Wherever the Snow May Fall

Wherever the Snow May Fall
When one thinks of Kansas, thoughts of the Wizard of Oz and twisters usually come to mind. No one ever prepared the residents of Topeka, Kansas for what would happen in the year 2016 when they started their normal days on their farms. No one ever prepared them for the hardships they’d be facing three months down the road. Due to a freakish weather pattern, a renewed Ice Age had developed on May 14, 2016. As it slowly moved throughout the globe it finally hit in the sleepy town of Topeka, and thus changed the lives of some families forever.

Two feuding families of Topeka were hit especially hard by this Ice Age. The Glass family and the Rosewood family had always competed in everything from farm work, state fairs, and football. The Glass family was well known in the town for their aptitude for medicine. Don Glass was one of the most successful doctors in Topeka and ran a local practice where he was highly commended. His wife Judy was extremely respected in the community and well known for her apple pie at the local state fairs. They had an eighteen-year-old son named Addison who was the quarterback for the high school football team. Topeka’s community loved them, but like any town, there is always another family that also tries to set the bar.
The Rosewood family was arguably another “town favorite” family that had a reputation as fine as the Glass’s. Pete Rosewood and his wife Leslie ran one of the main farms of Topeka, which was the main provider for all produce that was sold in their region of Kansas. They had an 18-year-old daughter named Grace who was a straight-A student and spent most of her time helping others through some of the clubs at school, and they also had a seventeen year old son named Patrick who played football on the same team as Addison. Three months into the re-instated Ice Age, the families resided in separate bomb shelters only a few feet away from each other which had previously only been used for tornadoes. The unexpected onslaught of snow, ice, and frigid temperatures took everyone in Topeka aback, and everyone had to learn how to adjust to the new surroundings.

* * *
A slight glint of light shone through the frosted window pane of Don Glass’s bomb shelter. At nine o clock in the morning, all you could see was your breath in front of your face. Extensive amounts of blankets were thrown haphazardly around the small space, and eerie shadows were cast thanks to the lanterns glowing in the room. A discarded walkie-talkie lay on the floor along with a radio and a flashlight. Don Glass’s medical bag lay in a dark corner of the room. Addison Glass was restless this morning, staring fiercely out the window trying to see anything besides the white torrents of snow that were falling upon the ground. He crept quietly to the pantry and pulled out a box of stale crackers.

“I guess this is breakfast,” he thought to himself. He munched quietly as he observed his parents sleeping. He noticed his mother’s raspy breathing and the frail-like qualities to her face. She had lost so much weight since the beginning of the Ice Age that Addison was beginning to worry about her. He went to put the crackers away as they were starting to taste a little funny, when he accidentally knocked over a pan hanging in the pantry. The noise woke the whole family up.

“Addison! Your mother is trying to sleep here and this is one of the first nights of rest that I’ve gotten in a while! Although, I bet that Rosewood boy is a lot louder than you. That kid never stops talking on the football field… just like his old man.,” Don exploded in an angry whisper, while Addison tried to make himself invisible. He was a little taken aback at his dad’s tone. His dad got angry, sure, but he never really yelled the way he’d been doing lately. Ever since they got stuck in this bomb shelter his dad had developed a short temper. His father was always commenting about the Rosewood family in snide ways too. For some reason, his family and the Rosewood family just never got along. As far as he could remember, the families had hated each other. He’d always wondered what the source of friction was. He knew it had something to do with plain, stubborn competition but that was just stupid to him. Not like he could say anything about it to his family anyway. Addison’s mother shifted in her make-shift cot and opened her eyes.

“We’re still stuck here, are we? I had a great dream last night that all of this was over,” Judy said in a monotone voice. She struggled to sit up and blinked her eyes sleepily. Addison rushed to her side as she swayed a bit standing up, and helped her walk to the window.

