CHAPTER 17
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvoLlNUFPSv
WHERE THE COLD BREAKS
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp9PE2NojO6
Blake crouches beside the horses, giving them a nail trim with a large metal contraption. He grinds their hooves with a metal file next, breath fogging in the cold. A few feet away, Paul slams metal horseshoes together on an iron cast. Sparks burst and scatter like fireflies.
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBUovs8W8eu
Paul doesn’t wear a mask. He doesn’t flinch. He just strikes with that strange, instinctive precision of his.
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoXHq677apL
Blake watches him, exhausted.
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz2VPeQGcFF
Blake:
“You need a hand—”
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX9ST1lDxNK
Paul:(interrupts without looking up)
“I got it!”
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡepciu0hFiS
Blake wisely returns to minding his business.
He lifts Stone’s hoof and nails the shoe in place.
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf6y3ZdxUE1
—Later.
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2a44WRqsdE
Paul hammers nails into a cabin wall. The rhythmic thunk echoes through the frosted air. He finishes the last board just as Metro approaches.
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡplfVYS6edA
Without a word, Paul grabs an axe and starts splitting firewood.
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPCb2gJ5WWv
Paul:
“Lilly’s gone mad…”
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKiAtJpehbx
CHOP.
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsPQKHT8Tcw
Paul:
“Says I can’t have apple cider no more…”
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1LeoRE1v57
Metro sets a stump upright for him.
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXVTF8pP7kH
CHOP.
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK6ml7RnfyN
Metro:
“Rose took the magic leaf pack from me. Says we have to ration better.”
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaB5qeBa6ki
Metro stacks the split logs.
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSY1JXn0cX6
Paul:(sets wood)
“Blake says they’re eating all the food in the kitchen… meanwhile half the men are, starving, snoozing or writing fairy tales, instead of hunting, building, gathering.”
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq4bVNCyuJC
CHOP.
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8d2inFJccX
Metro stacks some more wood.
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Yvu8j4MQB
Paul:(stacking wood stumps)
“I think their out of control. I’ve built this place from the ground up—ill probably get deathly sick—and all I need is warm mug.’
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ETFQ90akr
Beat.
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYuKF6QN2Fd
‘Some things people just don’t understand. My body’s built a certain way. Not everyone’s the same. My great grandfather ate chicken and wine till he was a hundred and ninety-nine. Then some croc shot doctor convinced him to go on a veg diet.”
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcz0GSfOLNo
Paul rolls his head, annoyed.
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEFHlRiWWzO
Paul:(head rolling)
“Well guess what?”
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGFjw8RZpRs
CHOP.
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk1IA1MEXNQ
The echo rings like a warning bell.
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSF0OyJNEnX
Paul:(voice soft, raspy)
“He was dead in a week.”
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIOhEOmpHzu
Metro stops stacking. He stands, reaches into his coat, and pulls out his last hidden stash of magic leaf.
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnCThxIbRxP
He hands it to Paul.
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN4gvA9TURa
Paul snatches it instantly, chews a piece, and exhales like a man returning from the brink. He closes his eyelids.
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpVoY0Ll8T8
Paul:(sighs deepy)
…thanks.
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPuA3QlY60l
Paul's eyes open softening—just barely—and he wanders off, drifting toward the warmth of a nearby fire like a man rediscovering gravity.
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvxRe1LrTA3
Metro watches him, stunned.
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPJUZFDdV0l
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtwlxUt4eZP
and then Add to home screen.