Snow Kills Read Free Page A

the driving snow but at least she was heading in the right direction. One minute she was sat in the queue and the next her car slid into the curb as she attempted a corner on a slight incline. ‘Flaming hell,’ she said out loud, feeling a thread of fear run through her veins. She gripped the steering wheel tighter, pursing her lips together tightly as if trying to whistle, and blew out slowly. ‘Thank God it’s only six more miles to Matt’s.’
    Traffic was at a snail’s pace. Impatiently she leaned to her right to try to see around the vehicle in front, but all she could spot were brake lights illuminating against the snow-filled backdrop. Moments later the traffic came to a standstill, but Kayleigh wasn’t too worried, she kept telling herself that at least she was warm and safe. She shuffled in her seat, in an attempt to make herself comfortable. She sang along to the radio and tapped the steering wheel rhythmically with her finger tips, but the snow didn’t abate and after a while she could feel panic starting to rise in her throat. Ironically, she now willed the broadcast to give her the next weather update. Ahead, she could now see, were red lights which reminded her of an airport runway. She looked at her watch. Fifteen minutes went by. The snow continued to fall.
    ‘Beep,’ went the radio, followed by an announcement. ‘The police report that a wagon has jack-knifed on Manchester Road, causing a collision with a bus. Emergency services are at the scene and ask for your patience,’ said the presenter. ‘The advice being given out by the police to all motorists is to travel only if it is absolutely crucial. If you’re already out on the road, please drive with the utmost care and don’t abandon your vehicle unless it is safe to do so – the gritters and snow ploughs need to get through.’
    Kayleigh groaned. ‘That’s all I need,’ she said. But the fact that the gritters were out in force gave her hope.
    An hour passed and still there was no movement. Kayleigh looked at her watch again. Cars around her were being abandoned. More and more people appeared to be parking up and risking finishing their journey on foot. According to the radio, community centres and churches were being opened to accommodate those in trouble. But that was only for old people, she told herself. ‘I’m stuck on Manchester Road, listening to the radio updates,’ she texted Matt. Her phone bleeped. The battery was low.
    ‘I’m at Dave’s.’
    ‘Great,’ she sighed. ‘I might as well try and get home if you’re not going to be there,’ she texted.
    ‘Whatever,’ he texted back.
    Tears welled up in her eyes. Wasn’t she more important than his stupid friend and the childish computer games she knew they would be enjoying, sat in a nice warm flat?
    The snow was relentless. Her mind was set, she would stay put, even if that meant sleeping in her car. She watched another stream of people walk past after abandoning their vehicles. As time went by, the amount of people passing dwindled and it was only the occasional lonely, snowman-like figure that she saw. She felt alone and began to question her earlier decision. Maybe she should have tagged along with the crowd? The stretch of road she was on had no street lighting and the snow made the night feel eerie as evening quickly turned to dark. There were no houses nearby, but she had passed a couple of cottages set back from the road, close to where she had once dropped Mavis Beanland off. All but one had been in darkness and she assumed that the occupants of the others were stranded elsewhere. Maybe the house with the light on was Mavis’s home and she had decided to not attempt the train journey to her sister’s after all and the gritter man had dropped her off at home? Kayleigh’s spirits rose for a moment, but a sudden bang on the passenger door made her jump. She could see a face squashed up against the window and she quickly hit the button to lock the doors. She