“Mom, you really do need to eat something. You can’t just keep refusing to eat the food we have here. Granted, the food’s stale but it’s better than starving to death,” Addison whined, knowing it wouldn’t do any good. His mother was incredibly picky when it came to food and now that three months had passed since the Ice Age hit, there wasn’t much fresh food from which to pick. His mother stared out the window listlessly, ignoring the last comments he had made. Addison’s father turned on the radio that they had brought down to the shelter from their house, listening for any possible news. The low buzz of the volume created a slightly relaxing atmosphere, and his father puttered around the shelter looking for more kerosene to light the lanterns.

“Judy, you need to eat something here. It’s not like I can just run out to the store. You’re going to get sick sooner or later,” Addison’s father said. Addison’s mind was running as he thought of a way to help out his family. A crackling noise was heard throughout the dimly lit shelter. Don glanced over at the walkie-talkie lying on the floor.

“Hmm. Wonder what this frequency is picking up,” he muttered to himself as he picked up the walkie-talkie. Soon, Pete Rosewood’s voice played into the tiny shelter.

* * *
At one house over, frigid air swept over the door to another bomb shelter hidden underneath the ice and snow brought upon by the Ice Age. The Rosewood family wasn’t faring well throughout this giant storm. On this particular morning, Pete, Leslie, and Patrick were huddled over Grace as she lay shivering in her bed.

“What happened? Wasn’t she okay last night?” Patrick asked his parents frantically. Pete and Leslie were frantically trying to keep Grace warm. They piled blankets on top of her and Patrick put a pot of soup on the stove that they had in their shelter. He chose from a ton of different ingredients from their pantry, knowing that he could take however much he needed because they still had so much food anyway. Grace’s temperature was going up rapidly as Leslie kept placing her hand on Grace’s forehead.

“Pete, she needs medical attention. There’s not a hospital for miles and it’s impossible to go outside with the weather being like it is,” Leslie said hurriedly as she tried to control Grace’s shivering.

“What do you want me to do about it? I have no idea what’s wrong with her but there are no options right now. There’s no way we can just call for help. There are no doctors around here anyway, at least not real ones that I trust. I’d never let that Glass phony get near Grace. He’d probably make it worse,” Pete said angrily, feeling completely helpless. Patrick gave the soup to his mom and started looking around the shelter. There wasn’t much for them to use for means of communication, but he knew there had to be something out there. His thoughts drifted to the Glass family. He had been brought up in a way that made him hate their entire family. It didn’t help that he was constantly having to be on the same team was Addison in football. There’s nothing more annoying than having to pretend to be sportsmanlike to a guy that is just completely opposite from you. Plus he wasn’t really that big a fan of Addison because he was always staring at his sister. Something weird was going on, and he just hated Addison for it.

“Dad! Look what I found! A walkie-talkie!” he exclaimed, picking it up and rushing to his dad’s side.

“Patrick, where did you find this? Pete, do you think it’ll still work? This must’ve been in here for a while,” Leslie said, worried. Pete grabbed the walkie-talkie and pressed the talk button.

“It’s worth a shot. This is Pete Rosewood. We’re trapped in a bomb shelter by our house and we really need a doctor. Our daughter Grace is very sick and if anyone can help us, please… respond to this message,” he said, with desperation in his voice.

* * *
The Glass family listened quietly to the message by Pete Rosewood in disbelief. Addison suddenly felt a giant shock go through his entire body. Grace couldn’t be sick. This wasn’t happening. All his life he’d been in love with her, but their families never got along. It was practically forbidden for him to even look at the Rosewood kids, but he couldn’t help but look at Grace. She was beautiful and smart, and he was so angry with their parents for always keeping them apart.

“Well, obviously I’m not going to help them. Why do they think they deserve people’s help anyway? I mean it’s not like they’re the only family suffering. Look at us!” Don said to his wife. Judy nodded in her frail state and grabbed a small piece of bread and attempted to eat it.

