screwdriver Then he tightened the screws on the side of the heater’s base The clanking stopped but the metal was still cold Skye pawed at the heater and looked intently at Zach It’s okay Skye I’ll get it going he said Zach remembered that his dad sometimes lit the pilot light again He peeked into the heater’s opening Sure enough the flame had gone out He dug around the kitchen drawer and found an old book of matches alongside some mouse droppings He made his way back to the heater knelt down and struck a match But the flame blew out right away Zach sighed striking a second match The old heater banged and clanked It hissed and rattled then started shaking Skye barked at the heater the way she always barked at the vacuum cleaner back home as if it was an intruder It’s going to be fine Zach said although even he had to admit that the heater did sound menacing Zach stuffed the matches in his jeans pocket He took a step 7
away from the old heater but in the tiny cabin there was really nowhere else to go Then another noise began Somewhere inside its belly the heater groaned 8
2 The heater actually groaned Followed by a bang and a few pops It was getting louder and shaking harder all the while Skye barked again and paced back and forth in front of the heater Quiet Zach tried to calm the dog but Skye ignored him Zach didn’t like being alone in the secluded cabin with a noisy heater and now a barking dog The cabin was the only place around for seven or eight miles in any direction But the noise in the cabin was not part of the peaceful vacation he had in mind Outside snowflakes fell faster than they had only moments ago His little tan car was 9
completely covered by a layer of white making it nearly unrecognizable How could that have happened so quickly He would have to dig the car out to get anywhere Zach pushed on the front door but the spring at the top of the door creaked and stayed put Zach murmured to himself and kicked the door The cabin door always got stuck at the worst times Just like everything else in the cabin it needed replacing The heater clanked again Zach really wanted to get away from the noise but how was he going to stay warm if he left the cabin They used to build fires in the pit outside but that was covered in snow With all that snow falling making a fire outside or even finding dry wood would be a challenge Meanwhile the heater seemed to be getting worse The sounds grew louder Skye nuzzled Zach’s leg and yipped Let me think Zach said rubbing her head trying to calm her 10
