Me and Chesteria exchanged asilent, disgusted, we’re-surrounded-by-foolstype of look.
“The cabin can last…y’all can’t.Y’all needCabin Crisis 101,and I’m ‘bout to give it to you.”
I walked to the hall closet. When I came back, I was holding two red gas cans like I was presenting bad news onThe Price Is Right.
I lifted one finger. “The second generator is the backup… the little gas one. That thing is cute. It hums, it does its best, but it only runs eight to tenhourson a full tank.” I shook the cans. “Andthis… this is what we got left.”
Chesteria raised an eyebrow. “That’s it?”
“This. Is. It. Which gives us, at most, one day of backup power…one.”
Adrian lifted his hand halfway, like a confused, scared student who didn’t do the reading. “So… what happensafterthat?”
Chesteria cocked her head.“We sit in the dark and bond, Adrian.What you think? We magically plug into the stars?Maybe ask the moon for an extension cord.”
“How am I going to survive without no Wi-Fi?!”Isis pouted.
I took a long, slow sip of coffee and looked her dead in the face. “Welcome to hell. But what did I just tell you about thatWi-Fiword?”
Isis tucked her lips in realization that she was already fucking up.
Adrian scratched the back of his neck. “Damn, man.”
Bryce nodded. “Yeah… damn. Because the minute that tank empties, we’re fucked. We can’t call nobody, the roads are closed, and the snow is over our heads. Now, unless one of y’all wanna shovel a path down a mountain with a spatula, then yeah, we're stuck.”
Isis folded her arms with a huff. “This is why I don’t go outside.”
I ignored the comment and clapped my hands once.
“Now listen to meclosely…because I’mnotexplaining this shit twice. If the main generator goes down, the backup only powers one heater, the fridge, the well pump… andmaybetwo lights if we’re lucky. We can stretch this to a week easy,maybe more, as long as nobody starts acting stupid with the lights and hot water.”
My eyes slid right over to Isis.
Isis nodded slowly. “So basically… no extra stuff.”
“Exactly.” I pointed at her like she had just solved a riddle. “Which means,no extra snacks that need microwaving every ten minutes, no blow dryers, no scented candle warmers, no charging ten devices at once, and absolutely no electric space heaters unless y’all wanna freeze when the backup dies. We usepower smart, pace ourselves, and stretch this out so the main generator lasts the whole storm. If we don’t? Y’all better hope that bear from yesterday morning is feeling protective, ’cause that might be our only heat source.”
I let that sit for a beat.
“I’m not saying this to scare y’all. I’m saying this ’cause I actually want everybody to make it out this cabin… withally’all limbs still attached.”
Chesteria just nodded once, calm as ever. “Got it,” she said simply.
I gave her that subtle, approving look I always did when she didn’t fight me.
“Okay… I’m not complaining… I promise,” Isis spoke up. “But I’m still alittleconfused as to what exactly wecan’tdo. Like, I don’t wanna open the fridge too many times, heat up some soup, use the blender, use my steamer, plug in a curling wand or my foot spa, or start my self-care playlist, and next thing I know, you’re treating me like I unplugged the sun.”
I stared at her, blinking slowly. “Isis… I actually appreciate you for being considerate. Because if youdiddo something that knocks the power out and leaves us all cold, hungry, and annoyed?Iwouldn’t just be mad…” I took a small step toward her and lowered my voice. “I’d be calculating how long it would take Chesteria and Adrian to forgive me for throwing yo’ ass outside.”
Isis’s eyes grew in horror.
“I’ll be back,” I added flatly, turning to go grab what I calledThe Idiot’s Guide to Not Dying in the Woods (feat. Common Sense).
Chapter seventeen
Chesteria
“Welcome to Cabin Jail: Where Streaming Gets You Chores & Whining Costs You Push-Ups”