“Ugh, disgusting. I can’t live like this. Honestly, I think we’re suffering way more than them. Of course, they’re always trying to get attention aren’t they Addison? That girl of theirs is in your grade, right, along with Patrick? Both of those kids are just so snooty; always trying to do so well in school and in sports. But they can’t beat you, can they Addison?” Judy said with a slight hint of sadness, spitting out her morsel of bread. Addison balled his hands into fists, but hid his surprise at his mother’s tone. Usually his mother went along with every single thing his father ever said, without question. But then again, his father was a man of force. He’d always had a slightly violent streak about him but they never talked about it. Addison never questioned his father’s actions and his mother never complained. But maybe there was a bigger issue at hand here. Maybe that was why his mother never questioned his father’s authority. Maybe she was afraid of him. This thought made Addision terrified and angry at the same time. There had to be something he could do to help save his mother from her weak state and faulty marriage, and also save Grace, too. But was he strong enough to confront his dad about their situation? Addison weighed his options. He could keep quiet, just like his mother had done all these years, and take the pain and suffering that would lie ahead, or he could speak up and be a man.

“Okay. I have an idea. And I don’t really care if you agree with it or not because this is now a matter of life and death. You, Dad, are a doctor. Grace is pretty sick and she needs help. You’re the only hope she’s got. I know that our families hate each other for some reason, but there’s no reason for it. All you ever do is fight about stupid stuff like bake sales and how fast your tractors go. Why can’t we just get along with them so we all can make it out of this Ice Age together? Mr. Rosewood probably has a ton of food at his shelter probably. You know what good farmers they are. They could help Mom get her strength up,” Addison said in a quick burst of energy. His father looked at him with confusion in his eyes. His mother looked at him with hope.

“Are you meaning to tell me that you want to actually have people like them help people like us? Are you honestly telling me that? Since when do you care about them and their family?” Don said slowly, taking deep breaths as he did so. His face was beginning to turn a violent shade of red.

“Dad, come on. I mean, why not just try to work with them. They’re just like us. It doesn’t matter that we competed in the past. We’re here right now in this situation. And we need to help Grace. We have to!” Addison faltered. His father looked at him quizzically yet again.

“Grace, huh? So is this all about Grace then? You don’t care about our family and our reputation that you’re just gonna go get involved with Grace Rosewood!?” Don yelled. Addison leapt back as his father stood up quickly, staring him down with a look loaded with contempt. Addison really wasn’t sure what to do at this point. How could he explain himself to his dad after all these years of tension? Addison shrank back against the wall, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

“I love Grace. Okay? I do. And if I can help her in any way then I’m going to. But I’m gonna need your help. And I love Mom. I don’t want her getting weaker than she is. Don’t you see that this is the only way? What if it were me Dad? What if I were the one who was deathly sick and needed help? What if the Rosewood’s answered a walkie-talkie call for us and put aside their differences? Why can’t you just do that for me, for Mom, for Grace, for all of us? Please,” Addison pleaded, tears starting to run down his face. Don watched his only son sobbing against the barren wall and he rolled his eyes.

“Addison. I can’t believe that you are standing here, fake crying, trying to get me to just go help that Rosewood girl like nothing is wrong at all. Your mother will be fine. You’re just being so selfish, Addison. You claim that you want to help your mother, but all you care about is that other girl. I’m ashamed to call you my son,” Don growled, which only made Addison’s sobs more desperate. Addison’s mind was spinning as his sadness was elevated thanks to his father’s harsh words. A stunned silence befell the bomb shelter, only broken by Addison’s cries.

