Frozen In Love

Chapter 3

More quick uploads. Trust me, I won't always be this fast, but I'm trying to get it done whenever I can. As always, enjoy! <3 L xx

3

(JACK)

            I had a lot on my mind.

Still, that was nothing new. I always had something on my mind. The only disturbing difference was that it was recently more and more connected with the gang of masked murderers and their latest attempt to bring me down. I didn’t know how many more times I could see the battered and burnt bodies of their victims, knowing I was too late to save them and that their deaths were my fault. I may have saved that family in the cottage by the forest, but they were the first, the lucky ones.

So, as I said, I had a lot to think about. On my morning rounds I paid less attention to what I was doing and more to my thoughts. I may have frozen a couple more doors shut than usual…and maybe I should have made doubly sure that those streams were properly iced over…but hey, I can afford to have a bad day once in a while, can’t I?

I was wondering that morning about the masked boy who had attacked me. He could have only been my age, and he was normal in most respects, yet he could fight and overpower someone with my experience? Really, something wasn’t right there. The gang was increasing rapidly in number and strength and I didn’t like it one bit.

Soon I was out of breath and tired. I had stayed up for the majority of the previous night trying to think ahead to the gang’s next move. Consequently, I ended up too exhausted to carry on. So I floated over to the nearest rooftop and lay back on the hard surface with my arms behind my head, watching the first few flecks of snow fall from the sky and onto my face. Snowbathing. I chuckled to myself; this was the type of relaxation that normal people couldn’t ever enjoy. But then again, maybe that’s because they hated the cold.

It was perhaps half an hour later when I saw the shadow. Dark and agile, it slipped quickly from an alleyway, checking the coast was clear, and crept out into the open.

            Not a shadow. A person.

I swore under my breath as I watched from above. The gang had returned- it wouldn’t be long until their next move. My eyes followed the shadowy figure as I tried to calm my frightened breathing and my speeding heart. It moved from door to door, glancing closely at each of the golden house numbers on each house, searching for something. Or someone.

Finally it stopped, satisfied, at a small house with a long white door and the number 22 in large golden print on the wall. I inched closer ever so slightly, hoping to get a closer look…

            And fell right off the edge of the roof.

Unable to catch myself, I landed on the floor with a thud and a startled groan of pain escaped from my lips. The shadowy figure’s head snapped around and it immediately turned on its heel and slid back inside the alleyway before I had a chance to move. In a matter of seconds it was gone completely, leaving me lying on the frosty ground with no answers and cursing my stupidity once again.

            Honestly, they needed to find someone else for this job.

Shaking myself off, I flew back up to the rooftop in seconds. If the gang wanted something in this house, then I was going to find it. I resolved to look through each and every one of the windows, hoping one would be open and I could slip inside.

The first few windows showed me barely furnished rooms, the light dim and the contents of no interest to me. The next two led into toilets, so I steered clear, deciding that no wanted murderer would ever walk right up to a house, knock on the door and ask to use the bathroom. Finally, there was a small office and two bedrooms. The window to the office was not open but I guessed I could come back later to check again. It seemed the most likely room so far, with paper strewn all over the floor and a stack of draws that could have held numerous secrets.