Tavi had the convoy lined up just so at the mouth of Pine-Crank Iceworks, with the frozen fish crates on one sled and the berry crates on another. The harbor bells were still ringing faintly behind the storm, and the cold wind kept trying to nip at the ropes and the runners. Tavi planted his boots in the snow and grinned up at the tall, snow-covered loading tunnel. If he could get the food inside fast, everyone in the workers’ rooms and the animal sheds would eat tonight.
Then the wind changed.
A fresh gust shoved snow off the roof above and sent it sliding down in a white rush. Tavi looked back at the tunnel mouth, and his grin slipped away. The main loading tunnel, the usual way in for the crates, was no longer a tunnel at all. Deep drifts had piled up hard as walls, and the opening was sealed shut. Snow packed the entrance from side to side, smooth and heavy, as if the storm had locked the door.
From somewhere inside the yard, a hand bell rang once, then stopped. Tavi could almost feel the fish and berries getting warmer by the minute in their sleds. He took one step closer to the buried opening and pressed a mitten against the snow. It was cold, solid, and far too deep to kick through by himself.
He swallowed, then looked along the snowy yard toward the other sheds and walkways. There had to be a safe way in. But the usual way was gone, and the crates could not wait.
What happens next?
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