Ronald C. Beach

Dawn Never Comes Ronald C. Beach

The snow had been falling with fierce intensity for the past several hours and the accompanying strong north wind was creating blizzard conditions. While the four men sat around a small stove discussing the fate of their two captives, the two men in question, one young and the other only slightly older, sat huddled in a corner of the other unfinished cabin without the benefit of a stove or light. They fought off the biting cold and penetrating wind blowing through the cracks in the flimsy walls with only a couple of thread-bare blankets and their jackets. The older man spoke softly to the figure huddle next to him, "Hang in there, son, we'll get out of here I promise. Move closer to me and we can share our body heat. We have to keep our strength up when the time comes we can move. The younger man moved closer and responded weakly, "I don't know if I can hang on much longer, I'm so cold and hungry" Putting his arm around the shivering figure the other man replied, "Just hold on to me, my friends will be looking for us and I know they won't give up until we're found" Huddled to together the younger man tried to sleep while the mind of the older man churned over the possibilities of finding a way out of their predicament. He realized he needed to do something and do it quickly before both of them became a useless commodity which would place them at the mercy of not only the freezing weather but also their guards.