Jack Frost~Safe and Sound

Jackson Overland laughed as he
pulled on his boots, with his little sister Pippa pulling at his arm the whole
time. “Come on, Jack! We need to get there before it gets too dark to skate!”
He laughed again, and finished lacing the boots onto his feet.  Jack stood up, and pecked his mother on the
cheek, promising a safe return. Just before they left the warm confines of the
house, his mother called out to them. “Be careful!” Jack grinned and laughed as
Pippa attempted to drag him out of the cottage. “We will!” Casting one last
look back at his mother, Jack finally relented to Pippa, and ran alongside her,
his ice skates tied around his shoulder, thumping against his back. They both
laughed as they raced down the worn path that winded through the village, dodging
around horses and the carts they pulled on the way to the pond they knew would
have long been frozen over at the edge of the forest. They often went swimming
there on the hottest summer days, and ice-skated on clear winter afternoons.
Just like they were doing that particular day.

Pippa ran ahead of Jack,
giggling as she slipped past people’s legs, followed by Jack as he struggled to
keep up with the fiery eight-year-old. Jack himself was seventeen, and he and
Pippa had a special relationship with each other, which only strengthened after
the untimely death of their father six years ago. When the children finally
managed to get past the throngs of busy towns-people, they full-out sprinted
into the forest, Jack quickly gaining on Pippa. They ran along-side each other,
casting competitive smirks, laughing as they flashed past trees and startled
deer, the only evidence of their passing the heeled footprints that were
trampled into the newly fallen snow. Jack could see the outline of the frozen
pond up ahead, and could hear the calming sound of the wind brushing lightly on
the ice, shifting the blanket of powder that covered the white surface. He
pushed a lock of light brown hair out of his face.

  Pippa stopped suddenly, her voice filled with
wonder. “Woah…” Jack pulled up next to her, panting slightly, and felt the same
awe fill his being at the sight before him. The sunlight glimmered softly off
the ice, printing a wavering reflection on the bark of the trees and the
exposed surfaces of the boulders that were scattered around the pond. It was
stunning. Jack shook himself out of the daze, and nudged Pippa’s arm. “Pip,
come on! Let’s get out on the ice.” She nodded absent-mindedly, and sat on one
of the rocks, pulling off her boots and replacing them with her ice-skates.
Jack quickly sat down to do the same. As he pulled off his boots, a cold breeze
forced itself into the laced leather of his shoes, causing Jack to shiver. He
looked at the fair skin of his bare feet. He groaned. How can you forget to wear socks?! Jack just shook his head, and
slid on his skates, which were mercifully lined with soft sheep-skin. He stood
up, holding his arms out for balance as he trudged to where Pippa stood,
waiting for him. “You forgot socks again?” She teased lightly, an eyebrow
raised in amusement. Jack rolled his eyes. He was almost always barefoot; he
often forgot to wear socks in the harsh winter months. He had experienced frostbite
multiple times.

They pushed out onto the ice,
wobbling a little as they grew used to standing on thin, sharp blades on the
slippery ground. In a few minutes, they had gained back their natural skill at
ice-skating that the Overland children were known for. Jack looked over to
where Pippa was spinning around, giggling with delight even when she fell over
from dizziness. Jack sliced into the ice next to where she sat on the ice,
spraying her with the light powdery snow and flecks of glimmering ice crystals.
She squealed in protest. “Jack!” He laughed and held out a hand, helping her
up. She huffed indignantly, but grabbed his hand, gasping as she almost fell
back. Jack caught her other arm, bringing her to her feet. Jack watched as she
turned, gliding away silently. The silence was common between them. It was
enough that they were there for each other, that they were nearly inseparable.
That they were never alone. Jack turned, and pushed his left foot, about to
skate over to a patch of fresh ice, and fell straight onto his face. His double-layered
cloak flipped up over his head. “Damn…” Jack pushed his torso up, brushing the
dark brown cloak backwards. His peripheral vision caught the edge of something
twisted and brown. Jack looked over, and saw a long stick, with the end curved
like the head of a shepherd’s staff. He kicked at it with the tip of his skate,
sending it skidding across the ice.

That’s when he heard it. The
deep, soul-wrenching CRACK! Next he
heard Pippa’s scream, high and pleading. “Jack! The ice!” Jack’s knees buckled
as he twisted quickly, and he muffled a scream. Pippa stood, shivering in
terror as the ice started to crack, thick, deep indents piercing the surface.
“Pippa!” Jack scrambled to get to her, but fell onto his hands and knees. As
the pressure on the ice increased, a dent appeared under his knee, veins of
smaller cracks running though the base. He winced. And as he bowed his head,
thinking, the brown caught his eye again. The staff. Just lying there, not so
far away, just a few short leaps from where he was. And those ice skates were
against him at the moment. If his plan worked up to that point, the skates
would have no traction on the smooth ice.

