The Man and Ice (A short story)

before I share this story I want to say I made this summer of last year or the year before so please don't judge the writing I have improved since than lol. 

A lot of people have been going missing lately, my mom has been trying to keep me locked away in the house ever since, especially since my best friend Maria went missing. When we last hung out it was the day she disappeared, it was the beginning of winter and we were walking in the nearby forest of my house. She was wearing a red lacy long sleeved shirt and a black fur winter coat, with her dark brown hair and maxi skirt then fell right below her ankles. She wore her favorite furry black winter boots and was holding my arm. 

“This way!” She exclaimed, smiling and giggling as I brushed my hair out of my face, It fell right back in place. I was a nervous wreck the morning of, my mom had left to work that morning and said to stay inside because of a blizzard. But Maria had somehow persuaded me to take a walk with her through the woods. 

“I don't know about this Maria, what if my mom comes home before I'm back?” I nervously said, my nose was bright red as it usually is in the winter. Even with the layers of sweaters and scarfs I wear, I can't escape my fate. Maria looked at me and frowned. “Don't be such a party pooper Bea, we will be back before you know it.” she said brushing my blonde curls out of my face.  Her smile was comforting but I still was paranoid at the fact my mom would find me outside.  “And plus there is something I must show you!” Maria said, yanking my arm and letting go before running off holding her skirt in her hands.

“Maria, wait! You might fall!” I screamed after her and began to run. She was way faster than me and I immediately lost track of her. I began to panic. “Maria? Where are you?” I screamed, I checked the time on my watch and didn't even realize how late it was getting. I looked up and saw the clouds coming together and heavy snow was beginning to fall down on me. The wind started to push my body and I was freezing cold. “Maria, where are you?” I screamed again, I was panicking at this point only thinking the worst possible outcomes. I started tearing up and ran until my feet couldn't anymore. I heard a loud crack nearby and I quickly spun around. “Maria? Don't play around, let's go home!” I screamed and was preparing myself. 

“Oh god I found you!” Maria screamed. She came up behind me and held me tightly, so tight I couldn't breathe. 

“Where were you? I couldn't find you!” I said trying to get a good look at her, she smelled funny. “What were you doing rolling in the dirt? Let's go home please” I started crying, because I knew for sure I was never being left alone from my mom ever again. She was quiet for a second and was still holding onto me tighter than before. “Maria? Let go your scaring me” I said trying to free myself

“No.” A voice said.

“Let me go!” I screamed trying to kick back at the unfamiliar voice . I started to scream but then I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head. I fell on the floor and couldn't scream, I couldn't move, I couldn't do anything. The mysterious voice looked just like Maria, but before my vision went blurry the mysterious voice took Marias head off of him. I woke up with a nagging feeling in the back of my head and felt my arms and legs tied up behind my back. I slowly got myself up and I was hit with a wave of cold air. It wasn't until now I realized I was stripped of all of my clothes but my bra and underwear. I started shaking to see my clothes next to Maria’s.  

“Maria?” I whispered tearfully, No response. In Front of me was a door with a key inside of the lock. I was tied up with ropes which were tied very tight. All I could wonder was how long I have been here and how long until that person comes back, was that image of Maria’s head real? Or was I being paranoid? I started to cry and shake, the blizzard was hitting the house I was in hard and the wind was howling like crazy. I fell back on my side and laid there helpless. I heard a voice.

“Hey! You!” It sounded like a girl around my age. But I couldn't be too sure.

“Who are you?” I whispered back sniffling, the voice coming from  the door in front of me.

“My name is Sophia, I'm 16 and I've been stuck here for about 5 days now,” Sophia said whispering under the door, “I go to Whenshaw highschool and I was out here when I saw a man and blocks of ice” She whispered.

“Im Beatrice im 15, did the person take your clothes too?” I whispered, “Have you seen my friend Maria? She has dark brown hair and has freckles across her face”

“Yes, he took my clothes and so he did with the others, i don't know who your friend is i haven't heard from her yet” Sophia said, it sounded like she was beginning to stand up and attempt to open the door. “Is there a key still in the door?”

