Chapter 4

The Clean Cut

Ladina

His heart beat slowly against my back. He didn't smell like dark smoke and cigarette.

It wasn't Gabriel. It was Oliver.

"I told you it was cold down the hall, Dina," Oliver whispered again. His lips brushed right against my ear. His hot breath sent a wild shiver all over my body.

I was terrified. But for one crazy second, I didn't want him to let me go. The house was freezing. The storm was screaming outside. His body was the only warm thing left in the whole world.

Suddenly, a bright white light cut through the dark room.

"Get your hands off her, Ollie," Gabriel’s rough voice barked.

I blinked against the harsh light. Gabriel was standing in front of us. He was holding a flashlight. The light hit Oliver and me, showing us clearly in the dark.

Oliver didn't jump. He didn't rush to let me go. Very slowly, he moved his hand away from my mouth. He removed his arm from my waist and took one step backward.

The freezing air rushed in to replace his body heat. I instantly wrapped my arms around myself. My teeth started to chatter.

"I was just keeping her from falling in the dark," Oliver said calmly. He walked past me, heading toward Gabriel. "The backup heater should have turned on by itself. It takes ten seconds. It’s been a minute."

"I know," Gabriel grunted. He pointed the flashlight up at the high ceiling. The glass walls shook loudly as another huge gust of wind hit the house. "The power is totally dead. I have to go down to the basement and reset the machine."

Gabriel walked toward the basement door near the kitchen.

I looked around the huge, dark living room. The giant glass windows looked like black mirrors. I felt totally exposed. I couldn't stay up here by myself in the dark.

"I'm coming with you," I said quickly.

Gabriel stopped and shined the light on my face. He looked at my shaking shoulders and pale skin. A mean smile touched his lips. "Afraid of the dark, little sister? Or just afraid of being left alone?"

"Just shut up and let me follow you," I snapped. I was too scared to be polite.

Oliver grabbed a thick gray blanket off the couch. Before I could move, he wrapped it tightly around my shoulders. His fingers brushed against my neck.

"Keep the blanket on," Oliver ordered softly. "The basement is colder than the rest of the house."

Gabriel opened the basement door. The smell of old dust floated up the stairs. 

Gabriel went first. He used the flashlight to show the way down. I walked right behind him, holding the blanket tight. Oliver walked very close behind me. I could feel his eyes watching my back with every step I took down the wooden stairs.

The basement was huge. The flashlight beam swept across the room. It was filled with stacked boxes, old chairs, and heavy metal pipes.

"The generator is in the back room," Gabriel said.

We followed him through a doorway into a smaller room with cement walls. A massive metal machine sat in the corner. It looked like a giant car engine.

Gabriel handed the flashlight to Oliver. "Hold this."

Oliver pointed the light right at the machine. Gabriel walked over and pressed a button.

Nothing happened. No sound. No click.

Gabriel cursed. He grabbed a heavy metal handle on the side and pulled it hard. The engine coughed loudly, spit out a little smoke, and then died completely.

"Why isn't it working?" I asked. My voice shook from the cold.

Gabriel didn't answer right away. He unscrewed a big black cap on top of the machine and stuck his finger inside.

When he pulled his finger out, he wiped it on his dark pants. His jaw was locked tight.

"It's out of fuel," Gabriel growled. "The gas tank is completely empty."

Oliver frowned. The yellow light from the flashlight made his face look sharp and dangerous. "That makes no sense, Gabe. The house manager fills the emergency tanks every single week during the winter. He sent the email on Monday. It was full."

"Well, it's empty now," Gabriel snapped. He kicked the side of the heavy metal machine. The loud bang echoed in the small room. I jumped.

Panic sets in. We had no power. No heat. The storm outside was burying the house in deep snow, and we had no way to stay warm.

"Can we just call someone?" I asked. I looked back and forth between the two brothers. "We have to call for help. The police, the mountain rescue team... anyone."

I reached into my coat pocket and pulled out my cell phone. I clicked the screen to turn it on.

No Service.

My voice got higher as I started to panic. "I don't have any signal on my phone."

"Nobody has cell signal up here, Dina," Oliver said quietly. "The big mountains block the towers."

"But the house has a normal phone," Gabriel said. He took the flashlight back from Oliver. "And satellite internet. The boxes are over there on the wall."

Gabriel pointed the light at a large gray metal box hanging on the cement wall.

"Let's just call the house manager," I begged. I stepped closer to the box. "Tell him to send a big snow truck to get us. We can't stay here in the freezing cold."

Gabriel walked over to the box. He popped the metal lock and pulled the small door open.

He shined the bright light inside the box.

And then, he completely froze.

Gabriel didn't move. He didn't speak. He just stood there, staring into the metal box. The tough, angry look on his face slowly melted away.

For the very first time, Gabriel Blanthen looked shocked.

"Gabe?" Oliver asked. He stepped forward. His whole body looked tense. "What is it?"

Gabriel didn't answer. He just took a slow step backward. He kept the flashlight pointed right at the wires inside the box.

I walked up beside him and looked inside.

There were thick black and blue wires running from the wall into the box. They were the main lines for the house phone and the internet.

But they weren't plugged in.

They were hanging loose.

I stared at the ends of the wires. They weren't ripped or torn by the heavy wind outside. They didn't fall out because of the storm.

The ends of the thick wires were sliced perfectly straight.

"They're cut," I whispered. My stomach dropped so fast I felt sick. "The wires are cut."

"Not just cut," Gabriel said. His deep voice sounded strange and empty in the dark room. He reached out and touched the sliced end of the blue wire. "They were snipped cleanly in half. With heavy metal cutters."

The basement suddenly felt ten times colder. I couldn't breathe.

I looked at Oliver. His eyes were fixed on the cut wires. His jaw ticked tight. He understood exactly what this meant.

The front door locked from the inside.

The backup heater drained of all its gas.

And now, our only way to call for help was neatly sliced in half.

The blizzard didn't trap us in this house by accident.

Gabriel slowly turned his head to look at me. The white flashlight beam cast dark, scary shadows across his face. His icy grey eyes were wide and open.

"Someone did this on purpose," Gabriel whispered into the dead quiet room. "Someone locked us in here."