The Winter Storm

<•Chapter 1•>

The wind whispered through the dark, empty trees like a warning in a foreign language. Winter was coming, and with winter came heavy snow, and with that snow came an annual blizzard. The farmers were rushing around, putting the animals in the shed, gathering the last crops, and preparing the land and buildings for the extreme weather. The children that were 11 or younger stayed indoors while anyone of the age 12 or older was outside, helping the adults prepare for the storm.

Lilly and John, 6 year old twins, didn't really mind the storms so much. They even looked forward to them every year, seeing as they got to stay in and listen to stories all day, and play in the fresh, untouched snow when everything had calmed down and it was safe to head outdoors again.

10 year old Jack was sitting around in his room grumpily. He'd rather freeze in the storm than be stuck watching his annoying younger siblings all day long while everybody else was doing work outside.

Lucy, 11 going on 12, didn't too much mind staying inside, unlike Jack, but personally thought she was old enough to help everyone else outdoors also. Oh well. At least she had more time to read her favorite books and cook for the family.

And Cherokee, a small, chubby, 6 month old baby girl and the youngest of them all, was giggling and playing with a small rag doll in her crib, without care or knowledge of the coming storm.

The wind began picking up as the family worked hard to get everything done. Grandpa was chopping logs for the fire while Grandma stacked them in a wheelbarrow. "Pass me a shovel, Tom," Papa said over the howl of the wind. Thomas, a 16 year old boy and the oldest of the children, passed him the shovel before going back to helping Mama herd the chickens into their coop.

The 15 year old triplets, Pat, Missy, and Jamie, were also helping out with the animals; they'd easily gotten the cows, pigs, horses, and other animals in the barn. However, Dusty, their stubborn old mule, was trying his absolute hardest not to be put in his pen. If there was one thing he hated, it was being put up in a barn for the duration of a storm that could last weeks if it wanted to. "Dusty, stop being so darn stubborn! Do ya wanna freeze in this storm!?" Pat grunted as she shoved him with all her might.

James, 13, was filling the animal feed bins with food so they wouldn't starve to death. That was the last thing he wanted, especially since he'd always had a strong connection with all the animals for as long as he could remember.

Meanwhile, Matt, or George Matthew, who was officially 12 three weeks ago, was picking the vegetables and wheat from the rows for the family to eat during the storm. He wanted to keep it pretty simple for his first time helping everyone. So did his twin sister, Suzy Mae, who was born one after midnight the next day. She just layed old, dry grass and wheat on the ground after the food was picked to protect the soil from the harsh weather.

As the last corn cob was picked, the last chicken cooped, and the last bin filled, Lucy pulled the rope that rang the dinner bell loud and clear. The cold, tired family members had been looking forward to a hot meal around the fireplace all day, and eagerly followed the sound, helping the grandparents push the wheelbarrow of wood over the path and into the house to be put next to the fireplace in the living room.

After a few hours of eating, talking, and story-telling, everyone shuffled into their rooms (the parents and grandparents had their own rooms, while there was one room for the boys and another for the girls; Cher stayed in the parents' room) and climbed, exhausted, into their beds, falling into a deep, restful sleep.
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A/N:
һı ɢȗʏś.
ı'ṿє ċһѧṅɢєԀ śȏṃє ṭһıṅɢś ıṅ ṭһıś ċһѧקṭєя ѧṅԀ ѧṃ wȏяҡıṅɢ ȏṅ ṭһє ṅє×ṭ ṅȏw.
ı'ṃ śȏяяʏ ıṭ'ś ɞєєṅ 2974422907431 ʏєѧяś ɞȗṭ ı ṭһıṅҡ ʟıғє ıś ʟȏȏśєṅıṅɢ ıṭ'ś яєıɢṅś ѧ ɞıṭ śȏ ıғ ṅȏṭ ṃȏяє ȗקԀѧṭєś, ċȏṃṃєṅṭś ѧṅԀ ṿȏṭєś ѧṭ ʟєѧśṭ *ғıṅɢєяś ċяȏśśєԀ*

śєє ʏȏȗ ʟѧṭєя ṃʏ ʟȏṿєś!