Lacey woke inside the cocoon of Peter’s arms. Although the ground was hard and her body stiff, she savoured his nearness. She slowly inhaled the scent of him. It was woodsy, with a slight layer of leather and cold-dampened fabric, and unmistakably Peter. His arms were still wrapped around her, keeping her safe and warm. She breathed it in, trying to burn this moment into her mind. When she was old and grey, she wanted to be able to close her eyes and remember this morning exactly.

  The moment shattered with a tremor running through the ground. Then another and another. Peter’s arms stiffened around her, the little hollow vibrating around them in time with the distant steps. A patch of snow slid down over their hollow’s entrance, falling on top of the drift that had already accumulated with a little plop. Far away crows cawed, as they took flight. Gradually, the steps receded, and the early morning became still again.

  ‘Sounds like the abominable snowman is pretty close,’ Peter said quietly next to her ear. ‘We’ll have to be careful today.’

  She swallowed. Yesterday, she’d been so focused on Jinxy, it was like a part of her had forgotten that the snowman was also around.

  ‘Yes,’ she said. She turned to rest her head on his chest again. He shifted his arms in response, drawing the blankets in tighter around them and gently cradling her. She shivered in his arms, tears pooling as the memories of yesterday came pouring back.

  ‘I was so scared last night,’ she said, her voice shaking. ‘The storm came on so fast and then I couldn’t see where I was. It was so cold and my legs stopped working. I thought I was going to die.’

  His hold on her had tightened again. ‘You scared me,’ he said. ‘We got the cottage late. I thought I was going to have supper with you, but you were gone and we didn’t know where you went. We assumed you were walking the village, or were busy at the workshop. If your notebook hadn’t been lying on the kitchen table… Why didn’t you wait for me?’

  His question was so gentle. She had been preparing for blame, or a scolding. A quiet sob escaped from her chest.

  She sensed him shifting to look down at her, tenderly stroking her hair over the winter’s hat with a gloved hand. His lips pressed the top of her head before he laid his cheek against it. She softly cried in his arms while he held her safe.

  After a while, her sobs gradually began to cease. Ever so gently, he asked, ‘How are you feeling? Did you get some sleep?’

  She nodded. ‘I’m all right. I was so tired, I was out for most of the night.’

  He chuckled lightly at that. ‘Me too. It’s not every day…’

  His voice drifted away, but she sensed what had about to slip out. It’s not every day I have to chase a girl I like across the Wasteland. Or some such thing.

  Tears prickled at the back of her eyes again.

  ‘Shhh,’ he said. ‘I meant nothing by it, but a silly joke. How are your fingers and toes? Can you wiggle them?’

  She tried it out. ‘Yes, everything works.’

  ‘That’s good. Shall we have some breakfast? I think I saw one of Mathilda’s hams in your backpack last night.’

  ‘Yes,’ she confirmed. ‘There’s some bread and cheese in there too.’

  Lacey paused, what she said sinking in. ‘I hope she won’t be mad I took so much food.’

  ‘Oh, I guarantee that’s not why she’ll be mad,’ Peter said, grinning at her. ‘Let’s eat.’

  ??

  The storm had completely gone when they crawled outside, leaving the sky crisp and clear. The sun glinted over the mounds of fresh snow spread all around as the wind had pushed the flurries about, heaping it against some surfaces, and spreading it evenly over others.

  It was a good three hands deeper than when Lacey had treaded through it yesterday, now reaching over the top of her knees. They were going to be soaked by the time they got to the village.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  ‘I don’t know where we are,’ Peter said conversationally, as if there was nothing alarming about it all.

  Lacey’s chest tightened, fear spilling down her spine again.

  Noticing her expression, his eyes widened as he realised how she felt it.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ he quickly said. ‘It’ll be easy to find our way home. All we need to do, is keep the morning sun at our backs and make our way west. I just meant that I don’t know which route is best. It might take some trail and error to get out of these mountains.’

  ‘Oh, okay,’ she said, relaxing a bit as she scanned the landscape.

  Away from the sun, he’d said. ‘Maybe we can try going round this hill that way?’

  ‘Sounds good to me,’ he said. ‘I’ll go first to flatten the snow, and you follow behind. Try to step right into my footsteps, that should help.’

  He began walking, kicking forward and down into the snow with each step, before treading on the snow. She began moving, following in his steps, matching her boots to his prints as best she could.

