The Bradbury

Frozen

Julie's phone dinged for the third time this evening. The screen lit up from across the room, inviting her to check it. She had a hunch it was just another weather alert. They'd been going off all day.

She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already 10:45pm. Too late for Thomas to be texting her, especially with the time change in Chicago. He was probably already fast asleep or preparing for his big meeting tomorrow afternoon.

Sadie fussed as Julie took the empty bottle from her and stood up with the five-month-old on her hip.

On her way to the kitchen, she grabbed the phone. As suspected, another alert for icy roads and snow squalls. Current temperature was 21° with a windchill of 18°. Good thing they weren't going anywhere tonight. She grabbed a blanket from the living room and settled down with Sadie on their favorite rocking chair.

Half an hour later, both of them were dozing off in the chair.

The sound of tiny feet on hardwood floors and mischievous giggling woke Julie from her rest. If you could call it that.

"Danny, it's late. Go back to bed." She said, without missing a beat. "Now."

"No!" Danny screeched, running down the hallway towards the kitchen. Julie sighed and stood up, still carrying Sadie in her arms wrapped in the blanket. She was not going to chase him through the house again tonight.

Danny laughed and made for the back door on the far side of the kitchen.

"Danny, NO!" She yelled, but Danny had opened the door and disappeared into the darkness, still laughing.

Julie clutched Sadie closer and hurried after him, stepping out onto the back deck. A trail of small footprints led straight to Danny, who was crouched down in the snow behind a flowerpot. The door swung shut behind her.

"I'm not kidding, Danny." She said, sternly. "You're going to freeze out here. Get back inside."

He made his way, dragging, back to the door. Julie turned to go back inside.

It was locked.

"Shit."

"You said a bad word!" Danny said.

"Yes, I did," she said. "Don't say what mommy says."

"I'm cold," Danny whined. He was still in his PJs. Julie was wearing a sweater since she'd fallen asleep in her regular clothes, but none of them had jackets or gloves. The wind picked up, slicing through her meager clothing. Her fingers complained and stung.

"Come here." She wrapped part of Sadie's blanket around Danny. It wasn't much, but it was all they had with them. Sadie began to cry and shiver, even in the blanket.

"It's OK, baby." Julie comforted her. She tried the door again, just to be sure. Yep, still locked. She took Danny around to the front door, which she already knew was also locked. The windows wouldn't budge either. She was always diligent about locking up at night, especially when Thomas was away.

Her white Toyota sat in the driveway, useless without her keys. Instinctively, she reached for her back pocket and felt her blood run as cold as the snow beneath their feet. Her phone was on the coffee table inside.

"I wanna go back inside." Danny said, not having fun anymore.

"I know, honey. The door is locked." She was trying to stay calm. Things like this happened all the time, right? There had to be a way in. She could see their jackets hanging by the front door, taunting her.

Almost twenty minutes later, the three of them were still huddled together with the blanket in the front yard. They sat under a tree for some shelter from the snow, which was blowing around back and forth. It was getting close to midnight now. No cars had come down their street, and they probably weren't going to in this weather.

Danny whimpered and shivered under the blanket, but Sadie was quiet. Too quiet. Julie bounced her a bit, to keep her awake. Sadie moved her arms a little, hands clutched into fists. Her fingers were discolored, tinting with purple.

They couldn't stay here like this.

"Come on," she told Danny. "We're going to try the neighbors."

Julie trudged through the snow in the direction of Mr. Harrison's house, with Danny and Sadie in tow. His house was only 1/4 of a mile down the road, but it felt like 5 miles. It felt better to keep moving, even though her legs were heavy and each step took more effort than the last. She had to stop several times for Danny, but she couldn't carry both of them.

"I can't," Danny said, and sat down in the snow.

"Yes, you can." She said, pulling him back up with her free arm. "Almost there."

When they reached the house, the lights were off. Julie knocked urgently on the door.

"Help, please! We're locked out."

No answer. She kept knocking for a full 5 minutes. Finally, a light turned on in the bedroom. Then she heard rustling and footsteps. A gruff voice sounded from behind the door.

"GO AWAY!"

Her heart sank. "Please, it's freezing. We need help," She begged. She knew Mr. Harrison to be an extremely paranoid man who kept to himself. It didn't help that it was the middle of the night.

"This is private property," the voice continued. "I'm armed! Trespassers!"

Julie hastily grabbed the kids and stepped back from the door. Clearly, Mr. Harrison wasn't going to help them.

Without options, the three of them started back towards their own house. The snow had begun falling heavier now, and Julie could only see a couple of feet before things faded to a white blur. Somehow, her legs kept moving. Step, crunch. Step, crunch. She held tightly to Danny's hand, at times having to drag him along when he refused to move.

A stop sign came into focus up ahead. But there wasn't a stop sign between the Harrison house and their house.

They'd gone the wrong direction.

Julie wanted to cry, but she was afraid the tears would freeze solid. Her legs cramped and her bones ached. Sadie hadn't made a sound in a while. She was very pale, but still breathing. For now. Julie rubbed her little hands, trying to warm them. They turned around and continued back down the road in the other direction.

Eventually, they made it back to their own front door. The kitchen light was still on, inviting and tormenting.

"Hold your sister for just a minute." Julie gently placed Sadie in Danny's arms. She looked around the yard and found a large rock, which she picked up and studied for a minute.

It might work.

She stepped back and launched the rock at the side window. It went through the window easily, sending glass flying into the entryway. The alarm went off, blaring in the silence of the snow-covered night.

Relief swept through her. She covered the windowsill with the blanket and helped Danny crawl inside. Danny unlocked the front door, and soon they were all safe inside. With a broken window to repair, a strong draft, and a blaring alarm, but alive. Which was the only thing that mattered.

Wordcount: 1,203