Jack sat down, undoing the
laces on his skates, sliding them off. He cringed at the prickling sensation of
his pale skin in direct contact with the ice. Pippa stood there, quivering, her
arms out at her sides. The ice continued to falter under her, wide cracks
erupting in the ice. Jack knew how deep the pond was from swimming there in the
summer. And he knew that if either of them fell in, they would drown. Jack set
his skates down on the ice, the metal blade clicking against the barely frozen
surface. Jack held out an arm towards Pippa, as if that alone could save her
from falling into the icy water. “It’s okay…it’s okay. Don’t look down, just,
look at me.” Pippa’s deep brown eyes were wide with fear as she stared at Jack.
“Jack, I’m scared!” Pippa’s legs shook as the ice started to give way more
little by little under her. Jack slowly stood up, uncertain of how sturdy the
section of ice he was standing on was. “I know, I know.” Jack set one foot forward
and grimaced as a crack appeared under his foot. “But you’re going to be
alright.” He tried to smile reassuringly. “You’re not gonna fall in, uh…” Jack
smile became genuine as an idea came to him. “We’re going to have a little fun
instead!” He could see tears forming in Pippa’s eyes as more cracks appeared
under her shivering feet. She sounded like she was about to burst into tears.

“No, we’re not!”

“Would I trick you?”

“Yes, you always play tricks!”

Jack tried to calm her, though
he could tell that her faith in him was fading quickly. “Oh! Well, uh, well,
n-n-ot this time. I promise, I promise, you’re gonna be, you’re gonna be fine.”
He could see Pippa calming down, though her eyes were still wide with that
heart-wrenching fear. “You have to believe in me.” Jack thought for another
moment. “You want to play a game? We’re gonna play hopscotch. Like we play
everyday.” Jack could see a smile starting to form at the edges of Pippa’s
lips, and Jack straightened up casually, though his instincts were screaming at
him to get the hell off the ice. Jack looked over, and saw the staff, waiting
for him. He started to step over lightly towards it. “It’s as easy as…uh…one,”
As Jack’s foot landed tentatively on the surface of the ice, a wide crack
appeared, and he winced, though he managed to keep a brave face for Pippa. He
glanced at Pippa, and swung his arms in a circle, theatrically pretending to
almost fall. “Woah!” Pippa laughed, her face light and at ease again. “Two,” He
stepped on the ice again, and breathed a sigh of relief at the lack of cracks threading
the surface at his touch. He was almost onto safe ice. “Three!” He jumped
lightly, and no cracks were on the surface of this ice when he landed. The
strange stick was right next to him, and he crouched down, feeling for it with
his finger-tips all while keeping his calm gaze on Pippa’s face. “Alright.” As
his fingers gripped around its thick middle, he held out the crooked end
towards Pippa as he crouched on the ice. “Now it’s your turn.”

“One,” Pippa looked down as she
quickly stepped forwards, gasping as more cracks emerged from where they had
been hiding under the frigid ice. “That’s it, that’s it. Two,” She shuffled
forward a little more, looking quickly up at Jack, and then back down. She
shuffled forward one more step, just within range of the staff. “Three!” Jack
lunged forward, hooking Pippa’s waist with the crook of the stick and throwing
her far behind him, onto the safer, thicker ice. He was propelled forwards, and
landed on the ice Pippa had just been freed from. He sat up, and laughed
quickly as he saw Pippa looking up at him from where she lay on the ice, a
smile spread across her face. She was safe. Jack let out a few more laughs,
managing to stand up at the same time as Pippa. They laughed again, though were
fairly strangled, considering the fear and adrenaline still lingering in each
of their systems. Jack chuckled, and stepped forward, as he prepared to join
Pippa. But the pond could hold his weight no longer. The lake groaned loudly,
and Pippa looked up at Jack, fear returning to her eyes right before the ice
collapsed under him, sending him into the churning black water. “JACK!” Pippa’s
scream was muffled as the water filled Jack’s ears.

The freezing water silenced
Jack’s yell of surprise and fear as his limbs quickly numbed, and he started to
sink. He floundered his arms, but the water was heavy, and dragged him down,
persistent to end his life. Jack quickly weakened, though he still moved his
arms weakly, in one last attempt to return to Pippa. Bubbles trailed after him
on his descent into the dark water. He could hear the faint, water-logged
sounds of someone screaming, a little girl screaming his name. Pippa…Jack’s own thoughts were heavy,
weighed down from lack of oxygen and the sheer enormity of what was happening.
Jack was dying. Drowning. Falling to an eternal sleep. Leaving Pippa behind. He
would never see her grow up, fall in love, get married, or be called Uncle
Jack. He was leaving everything he loved behind. I’m so sorry…Pippa…please…forgive me…please…stay safe. Jack felt
the life start to drain from his body. His faint struggles grew still. But Jack’s
eyes managed to stay cracked open, and he saw a faint grey light above him, sifting
through the cold water. The full moon. How
much time passed?...Jack was puzzled. He had only been out for a little
while with Pippa. It couldn't be sunset already. Jack saw the edges of his
vision go fuzzy, until black dominated everything he saw. His burning lungs
finally gave out, the remainder of his oxygen supply pushing out of his mouth.
Jack let go of himself, and felt the cold fade, the pain fade, the blood fade.
Everything faded to utter darkness. Jack slowly and silently died.