Home > Voices in the Snow (Black Winter #1)

Voices in the Snow (Black Winter #1)
Author: Darcy Coates

Voices in the Snow

 

Black Winter Book One

 

 

Darcy Coates

 

 

Published by Black Owl Books

 

Copyright © 2019 Darcy Coates

 

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real persons, locations and events is purely coincidental.

 

Black Owl Books

www.blackowlbooks.com

 

 

Contents

 


Chapter 1

 

Chapter 2

 

Chapter 3

 

Chapter 4

 

Chapter 5

 

Chapter 6

 

Chapter 7

 

Chapter 8

 

Chapter 9

 

Chapter 10

 

Chapter 11

 

Chapter 12

 

Chapter 13

 

Chapter 14

 

Chapter 15

 

Chapter 16

 

Chapter 17

 

Chapter 18

 

Chapter 19

 

Chapter 20

 

Chapter 21

 

Chapter 22

 

Chapter 23

 

Chapter 24

 

Chapter 25

 

Chapter 26

 

Chapter 27

 

Chapter 28

 

Chapter 29

 

Chapter 30

 

Chapter 31

 

Chapter 32

 

Chapter 33

 

Chapter 34

 

Chapter 35

 

Chapter 36

 

Chapter 37

 

Chapter 38

 

Chapter 39

 

 

Chapter One

 

 

“Everything will be okay.” Clare leaned forwards, hunched against the steering wheel as she fought to see through the snow pelting her windshield. “Don’t worry about me.”

The phone, nestled in the cup holder between the front seats, crackled. Thin scraps of Bethany’s voice made it through the static, not enough for Clare to hear the words, but enough to let her know she wasn’t alone.

“Beth? Can you hear me? It’s all right.”

The windshield wipers made a rhythmic thumping noise as they fought to keep her front window clear. They were on the fastest setting and still weren’t helping much.

Clare had never seen such intense snow. It rushed around her, unrelenting. Wind forced it to a sharp angle. Even with snow tyres and four-wheel drive, the car was struggling to get through the mounting drifts.

The weather forecast hadn’t predicted the storm. Clare had been miles from home by the time the snow began. She couldn’t stop. It was too dangerous to turn back. Her only choice was to press forwards.

“Mar—alr—safe—”

“Beth, I can barely hear you.”

“Marnie—safe—”

Even through the static, Clare could hear the panic in her sister’s voice. She tightened her fingers on the steering wheel and forced a little more speed into the accelerator. “Yes. I’m on my way to get her. I’ll be there soon.”

That had been the plan: collect Marnie then drive to her sister’s house. Beth’s property had a bunker. They would be safe there, even as the world collapsed around them.

Clare had been asleep when the first confused, incoherent stories appeared on social media. She’d been in her kitchen, waiting for the coffeepot to finish brewing when the reports made it to an emergency news broadcast. She kept her TV off on Sundays. If not for Beth, Clare might have remained oblivious, curled up with a good book, and been trying to pretend that Monday would never arrive.

But Beth watched the news. She’d seen the blurry, shaky footage taken just outside of London, and she had started rallying their small family. “We’ll be safer together,” she’d said. “We’ll look after each other.”

That included not just the sisters but their aunt, Marnie. She lived on a farm an hour from Clare’s house. Her only transportation was a tractor. Clare and Beth made time to visit her regularly, checking that she was all right and bringing her extra supplies when she needed them. She was the closest family they had. Now that the world was crumbling, there was no way Clare could leave their aunt alone to fend for herself.

“Op—stop—stop!” The static faded, and Beth’s voice became clear. She sounded like she was crying. “Stop! Please!”

“Beth?” Clare didn’t move her eyes from the road. Soon, she would be at the forest. The trees would block out the worst of the snow and give her some respite. Until then, she just had to focus on moving forwards and staying on the road.

“It’s too danger—s—turn ba—”

“I’m picking up Aunt Marnie.” Clare flicked her eyes away from the road just long enough to check the dashboard clock. “I’ll be there before noon, as long as none of the roads are closed. We’ll phone you and make a new plan then.”

She’d thrown supplies into the back of her car before leaving: tinned food, jugs of water, and spare clothes. Worst-case scenario, she could stay at Marnie’s place for a few days until the snow cleared. Marnie might not have a bunker, but Clare wanted to believe they would be safe—in spite of what the news said.

The storm seemed to be growing worse. She could barely see ten feet ahead of her car. Massive snowdrifts were forming against ditches and hills, but the wind was vicious enough to keep the powder from growing too deep on the road. Even so, her car was struggling. Clare forced it to move a fraction quicker. She couldn’t see the forest but knew it wasn’t far away. Once she was inside, she would be able to speed up.

A massive, dark shape appeared out of the shroud of white. It sat on the left side of the road, long and hulking, and Clare squinted as she tried to make it out. It was only when she was nearly beside it that she realised she was looking at two cars, parked almost end to end, with their doors open.

“Dangerous—” The static was growing worse again. “Don’t—as—safe!”

Clare slowed to a crawl and leaned across the passenger’s seat as she tried to see inside the cars’ open doors. Snow had built up on the seats. The internal lights were on, creating a soft glow over the flecks of white. In the first car, children’s toys were scattered around the rear seat. A cloth caterpillar hung above the window, its dangling feet tipped with snow.

Clare frowned. There was nothing but barren fields and patchy trees to either side of the road. The owners couldn’t have gone far in the snow. She hoped a passing traveller had picked them up.

Or maybe they hadn’t left willingly. A surreal, unpleasant sensation crawled through her stomach. The cars’ doors hung open, and the keys were still in the ignition.

She pressed down on the accelerator to get back up to speed. The steady thd thd thd of the windshield wipers matched her heart rate.

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