Freedom In The Snow

Looks like it's that time of year again. The fluffy white clouds were sprinkling delicate white flakes onto the trees, elevating the winter wonderland feeling in the air. The coming winter means that lakes would be frozen over for ice skating, people would cuddle by fireplaces in log cabins...And in my case, I needed to run away from the colony of murderous snow women who wanted me to join their ranks. What a wonderful winter this will be.

“Angel... wake up…” I stirred awake to my boyfriend Lucas gently shaking me. I yawned, stretching in the sleeping bag. Spending long dark nights in tents wasn’t very comfortable, but it was the most viable option to keep us alive. 

“Did you see anything during the watch?”

“No, just deer and stuff. But I did hear reports of a snowstorm coming this way.” My blood froze as I heard the news. Unexpected snow was a sign that a snow woman was near. But if it was a massive storm, that means most of the colony was going to be arriving. 

“Crap, we gotta pack up and go Lucas.”

“Way ahead of you Angel Cakes. I packed up and got some extra food. All we need to do is pack up the tent.” I smiled brightly at him. No matter how much I freak out, Lucas was there to keep us grounded.

“I love you Lucas, did I ever tell you that?”

“Yes you have, but you could stand to mention it more.” he said. I kissed him on the cheek and slid out of the sleeping bag to help pack the tent.

We made our way along a trail, breathing in the cool wintery air and tripping over the occasional rock. I never got to appreciate the landscape of the little town we just left. The evergreen trees stood tall and proud, the sky was bright blue and the wind was heaven for my icy skin. It was a shame we had to leave, or else I would’ve stuck around to see what else was there. I was so busy daydreaming, that I didn’t notice when we were heading towards the forest instead of following the trail. I suddenly came back to my senses. “Uh, Lucas where are we going?”

“Don’t worry, I found a little shortcut. We’re gonna be heading to a bigger town this time.” I pulled at Lucas’s hand, causing us to stop abruptly. "Lucas, I don't think this is a good idea." I pleaded. “We’re both pretty noticeable, and the colony may be able to find us easier.”

"Angel, it’s a pretty big town! People wouldn’t give us a second glance. And besides, the colony would never be able to find us with no snow around." Lucas smiled at me as he pulled me through the forest. Oh well, he's kept me safe for this long, so I guess I could take a risk.

The town was adorable! There were Christmas lights hanging all over the buildings, the smell of cinnamon and apples wafted through the air and there was leftover snow all over the place. It was so cute, I couldn’t help but stare.

“I have to say Lucas, you really know how to pick the best spots! This is great!” That earned me a kiss on the forehead.

“Glad you like it Angel! Now, where do you wanna go first?” I thought for a few minutes.

“How about we get something to eat and… Oh! Maybe we can go sledding on the hills? I just realized we haven’t sled since our first date!”

“If that's what you want, that's what you get!” Lucas put his arm around my shoulder and led me into the town. “Let’s find some food! I don’t think you’ve had a candy apple before, have you?”

I didn’t want to admit it before, but I had a blast! The candy apples were unexpectedly delicious, I discovered that I despise scented candles, and I  found out that Lucas is an excellent dancer from our dance battle in the town’s square! (“How could I not have known you were such a good dancer?!” “You’ve just never seen me in action Angel! I know how to leave a crowd amazed~!”) I had so much fun with Lucas, I almost forgot that we were supposed to be on the run. Then the vision came. One second I was in town, the next I was somewhere in the snow filled mountains. Ice and sleet were swirling all around me as I seemed to be careening down the rocky slopes. There was a strange aura surrounding the whole mountain, like my body was covered in sticky tar. It felt dangerous and wrong, I didn't know what to do to get out of it. Then, the voices arrived. “We’re coming...we’re coming and you can't stop us… We’ll drag you back if need be...You can’t stop us Angel…”

“Angel… Angel!” Lucas said loudly. I snapped out of it, finding myself back in town and Lucas holding my shoulders.

“What-what happened?”

“You kinda froze up and wouldn’t move or say anything. And you’re making it snow a little bit, just thought you’d like to know…” I looked up at the clouds. Through my nerves, I had made large snowflakes fall from the sky. A gust of cold wind made them dance around as they fell. “Are you sure you’re doing okay Angel?”

“Yeah!” I said, with a quick smile, “I’m doing better now. Let’s get to sledding, okay Lucas?” I grabbed his hand and we walked off, the ominous vision still floating through my mind.

“Sorry kids, just closed up for the day. No more sledding!”

“What?” Lucas said incredulously, “But the sign says you don’t close for two hours!” The man running the booth shrugged.

“Nothing I can do. The news says there is a severe weather alert, so we all gotta close up early. I think it's best if you go home now.” My heart sank at the comment. I had no idea how close the colony was, but I knew we needed to rest before we ran away again. I pulled at Lucas’s sleeve.

“Come on, we can sled tomorrow. Let’s just go and get some rest.” I could tell Lucas wanted to argue, but he finally relented. We made our way to a cozy little inn decorated with snowflake lights.

“Well aren't you two just adorable!” The woman at the counter said, “One room with one bed I assume?”

“Yes please!” 

“Wonderful! I’ll make sure that fireplace is lit up, it’s gotten so chilly all of the sudden.” My heart sank even further. I trudged up the stairs after Lucas and the woman as she unlocked our room. “Here you are, you two, enjoy your stay!” Well, at least the room was nice and warm. A fire was leaping in the fireplace and there was a giant bed with puffy red blankets. I flopped onto the bed, dropping our bags all over the floor. Lucas hopped up beside me and stroked my hair.