“How can you say that, Dad? I’ve done everything you wanted. Anything you’ve ever asked, I’ve done. Do you think I actually like football? God, the only reason I did that was to make you proud of me. School, sports, farming… everything’s a competition with you. I’m always sacrificing my own thoughts and feelings for you guys because I want to make you happy. There’s so much pressure from you to just do everything right and be perfect, but guess what? I CAN’T BE PERFECT. I mess up. I’m a kid. That’s what we’re good at. I just can’t believe that you can sit here and just think of yourself. Things aren’t good Dad. If you haven’t noticed, there’s a huge storm out there that isn’t going to just clear up on its own. Your wife is sick and if we don’t try to get help than she’s going to die. Do you want that? DO YOU? And guess what, Mom’s miserable with you anyway. She puts on this façade that everything’s fine between you and her but can’t you see that you’re killing her? She goes along with everything you say out of fear. I should’ve seen this before, but I was too naïve to notice the fact that you were a threat to her.” Addison yelled, gasping between his sobs to get the words out. His words echoed throughout the shelter, reverberating off the walls. Addison was so angry he was practically shaking as he regarded his father. He finally opened his eyes and stared at his dad evenly, gasping for air as he wiped away his tears. Don suddenly slammed his fist against one of the walls, causing a nearby cabinet to shake. Jars of food slammed to the ground. Glass lay in shards on the dark floor, but Addison didn’t flinch a bit. He continued to stare as he watched his father explode into a fit of violence. Don kicked all of the lanterns over, and suddenly the once warmly lit bomb shelter was now pitch black besides the light coming in through the window. The new shadows cast a sinister look about the shelter.

“Don, please stop. Addison’s right. He’s right about everything,” Judy whispered in a hoarse voice, coughing as she did so. Don looked sharply at her with a wild gleam in his eye.

“Don’t you dare tell me you’re on his side now! That family and everything they stand for is everything we hate. We have never owed their family anything. ANYTHING! And how can you agree with the fact that you’re not happy with me. I’ve been the best husband to you. I’ve gotten you everything you’ve ever wanted. I’ve never hurt you” Don screamed at Judy, lumbering towards her as she lay huddled on the floor with blankets around her. Addison moved like a bullet to where his mother sat and stood in front of her, standing up straighter than he ever had before.

“Don’t touch her. You stay right there,” Addison said in a low voice, as he frantically scanned the room around him.

“And what are you going to do? Do you realize what you’ve just accused me of? I’m much stronger than you, Addison. And I’m not helping that Rosewood family at all, ever,” Don spoke in an angry hiss. Addison smirked slightly as he spotted a bit of rope covered by some old sacks of potatoes lying next to the cabinet. High school football had taught him well as to how to bring an opponent down. Addison bent down and rammed into his father, knocking him to the ground. He used every ounce of strength he had to keep his father from getting up as he grabbed the rope and tied it around his fathers flailing wrists. Angry shouting filled the room as he attempted to subdue his father. He heard his mother move behind him, but he didn’t glance behind because he needed to keep his father contained.

“Do not move a muscle. If you do so much as flinch, I swear to God I will do it,” Judy said shakily as she held a shard of the broken glass up to her husband’s neck. Don gulped slowly and stopped moving. Addison’s body was covered in sweat as he finished tying his father’s wrists tightly so he couldn’t break free. With the extra rope, he decided to tie his father’s feet together too for good measure. He felt exhaustion coming on but knew he couldn’t sleep now. Too much was left to be done.

He stood up slowly, taking his mother’s hand as they walked over to the window. Addision could feel his mother trembling beside him as she dropped the shard of glass to the floor.

“Mom, I’m so sorry about everything. I should’ve noticed. I should’ve been able to help you,” Addison whispered, his voice cracking as he began to cry again. His mother hugged him and her shoulders began to shake as she cried.

“Honey, I never expected you to be able to help me. I know everyone sees your father as this great guy in town, but I’m the only one who knew him for who he really was. You don’t know how hard it is pretending everything’s okay. I’ve been trying to file for a divorce the last few months, but now that the Ice Age hit I never got to follow through with it. Now I don’t know what to do. We need to get away. I don’t want him to hurt you like he hurt me. Maybe we should try to get to the Rosewood’s shelter. It can’t be too far away,” Judy said, sobbing quietly. Addison glanced at his father lying on the floor, moaning in pain from the fall. He knew that this was his time to step up and do something important for the ones he loved. Addison grabbed his father’s dingy medical bag lying in the corner. It would come in handy when they got to Grace. He and his mother wrapped themselves in as many blankets possible and prepared themselves for the trek ahead. His mother picked up the walkie-talkie and pressed the talk button.

