Chapter 10: The Crisis
Two weeks later, winter arrived in the city with brutal force.
A sudden Arctic blast swept across the state, dropping temperatures well below freezing and dumping eight inches of thick, wet snow onto the streets in less than twelve hours. The sudden blizzard overwhelmed the city's power grid, knocking out electricity to several residential blocks across the lower district.
Chloe arrived at St. Jude’s at dawn to find the shelter overflowing with nearly three hundred people seeking warmth and refuge from the bitter cold.
Inside the kitchen, disaster struck.
"The main industrial boiler is dead," Rosa announced, panic evident in her voice as she wiped steam from her brow. "The pipes to the secondary prep room are frozen solid, and the delivery truck carrying our weekly meat and vegetable shipment is stranded on the interstate forty miles out."
"How much food do we have on hand?" Eleanor asked, maintaining her calm demeanor despite the tension in the room.
"Enough dry beans, rice, and frozen bread for maybe eighty people," Rosa replied, checking the pantry shelves. "We have over two hundred and fifty people in the main hall right now, Eleanor. If we can't feed them a hot meal tonight in this weather, they’ll freeze."
Eleanor pulled out her phone, dialing supplier after supplier, but the citywide blizzard had shut down commercial transit. No distributors were willing to risk sending drivers into the storm.
Chloe stood in the center of the kitchen, watching the cold drafts seep beneath the heavy wooden doors. She thought about Mr. Henderson sitting in the corner, rubbing his hands together to stay warm; she thought of Maria and her little girl.
Suddenly, an idea sparked in Chloe’s mind.
May you like
"Eleanor," Chloe spoke up, stepping forward. "Give me access to my phone."
---
