‘Have you ever b-been so c-c-cold?’ Miguel shivered next to me in the cave, huddling against me for warmth.
I considered whether we should head back out into the snow and stay with the plane – both as a landmark for if we were going to get rescued and because the last time I’d seen it, it had been on fire.
A low keening howl on the wind made me drop that plan pretty quickly.
‘What are we gonna d-do, Jake?’ Miguel asked, and I noticed his speech beginning to slow down.
‘We’re going to make it,’ I said sternly. ‘That’s what we’re gonna do.’
‘H-how? We-we’re stuck out here, nobody flies that p-path.’
‘They’ll come looking,’ I reassured him, rubbing his arms over his jacket. ‘We’re already an hour late for our landing, they’ll be looking.’
He didn’t seem convinced, so I searched for a new strategy.
‘You know, I just had my annual ducted heating service, for my Canberra home.’
‘W-what?’ he frowned, confused.
‘Yeah, just had it done.’
‘Wh-why are you—’
‘It’s a good question, “why?”,’ I interrupted. ‘They say it’s supposed to be annual, but I’m a lazy homeowner. Plus, I just don’t spend that much time in Canberra anymore.’
‘Oh?’ Miguel said, seemingly content to let me distract him. ‘Why not-t?’
‘Just the flights I’ve been getting, been spending more time in the other capitals.’
‘Ah,’ he nodded.
‘But I arrived in Canberra last week, and you know the first thing I thought?’
‘How n-nice the airport i-is?’
‘Of course that, but also how much I desperately needed a heater servicing. Canberra is usually so warm too, so I barely turn the thing on, but as soon as the weather dipped it was all I could think about.’
‘Warm…’ Miguel whispered to himself, eyes drifting closed.
‘Yeah, buddy,’ I sighed. ‘Probably for the best. I’ll wake you up if anything interesting happens.’
And then I was alone in the cave – save for Miguel’s snoring, and the low howling in the distance.