“Pete Rosewood? This is Judy Glass. We heard your call on the radio here and we think we’ll be able to help out. I know that we’ve had our differences in the past but that was all because of my husband. I’ve…I’ve been trying to leave him for months now. Things aren’t good here and Addison and I need to get away, from here. Addison loves your daughter, and he is very concerned about her. We have my husband’s medical kit here and we… we just need to come to your shelter if that would be okay. We need to get away from my husband as soon as possible,” crackled Judy’s voice across the walkie-talkie.

* * *
The Rosewood family listened in shock as Judy’s voice delivered a powerful message. Pete didn’t know what to think as he regarded the words just spoken. Don had never been a completely honest guy; he’d known that from the start. He just couldn’t believe something like this had happened in the Glass family’s perfect world. The disregard he’d always had for them was starting to go away.
“I just never knew. I never would’ve guessed. Although I have noticed Judy becoming more and more upset at our bake sale meetings. I just thought she was stressed about the sale, but I guess her husband was really a bad guy. And you heard her talk about Grace and Addison. They really seem like they mean well and just need to get out of their bad situation. They would be able to help us, and I think we should help them as well,” Leslie said confidently to her husband. She knew this whole feud between them was long running and it would take a lot out of her husband to allow them to stay with them. She patiently waited for an answer as she looked over at Grace lying on the bed, still as sick as ever.

“I think we should do it. I mean, yeah Addison and I never exactly got along, but maybe this time it’ll be different. If they can help Grace then they should be here,” Patrick spoke up, looking at his dad bashfully. Pete Rosewood inhaled as he kept thinking about what to do. He realized how desperate Judy sounded on the walkie-talkie, and decided to swallow his pride. He loved his daughter, and right now, her getting better was all that mattered.

“Alright, give me the walkie-talkie. Let’s get them over here,” Pete said forcefully.

* * *
“Judy… this is Pete. We’ve thought about it and we want what’s best for our daughter and for you guys. Grab your stuff and get out of there. Make sure you lock the door behind you… we don’t want scum like your husband over here anytime soon. We really appreciate this,” Pete faltered on the walkie-talkie. Addison felt himself smile, which hadn’t happened in a while. His mother was smiling too, and he had never been so happy to go outside. The two of them made their way to the tightly shut door of their bomb shelter. Addison unlocked it and tried opening it, but it wouldn’t budge. He put his things down and backed up a little bit. Football was saving him, yet again. He ran and slammed his entire body into the door and it flung open, letting a giant mountain of snow into the doorway. Addison frantically clawed a way through the feet of powder, and saw a stretch of gray sky. He made sure there was an opening big enough for him and his mother to get out of and made his way back inside the shelter.

“You go first. Just get out there and I’ll hand you all of our stuff. I’ll go last and shut the door again,” Addison said breathlessly to his mother. Judy tentatively stepped out of the doorway and followed the pathway Addison had made until she reached the top level of snow. The temperature was well below freezing but she was immune to the cold. All she could think about was that this was their chance for freedom. She collapsed onto the surface, taking in the view of her home in the dusk. Snow was everywhere and everything was silent and still. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The land was freezing over. Just like their long running strife was freezing over. That’s the amazing thing about ice. It builds up and builds up and builds up, but after a while it is going to have to melt. Nothing stays frozen forever. Not even petty arguments and quiet fear. The loud thumps and shouting from Addison snapped Judy out of her thoughts as she grabbed the blankets and bags he was throwing up from the doorway.

Once Addison got all of the baggage they needed out, he made his way out of the doorway. He didn’t even glance back at his father who was still lying motionless on the floor. He wanted nothing to do with him anymore and was thrilled about this new opportunity to help Grace and his mother. He slammed the doorway down behind him, making sure it was locked tightly. Addison was very thankful that there was a lock on the outside of the door as well, but he knew that all the snow would make sure the door remained shut as well. He crawled out of the hole into the early evening sky and jumped onto the surface of snow where his mother was waiting. He kicked in a bunch of snow until the hole he had made was completely filled, and then he took a look around him. A few yards away, there was the unmistakable shape of the Rosewood’s house covered in snow. Their shelter would be somewhere around there.

