if I tried to convince him otherwise. Staying in the snow without shelter for more than a week was certain death. Three weeks? They were gone. I studied his eyes for any break in his resolve, but they were firm. I pressed my cracked lips and stood up, rifling through my bag.

   "What are you doing?" Ram asked me, confused, as I held up my tarp to the broken window. It wasn't going to fit. I put it back into my bag. "Fixing your window. Would you have anything like this tarp?"

   "Daddy might have left his car cover in the shed," said Maria softly.

   "Where's the shed?"

   Ram jerked his head over his shoulder. "Back door. Why do you care about the window?"

   "Because I broke it without thinking." I left Maria sitting beside Chance and went into the kitchen. The door was boarded shut firmly. I looked at Ram as he followed me. "Could I open this to get outside?"

   He grunted. "If you put it back up."

   After a few minutes of prying carefully at the nails with my crowbar, I pulled up my hood and opened the door. A sheet of ice as tall as the door crashed inside and hit me. I fell backwards and my head hit the counter. Stars danced as I groaned, snow blasting into my cheeks.

   The door slammed shut and Ram pressed his back against it. I gingerly sat up and felt the back of my head. My gloves came back with a spattering of scarlet. I should have seen that coming. Before the temperature dropped freezing, it would have rained. The water slowly turned to ice to make a five-inch thick wall over this side of the house. The cracks around the door allowed the ice to melt into the shape of the door and the wind blasted it into the house the moment the door pulled away.

   Ram came back with some sort of fabric. I took the offered rag and pressed it against the back of my head. It was cold, but it helped numb the pain. I was having trouble focusing on Ram's face as he frowned. "You okay?"

   "Not really." I blew out my cheeks and felt the lump on the back of my head. "But it happens. Thank you for the towel." I got back up and handed it over. Ram watched as I bundled my head and went outside, wary for more ice.

   There was a lock on the shed, but the mechanism was so frozen that it wasn't hard to break off. I stepped inside and saw a lawn mower, a bunch of pots, some soil, and several gardening tarps. They'd have to work. For a moment, I flipped over the lawnmower and examined the combustion engine. To my surprise, it still had gas. There were four cans of gas in the shed and the mower looked like it would fire up if I tried to start it.

   The shed hadn't been touched since Lover's arrival. Four cans of gas? A working motor? I suddenly got an idea. 

6,860 total words.