Land of Ice

Chapter 5

We arrived at the campsite thirty minutes later. Becky parked the car next to Jack and Stacy’s and then we got out and grabbed our bags. We found the perfect place to camp. The rare tourists and most of this town’s residents have no idea it’s here to begin with.

We may be inching into the summer months, but the ground was still covered it snow. It was supposed to be in the 50s for the first time in six months tomorrow and I really couldn’t wait.

I do love how breathtaking the snowy landscape is, but sometimes the thought of being on the beach just sounded like pure perfection.

There were a couple cabins that are available for rent here, so we all chipped in on the largest one for the weekend. It was a gorgeous building with a large wrap around porch. It had four bench swings hanging, two on each side of the door.

When you walked through the front door, there were stairs to go up to the left and the living room was straight ahead. It had two huge windows that gave a perfect view out into the woods below. There was a large U-shaped sectional and coffee table in the center facing the fireplace.

To the left of the living room was the kitchen. It had an island positioned in the center, a stove with eight burners, a dishwasher, and a refrigerator straight ahead. The dining area was just a few feet to the right of the island.

There was a door in between the fridge and dining area that led to the deck on the left side of the house. There on the deck was a couple eight people jacuzzis, perfect for watching the snow fall in.

Back inside the house, all of the rooms were upstairs. It was a five bedroom cabin, so we all just chose someone to share a room with. All of the bedrooms included a queen size bed, a two person couch, and a bunk bed with full sized mattresses. There was also a full bathroom attached to each bedroom.

We all went upstairs to start picking out rooms. There were three bedrooms on the left and two on the right side. Becky and I chose the last one on the right and Tiffany and Jamie chose the one next to us. On the left side of the hallway, the first room was chosen by Jeff and Tim, the second by Mason and Stacy, and the third by Jack and Danielle.

We unpacked our daily use items from our bags. Toiletries, chargers, and such found their temporary homes for the weekend.

We made our way downstairs to the living room with everyone. Mason found interest in the fireplace quickly. While it was supposed to be warmer tomorrow, today it was barely fifteen degrees and it would be about five degrees by the time the night sky fell.

“There’s enough wood to get us through tonight, but tomorrow we’ll probably have to get some more brought in.” Mason said.

He and Jack made plans to chop wood during the day tomorrow so it would be ready for the cold night that was sure to follow the warmer weather. Their dads both worked together for the local lumber company and passed the trade onto each of them.

We talked and made plans for the next couple days. We decided we would use today to relax and refresh after our long school year and then tomorrow we would have some fun.

Soon enough it was time for dinner. Jamie, Stacy, and Danielle all had a love for cooking and decided to take on that task. Soon enough, there was a delicious aroma making it’s way through the house.

“What are you guys making? It smells amazing!” Becky gushed.

“Oh, just some pasta with Alfredo sauce from scratch. My mom took some Italian cooking class and brought back some fantastic recipes.” Stacy said.

We made our plates and sat down together at the dining table to eat, talking in between bites. It was nice to get a break from the normal and just relax.

After eating, we started a movie in the living room. It was a comedy, perfect for our group. We all loved a good laugh.

I tried to focus on the movie, but quickly found myself distracted with thoughts of my strange dreams. Between the mysterious stranger and Azaria, my dreams have been quite bizarre. I don’t know why they’ve continued for months now, but they were always so vivid.

Once the movie was over, we made our way upstairs to put our swimsuits on. I brought my favorite one piece. It was a light shade of purple and had cut outs that displayed my perfectly pale skin on each of my sides. It had a coverup skirt that was sheer and drifted at an angle from one hip to the other, slightly higher on the left side. It was just a little bit darker shade of purple than my swimsuit.

Becky brought a bright red two piece bikini. She pulled her hair up in a bun and turned to look at me.

“All set?” She asked.

“Yes, let me just pull my hair up so it doesn’t get wet.” I said. I put my hair in a matching bun and then went down to the hot tubs.

Everyone made it outside at the same time and we split into two groups. We climbed into the jacuzzis, each of us taking a moment to adjust to the hot water in this cold weather. It was already down to the five degrees that the forecast promised and it was noticeable.

I picked a corner seat and sunk the rest of the way into the steamy water. It was enough to thaw my freezing limbs. Becky came prepared with a drink for both of us and handed me a wine cooler in my favorite flavor. It was fruity and just enough to relax the rest of the way.

I closed my eyes in my pure state of relaxation and listened to the voices around me. Soon everything was dead quiet. I opened my eyes and looked around at my friends in the two hot tubs. They’re eyes were all glued behind me and no one was saying a word.

“What’s wrong? Is there something behind me?” I whispered as quietly as possible.

Stacy slowly moved closer to me. She whispered back, “Don’t freak out or make any fast movements, but there is a very large bear just 20 yards or so away. It appears to be a mother bear with her cubs.”

I slowly turned around and saw what everyone else was seeing. Just inside the forest line was the big bear with two small cubs. I took in the brown fur and realized it was grizzly bears.

As I watched, the mother bear’s eyes appeared to flash from the dark brown to a light blue and quickly back to the dark brown. I blinked and the blue tone was gone. It must just be my imagination playing games with my mind.

A few moments later, momma bear turned and walked deeper into the forest with her cubs following closely.

Bear sightings were fairly common around here, but luckily attacks were much more rare.

We went back to our conversations for another hour before deciding to go inside. I grabbed my towel and quickly wrapped it around me after stepping outside the hot tub. I rushed to the side door to get out of the cold, shuffling in with the rest of our group.

We all raced upstairs to swap our soaked suits for warm pajamas. I put a tank top, my fuzzy unicorn pajama pants on, and finished my outfit with a cozy robe and long socks.

I went downstairs with a blanket and my phone and sat down on the couch in front of the fireplace.

Danielle and Jamie made a large pot of hot cocoa and brought a tray into the living room for everyone. On the tray, there were a couple bowls filled with different options. There was marshmallows, candy canes, whipped cream and cinnamon.

I thanked them both and grabbed a cup, adding marshmallows, whipped cream, and a dash of cinnamon over the top. I breathed in the deliciousness before taking a small sip of the chocolate goodness.

We all enjoyed our hot cocoa and sitting in front of the fire together. It was the perfect way to end the night on the first day of our trip.

Without meaning to, I dozed off on the couch with my blanket wrapped around me. Becky woke me up with a gentle shake to get me upstairs for bed.

I climbed into bed and snuggled into the warm comforter. My eyes were heavy and sleep soon found me again with whispered promises of the dreams to come.