Addison and Judy made their way to the other house, their feet crunching on the snow. The wind whipped around them, and they could see their breath well defined in the open air. The snow was heavy and their footsteps dragged, but they pressed on despite the harsh conditions.

“Look! There it is!” Judy exclaimed as they made their way towards an almost completely snow-covered door buried under the snow. Addison threw down his blankets and medical bag and banged on the door furiously. Rustling could be heard behind the door, and he stepped back as the door shook as it was being opened. The door flung up and Patrick Rosewood flew out, covered in the snow.

Addison grinned at him, saying “Looks like football came in handy for you too, huh?” Patrick nodded and beckoned them inside. Addison and his mother made their way inside the Rosewood’s shelter slowly and were thankful for the warmth in the room. Patrick struggled to shut the door behind him, but soon was successful. The Rosewood’s had lanterns all around them, lit brightly. A few more make-shift beds had been made before Addison and Judy’s arrival, and the Rosewoods regarded their newcomers with gratitude and sadness at the same time.

“Judy, if we would’ve known,” Leslie began to say, giving Judy a hug. Addison saw Grace lying in her bed, looking very pale, and he rushed to her side and smoothed out her hair.

“Do you know her symptoms? I have my dad’s medical bag here and I might be able to figure out how to help her,” Addison said to Patrick and Pete. They came over to him and quickly launched into a summary of what was wrong. Addison checked his dad’s medical bag for any help on how to treat the problem, and he found a book of common ailments that was stuffed at the bottom of the bag.

“Bingo. So you said she’s had a fever that hasn’t gone down and she hasn’t been eating. You guys didn’t have any medicine here at all? This really isn’t that big of a problem. Here, give her this,” Addison said, reading his handbook and figuring out the problem fairly quickly. He handed Patrick some medicine that was in his dad’s bag, and smiled to himself.

“Thank you Addison. This really does mean a lot to us. We weren’t sure how serious Grace’s sickness was,” Pete offered hesitantly.

“Well, she won’t be better instantly. But as long as I keep an eye on her and keep giving her this medication regularly then she should make a full recovery. At least, that’s what the book says. And I trust it,” Addison said, looking down at Grace who had now stopped shivering. He glanced over at his mom, who was now talking in the corner of the room with Leslie while they ate a good meal. He was glad that things were back on the right track now. Their problems wouldn’t magically disappear today, but at least this was a start. Fatigue overtook everyone who resided in the Rosewood shelter almost at the same time. There was so much that Judy and Addison felt that they needed to say to everyone, but that could wait until tomorrow. Judy, Leslie, and Pete all went to their beds to get some sleep. Patrick walked over to Addison and sat next to him.

“You know, you’ve had a worse day than I have. Why don’t you get some sleep? I’m really sorry about how things worked out with your dad. Look I know I haven’t been the friendliest guy during school, but I’m willing to try now. Go get some sleep. I can keep an eye on Grace,” Patrick said to Addison, who could barely keep his eyes open. Addison shook his head.

“No, I’m gonna stay with her tonight. It’s the least I can do right now. I have a lot on my mind anyway. It’s great that you guys let us come here. We couldn’t stay with my dad any longer. I just really hope he doesn’t get out of those ropes. He shouldn’t for a while,” Addison said quietly, pondering the thought of his dad showing up here.

“Well, if he does… we aren’t letting him get in here. Alright, I’m gonna go to bed. You need anything, just wake me up,” Patrick said, patting Addison on the back. As everyone else drifted off to sleep, Addison held Grace’s hand and knew that he had done the right thing today. He wasn’t able to say how long this storm was going to last, nor could he predict if his father would return. But for right now: being here, holding Grace’s hand, and knowing that his mother was safe… that was enough.