The wind howled outside the lodge that night, carrying with it the bitter promise of an even colder dawn. Henry didn’t mind; the freezing temperatures were exactly what he needed. Sophie’s parting words echoed in his mind: “Keep it cold. If the ice cracks or melts unevenly, it could harm whatever’s inside.”
He’d taken every precaution, layering extra tarps over the ice block and positioning it away from the house to ensure the warmth from the wood stove wouldn’t reach it. But even with those measures, he couldn’t shake his unease. What if the weather warmed suddenly? What if an animal disturbed the tarp?