“Hey Angel, I saw your face earlier when people were talking about the snow.” Lucas said softly. I sighed and looked nervously out the window. It’s just so nerve-wracking to think that they’re so close yet so far away from us. Lucas patted my head and gave me another kiss on the forehead. “How about this?  We get a couple hours of sleep, and then we pack up and leave before sunrise. That way we have the dark to cover us.”

“That sounds good.” I said, yawning, “Thanks for keeping me sane Lucas. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Hey, I’ll always be here to keep you sane. Now, go to sleep Angel-cakes. We got a long day tomorrow.”

That night, the visions came back. This one was much more visceral than the last. I could see that they were now on snowy hills instead of the mountains, passing different trees as they went to the edge of a forest. “We’re almost there Angel...almost there…” The person I was looking through stopped and walked through the trees. I waited a few tense minutes before my heart stopped with shock. I could see through the snow woman’s eyes that she was looking at the exact town that Lucas and I were staying in. “...Do you think you can outrun us dear girl? We would love to see you try…” I immediately shot awake and shook Lucas awake. 

“Lucas, Lucas we need to go now!” I yelled. Lucas rolled out of bed and began pulling on his shirt. 

“What happened, what did you see?!”

“I had a vision, the colony’s right outside the town! There’s a giant snow storm surrounding them, I think they’re gonna bury the town!” We grabbed all of our bags and ran downstairs. People were gathered in the front lobby dressed in their pajamas and looking alarmed. “Do you know what’s happening?” I asked the front desk lady.

“We don’t really know, but we’re all going down in the basement. You need to come with-”

“No we can’t come with you, we need to leave! Keep everyone safe downstairs!” The lady’s eyes widened and she shook her head.

“You can’t leave, it’s too dangerous!”

But we were already running out into the tundra. “Wait, please come back!” The lady’s cries died in the winter wind as we ran into the night. Around half an hour went by before I thought to look behind me. I gasped. Sixteen snow women were floating towards us on  a cloud of snow and ice. Everything they passed was instantly doused in a thick blanket of snow or stabbed with massive icicles. Worse thing was they were quickly catching up to us. 

“Angel...come back to us Angel.. Stop running away from your kind and join us…” Think! What should we do? I glanced at the sledding building and got an idea.

“Hey Lucas, do you wanna go sledding?!”

“What?!”

“We can sled down the hill to get away! There’s another forest a few miles away we can go to!” Lucas smiled at me.

“That’s my smart girl! Let’s go!” We climbed over the fence and grabbed a large red sled from the stall. We positioned ourselves at the tallest hill, preparing to take off. “Ready Angel?”

“Almost!” I took a deep breath and began my transformation into a snow woman. Long black hair, flowy white kimono and sharp blue claws. I finished by summoning ice shards around Lucas and I as a shield.

“It’s so cool watching you do that,” Lucas said in awe. I smiled and positioned myself at the end of the sled. 

“Alright, let’s go sledding!” We pushed on the sled and began to fly down the hill.

If you think sledding during the day is scary, at night it’s even worse. We only had the moon to guide as Lucas steered the sled and I defended against the snow women’s attacks. I shot icicle’s, created snow walls and even created a small tornado to speed us up. We were slowly but surely putting distance from the oncoming horde. “Nice job Lucas, you’re doing good!” 

“You're doing good too! Since, you know, you’re keeping us alive!” We both laughed at our victory, until an icicle slashed at Lucas’s arm. He yelled in pain as blood trailed down his arm.

“You monster!” I screamed. The leader of the snow women laughed and launched another few icicles at us. My kimono got ripped as more slashes decorated my arms.

“Give up Angel… that human means nothing...come join your kind, and we may spare his life…”

“I’ll never join you, I’ll run away for the rest of my life if I need to!” I yelled. I gathered some snow from the ground and balled it in my hands. Using my ice breath, I caused it to grow and swell to the size of a large boulder. “You'll never touch Lucas and I again! Eat this!” I launched the snowball with all my might, hitting the leader square in the face. She yelped and fell into a large snow bank, the remaining warriors stopping to check on her. Lucas whooped as we continued on our way.

“Hang on, I wanna do a trick!” He maneuvered us to a small snow ramp and launched us into the sky. 

“Woo-hoo!” We practically floated, feeling the lingering snowflakes brushing against our cheeks. I created a floating cloud underneath us to help us stay airborne, like a miniature Santa sleigh in flight. 

“That-that was awesome!” I squealed.

“That was almost exactly like our first date! Remember when those guys chased us for the sled and I threw snowballs at them?!”

“Yeah, but this time I didn’t hit a rock and throw us into the snow after we thought we won!” We laughed uproariously, holding our sides and our faces flushing bright pink. I calmed down first and gently wrapped my arms around Lucas.

“Hey Lucas… if we finally escape the snow women and earn our freedom, could we come here again to go sledding?” He leaned his head back against my chest and smiled softly.

“Of course, anything for my Angel.” He suddenly winced in pain as I accidentally squeezed his injured arm. “But first, I think I need to go to the doctor...That lady did not go easy on us…”

“Not to worry, I got this.” I kissed my fingertips and pressed them gently on the wound. In a few seconds, the gash healed and his skin looked brand new. 

“I swear you're so awesome. Snow woman or not, I love you Angel.”

“I love you too Lucas, I always will.” We held onto each other, gliding through the snowy winter air into an uncertain, possibly violent, but definitely hopeful future.