  The stride wasn’t long, making it easier on her legs to keep up. All the same, she tired fast. She’d spent most of her energy yesterday, fumbling through the snow and they’d spent last night in a makeshift shelter.

  Her calves and thighs protested at this overuse, while the rest simply did their best to hang on in their depleted state. Trying to take her mind of her exhaustion, she focused on the sound of their walking, internalising the rhythm of Peter’s boots crunching into the snow, the light squeaking of the snow as they moved, and the occasional bird calls drifting through the sky.

  They stopped often. Peter kept up good energy, quietly pattering about village gossip, or the snowy landscape every time they paused.

  ‘So, I heard Cynthie has a new idea for a masterwork toy,’ he said. ‘The failed kaleidoscope inspired her.’

  ‘Albyrne earned his third coin back yesterday,’ he mentioned at another stop. ‘I ran into him on the way to the cottage, and he showed it to me. That one was a Kruger Rand. He says he wants to get a Brasher Doubloon back next.’

  ‘So, here we’ll walk that ridge around this next part,’ he said at the next stop, pointing to show the route. ‘It’s a bit of a detour, but better than trying to climb straight over.’

  Neither of them mentioned the abominable snowman.

  ??

  It was after midday when Lacey leaned forward to rest her hands on her knees. They had been walking for hours, and still hadn’t left the mountains of the Cliffs of Polar Dawn.

  ‘I don’t know how much further I can go,’ she huffed.

  Peter stopped, doubling back to her, a concerned frown on his face.

  ‘Yeah, you really got us into the mountains deep.’

  Lacey’s heart pinched. It was a very small barb, but it landed deep. I won’t cry again, I won’t cry, I won’t cry, she silently repeated. Then he continued talking.

  ‘I mean, we’re so much further in than anyone would’ve expected. You scared me, Lace.’

  Lace, she heard. She clutched it to her heart even as she shrank inside. It wasn’t on purpose, she wanted to object, but that sounded so childlike.

  ‘I’m sorry I messed up,’ she said instead. ‘It’s just, I felt so sure that Jinxy must’ve come here.’

  ‘But why didn’t you wait for me?’ he asked, repeating the question he asked that morning. This time, there was an edge to the question, almost like exasperation.

  The barb was too much for Lacey’s fragile defences. Over the past twenty-four hours she’d felt rejection, isolation, fear, guilt. It all tumbled together spilling out of her mouth, pushing to get some space for her bruised heart.

  ‘Wait for you until when? Jinxy’s been gone for days, and you disappeared on me.’

  ‘Disappeared on you?’ he said in disbelief. ‘Well I’m sorry I stopped to make sure the storage roof didn’t collapse on our working elves. And I wouldn’t exactly call fighting through last night’s storm to follow you into the Wasteland “disappearing” on you.’

  His face fell, almost as soon as the words were out and he stood there. His breath fogged in front of him as shame flickered across his face, but it was too late.

  ‘Well, I’m sorry for inconveniencing you,’ Lacey said. ‘Next time just leave me, okay?’

  Ignoring him she began walking forward, kicking and treading the snow the way she’d seen him do it over the past few hours. She didn’t look at him, and he didn’t say anything as he followed, treading behind her.

  Their pace slowed. Lacey wasn’t as efficient, nor as fit, as Peter was at treading through the snow. But she didn’t stop to let him pass to the front, and he didn’t move from his position behind her either. The snow muffled everything — their footsteps, their breaths, the words neither of them were ready to say.

  Walking like that, they rounded the hill they were skirting, coming out into a depression between the hill and another jagged cliff face. In between the two lay a strange lump. An almost leathery wall reached upward in front of Lacey, closer towards them. Four protrusions rose from the top, ending in sharp, crystalline structures that glinted in the sun.

  ‘What’s that,’ Lacey asked breaking the silence.

  Peter took a sharp breath and grabbed her, muffling her mouth with his hand.

  ‘Hush,’ he whispered. ‘We’re going to walk out of here. Backwards, and very, very quietly.’

  Realising what she saw, her heart began to race again. Softly, carefully, they backpedalled. And then, Lacey’s foot slipped from a hidden, icy rock. Involuntarily, she pushed a hand into the snow, falling on it. A muffled snap sounded, as a covered twig broke under her weight, but it was enough.

  With a humongous roar, the giant snowman sat up.

  ??????