It was too cold to look at him. She worried that her expression would freeze into an awkward stare. She wondered if he was already frozen, for he did not speak for the longest time. Yet he never spoke often enough after moments such as these for her to determine this.
"Are you scared?" she heard him ask.
What a strange question for him to bring up as they stood on the railroad tracks in the middle of the night. The air was frigid and uninviting to her very thin jacket, and it seemed to pierce the ever painful and present silence she was forced to give constantly.
She shook her head and he didn't press the matter any farther.
"We're two miles from Rush Valley. We should find some shelter and wait until dawn," he said as he began to walk ahead of her. His stride leaked a false confidence that set a deep chill in her bones, which the temperature outside couldn't even begin to permeate. She stopped still on the rails and he took quick notice and turned to face her, his blonde locks barely obscuring his vision.
Seeing her concerned expression, he let out a low sigh and reached for a cigarette out of his inside pocket. He didn't make an attempt to speak until after one was already held in place between his lips. As he began to light it, he said, "You know, you and I have both seen worse nights than tonight. If you aren't worried about you, I sure as hell wouldn't be worried about me."
He let his eyes find their way back to hers, only to see the look of utmost horror in them. He paused, not sure of why she would respond in such a way to something he had said. Then he heard it; that single, barely audible footfall that couldn't have been more than ten feet behind him. He let the newly lit cigarette fall out of his mouth.
"AMELIE, RUN!"
She thought she had known the meaning of the word frozen. No, that word had no literal meaning until this moment. She wasn't certain if one could be paralyzed as they were standing straight up, but she would believe it for now. He was speaking to her in slow motion, it seemed, for he could not see what was playing right behind him. She wanted to scream or to even utter a murmur so he would understand. The only thing she could do was move to him but she could not. Not even a single step forward was possible for her. Then he heard. It didn't take long, but it felt like a lifetime to her. That's when he shouted, but she was as still as stone.
She saw a look of panic flash across his face before he was instantly thrown against a nearby tree. Her eyes could only grow wider and wider. Her fists clenched tightly as her nails dug deep into her flesh. She wanted to face this. She wanted the chance to prove herself but she felt so useless now. She trembled at the sight of him being pummeled incessantly. She took in quick, hurried breaths and opened her mouth wide as if screaming, but there was no noise. There was just no noise. It was all in her mind and yet she could not bring it to life.
"HAVOC!!!"