They Thought the Widow Stacked Firewood Against Her Barn for Decoration — Until the Ice Storm Came
Chapter 3
Getting twenty-three children across the frozen field took almost an hour.
Margaret used ropes tied between fence posts so the children wouldn’t slip.
Gary carried the smallest ones.
The bus driver stayed behind to make sure nobody was left.
By the time they reached the barn, everyone’s clothes were wet.
Margaret opened the side door.
Warm air rushed toward them.
The children stopped.
Several stared in disbelief.
Inside, the barn had been transformed.
What had once been a storage area was now a makeshift shelter.
There were folding cots.
Blankets.
Lanterns.
Water containers.
A small wood stove.
Boxes of food.
Even board games.
Gary stared at Margaret.
“When did you do all this?”
“Over the summer.”
“You planned for a shelter?”
“I planned for people.”
One of the children asked,
“Can we stay here?”
Margaret smiled.
“As long as we need to.”
The teacher accompanying them, Emily Foster, stepped forward.
“You’re Margaret Hale, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve heard about you.”
Margaret raised an eyebrow.
“Hopefully nothing terrible.”
Emily smiled.
“They say you used to run the best science projects at the school.”
Margaret laughed.
“That was twenty years ago.”
“Some of us remember.”
Emily looked around.
“You saved us.”
Margaret shook her head.
“Not yet.”
She walked to the stove.
“We need to keep everyone warm.”
Gary helped organize the children.
The youngest went closest to the heat.
Older children received blankets.
Margaret rationed food carefully.
She had enough supplies for a week if necessary.
Maybe longer.
But then she heard another sound.
A vehicle struggling outside.
She looked through the barn window.
A pickup truck was approaching.
The truck stopped.
A man stepped out.
Margaret recognized him immediately.
Daniel Reeves.
The owner of the county hardware store.
He was seventy-one.
His wife, Susan, was in the passenger seat.
Margaret ran toward them.
“What happened?”
Daniel shouted,
“Our furnace is dead.”
“Where’s your house?”
“Three miles east.”
Margaret looked at the frozen road.
“You shouldn’t have driven.”
“We didn’t have a choice.”
Susan opened the passenger door.
She was wrapped in blankets.
Margaret helped her inside.
Then she noticed something.
Susan was pale.
Very pale.
“Are you sick?”
“My heart,” Susan whispered.
Margaret immediately called emergency services.
No signal.
She tried the radio.
Static.
Gary shook his head.
“County ambulance can’t get through.”
Margaret looked at Susan.
“Do you have medication?”
Daniel nodded.
“She has nitroglycerin.”
“How much?”
“Four tablets.”
Margaret thought quickly.
“Okay.”
She helped Susan sit near the stove.
Then she turned to Gary.
“Get the old emergency kit.”
“Where?”
“Behind the workbench.”
Gary found it.
Inside were medical supplies.
Thermometers.
Blood pressure cuff.
A portable oxygen cylinder.
He stared.
“You have oxygen?”
“Thomas bought it after his heart attack.”
Gary looked at Margaret.
“You really prepared for everything.”
Margaret shook her head.
“Not everything.”
She looked at the children.
Then at Susan.
Then toward the road.
“We need more people here.”
Gary frowned.
“Why?”
“Because if the roads freeze completely, nobody is going anywhere.”
She walked to the radio.
“I want to know who is trapped.”
Gary looked at her.
“Margaret, the county dispatch is down.”
“Then we’ll use our own network.”
“What network?”
She pointed toward the barn wall.
Mounted there was an old radio system.
Gary stared.
“You still have your husband’s ham radio?”
“Of course.”
She switched it on.
Static filled the room.
Then a voice broke through.
“Anybody receiving?”
Margaret grabbed the microphone.
“This is Margaret Hale on County Road 14.”
Silence.
Then:
“Margaret?”
She recognized the voice.
It was Sheriff Tom Ellis.
“Sheriff, where are you?”
“Stuck at the north station.”
“How bad?”
“Bad.”
“How many people?”
“Twenty-seven here. More coming.”
Margaret looked at her firewood.
Then at the children.
Then at Gary.
“How much fuel do you have?”
“Three hours.”
Margaret answered immediately.
“Come here.”
The sheriff hesitated.
“Can you take everyone?”
Margaret looked around.
The barn was already filling.
“Yes.”
Gary stared at her.
Margaret continued over the radio.
“Bring everyone you can.”
She paused.
“And Sheriff?”
“Yes?”
“Bring anyone who knows how to work.”
The sheriff laughed weakly.
“Why?”
Margaret looked at the endless stacks of firewood.
“Because we’re going to need a lot more heat.”