“Yes there is.” I said using my shoulder to wipe my face

“Ok Beatrice I need you to scoot to the fireplace and burn the rope around your wrists so that you can untie your feet, but you must hurry before he gets back.” Sophia said with urgency. I lept into action and started to scoot to the fire place that was in the  other room, this was a suicide mission. The other room had more clothes of what seems to be teenagers, it's sickening. I sat up in front of the fireplace and burnt the rope, my hand was getting burned in the process and I began to tear up but I couldn't pull away. Now I need to get home and set these kids free. The rope fell into the fire making it grow and I quickly patted my hands on the carpet in front of me. I felt something strange but ignored it. I looked up and saw animal heads on the wall. They were not properly stuffed and stunk, the heat wasn't helping. I held my breath and quickly untied my ankle ropes.  I stood up and stood for a second or two to make my legs wake up again. I quickly walked to the door Sophia was in and unlocked it.  She lept and hugged me.

“Thank you! You don't know how long I have been waiting for someone to find me” She said and her mouth got close to my ear. “He is in the room behind me so please, run.” And as she pulled away an axe went flying into the top of her skull.  A loud crack erupted and blood splattered all over my face and I stood there shaking, I gulped and not very long I was covering my mouth and screaming. My heart was racing and the man looked at Sophia bleeding out, her brain was barely shutting down. He proceeded to raise his axe and slam it into her skull again and again. Her brain was spilling out of her skull  and I threw up in my mouth. I took a step back and when he looked at me and smiled I ran, ran into the room with the fireplace and ran across the carpet. I slipped and it revealed a corridor on the floor. I slipped inside as soon as he got into the room. I fell on my knees and winced and screamed. They were bloody and it hurt to stand, but I had to keep moving so I grabbed onto the wall for support and kept moving. The floor was cold and I almost slipped on a pipe. The man was beginning to open the corridor so I quickly sealed it shut and limped to the fading ceiling light. To say this was straight out of a horror movie would be an understatement. It was below freezing and it felt like I was about to die of hyperthermia. That was until I saw it, the ice.

“Oh my god.” I whispered and covered my mouth. The room was a cooler filled with huge ice cubes with teenagers' heads inside each one, staring back at me with different faces. And the worst part of this whole thing was she was there. “Maria?!” I screamed and quickly limped over to the ice cube that held her freezing head. I cried and looked away. I couldn't bear to look at my friend with such pain in her eyes. He was making these kids into a freak show, into his own museum. The wall was filled with saws and axes and guns, and even the stripped bodies of teenagers with only their undergarments on. Disgusting. I gagged and cried, there was nothing I could do and I knew I was next. The corridor broke through. I screamed and fell on the floor and in the darkness I saw the man's silhouette, every time the light flickered he was closer. I scooted back until I backed into the table and had nowhere else to go. Snot and tears filled my face and I screamed  and yelled “Don't touch me, get away from me!” 

“Such a pretty little thing” The man said standing in front of me, He knelt down and smiled. “Don't cry now, you will be at the top of my collection, and it will be much too difficult to make a nice pretty smile if you keep crying.” As he caressed my face, I flinched and bit at his fingers. His smile faded and he punched me across my face. I was coughing and spit up blood and laid on my side crying. He stood up and used his shoe to show him my face.  “I think you deserve a slow death, don't you?” He said and went to the wall, he grabbed a saw and slowly walked over to me. 

“Please don't kill me, i barely lived” I cried and pleaded on my bleeding knees. He was walking closer and placed the saw at my neck.

“I don't think that's my fault.” he said and began sawing at my throat. I screamed and tried to get away but he grabbed my hair and slammed my face into the ground, my nose was broken and all I could do was cry. The deeper the saw went the more I felt blood leaving my body. I screamed for Maria. I screamed for my Mom until my last breath. 

I woke up holding my neck, I gasped for air and held my face in my hands. "Its happening again. no matter how hard I try to avoid it, it's going to happen" I went down to the kitchen to greet my mom. I gave her a hug and went to eat breakfast. 

“I'm going to work, don't leave the house while I'm gone, a big blizzard is going to happen tonight, and you know all of those kids have been going missing recently. The search teams and I are going to look on the other side of town for those kids. I know how hard it's been since Maria went missing, but we're going to find her ok?” My mom said and kissed me on the forehead “I love you kid”

“I love you mom, i'll see you later.” I said. I sat there for awhile awaiting the call, eating my cereal. The phone finally rang, I let it ring. it stopped than kept ringing again, no matter how many times you let the phone ring its still going

happen. It starts differently and ends the same.

“Hello?” I said, still munching on cereal.

“Bea, come outside,” Maria said on the phone.