Ice Queen

It wasn't the theater that kept bringing young Derek Reese back to the business. It smelled like stale popcorn, and you could only order a Cherry Coke, for a small fortune. Not that you couldn't order other sodas, but it was your funeral. The Reese boys spent every Saturday there, and saw two or three movies. Kyle got to pick the matinee. When it comes to five year olds at 11 in the morning, you're buying a baby's ticket to the latest Pixar for a nickel. After lunch at the local fast food joint, where they bought a small mountain of dollar burgers and quoted the movie at each other, giggling, they'd go and watch Derek's movie: aliens, superheroes, and space epics.

With their dad working his weekend shift at homicide downtown, and their mom teaching about thirty two stacked, blond airheads how to shake their pom-poms for the network cameras, Derek Reese had to say that the cinema was a nice tradition. It was a much cooler babysitter than Madison Sinclair, who chatted on her phone all day about Duncan something who was and he could quote "Totes the hotie we all knew he would be." It was also a much better place to hang out than going to the community center to spend the day watching other kids play video games, while the others left "the baby and the wet-nurse" to play Candy Land by themselves.

But it wasn't the theater he had really liked. It wasn't the movies that kept him going; they were alright. It was what they had been doing for months now that he had always liked best. Across the street in an abandoned mall, just as the sun was beginning to set, they'd go through endless abandoned stores to the ice skating rink. What was there was the smell of ice, dust and neglect on a form of entertainment that wasn't well publicized. The rink was always dark and cold. Its walls were paneled and the floors covered with a scratchy, stiff fibered dark blue carpet that was highlighted with paint ship designs. It was old -like 80's old- and there was always top 40s records last dated 1984 that played on the loop.

One of his mom and dad's favorite movies was a sci-fi romance called "Somewhere in Time". In it a guy played by old Superman falls in love with a picture. He goes to his old college professor who teaches him how to time travel so he could go to the girl he fell in love with. It was cheesy and old Superman was a little over the top, but Kyle liked it from some reason. But in it, the time travel was a form of hypnosis in which, with the help of the environment, you could place yourself in the moment in which you want to be based on the setting. He preferred Doc Brown himself, but that was time travel in his mom and Kyle's movie. Sitting in this Ice rink you wouldn't even have to hypnotize yourself into believing you were in the early 80's. Ten minutes and you'd forget that cellphones and Playstations even existed.

Derek and Kyle had found it one day while exploring the area. There wasn't anything really good at the theaters, and it was only their second weekend in this part of town. Derek was a stationary man himself. He was his dad's little soldier. He responded to orders and the orders were that they stay put. Kyle, on the other hand, was an explorer. He had to know what everything was and where it could be found. So, rather than being stuck listening Kyle complain about Derek not letting him do anything and being a "stick in the crud", he let him look around.

They had found the old mall with a couple of cars in front of it. Inside were tiled floors and wood paneling and was adorned old fake plants and a dried up fountain. It was as if the 80's had used it as a barf bag. There were dozens of shut down stores that still displayed banners of "Going out of Business" and "Liquidation Sale" over rusted shutters. When he and Kyle peeked into stores they saw some clothing still on racks. Shoulder pads and frilly business women attire. They found empty, darkened and dusty salons with glamour shots of women with mountains of big permed hair pasted to the windows. It was so old and filled with fashion skeletons that Derek and Kyle began calling it "The Mines of Moria." There were still some stores open toward the entrance, one an old guy that sold old comics. For a couple of cents, they could find out what cases Batman was solving from 1975 to 1985 … it also kept Kyle from bouncing off the walls.

But it was when they discovered the ice rink in the heart of the old abandoned mall that Derek never failed to keep coming here. For what he had discovered had captured his heart and his imagination to "Somewhere in Time" levels. The Ice was never crowded when they came, and he was sure it would never be again. But there was always one person, a woman on the ice, whenever they came. Every Saturday they'd sit in the dark and watch her.

She was an older woman, not exactly older, but she was about their mom's age. She wore tight spandex and cutoff sweatshirt. She was very beautiful with long limbs and toned arms the color of milk. But it wasn't her beauty that drew Derek to her, it was her being there. There was history in her emerald eyes, slight imperfections to her beauty that … that fired his imagination. Every Saturday evening this woman came to the Mines of Moria out of all the ice rinks in this large city and skated. She wasn't particularly graceful, but she knew what she was doing and every once in a while she did something choreographed to the old music that made him think that she might know a thing or two about figure skating. Who was she? Why did she come here? Was she even real?

All of these questions could have been answered if he and Kyle would just go down and talk to her. But, for some reason, he was scared to. Her emerald eyes were hard and sad and her face brooding. Even through her cut off sweatshirt he could see the muscles that could crush him like a beer can on a train track. But, most of all, he just didn't really want to know. Sometimes it was the simple mysteries that made people happy, that made things beautiful. Sometimes the sunset is just purple and orange because it is, maybe the Fruity Pebbles are made with real fruit, and maybe this raven haired beauty was just more entrancing because he and Kyle didn't know a thing about her.

Watching the two boys below, Derek Reese told himself that he would always be happier if he didn't know. Somehow he just couldn't follow her, couldn't come back here. But John was worried and the machine was getting suspicious about where she was going. Derek already knew that answer. He knew from the first moment she was standing on Billy Wisher's front porch in her floral shirt and blue jeans. He knew where she went every Saturday evening. But it was just a place that he didn't belong anymore. Down there a twelve year old kid with so much hurt coming down the pipeline was so happy with the ignorance of never knowing her. She would never hate him, never threaten to kill him, never give Kyle a son, and never move the earth to save that twelve year olds life … and look at him while he was in the shower as if she regretted it.

He was about to leave when the kids caught him standing in the third row. The boy looked alarmed. There weren't enough people in the Mines of Moria to fill a phone booth, much less stumble into this rink. The familiar kid did the smart thing; he was always quick on his feet when it came to Kyle. He whispered into the five year olds ear. He knew what he said to the little boy, because the kid was still alive somewhere in the back of his own mind. He'd never draw attention to the potential danger, it was always so natural the way they avoided trouble. Grab the comics, go out the other door, stay on the top row so that woman doesn't see them and if the guy who looks like Pops decided to chase, they don't have to climb any stairs to get to the exit.

Derek watched his younger self and his brother leave. When they were gone he turned and watched the woman on the ice drift in a complete circle around the rink to a slow Bee Gees song about heaven. Under the voice of Robin Gibb, he trudged down to where he and his brother had been sitting. There was something about the feel of the stiff fibers on his back and jeans that took him back to fond childhood memories. Listening to old music, watching a woman he didn't know skate around for hours.

Eventually he remembered the last time he came here. He could still hear the sound of sirens in the distance, the smell of burning rubber in the air and the darkness of the blotted sun all around them. Yet, he still brought Kyle here every Saturday from their hiding places in the old city. Kyle still picked up a couple of comics, but for free from the day the bombs fell onward. The music was still playing when they got there, never knowing how it ever got turned on in the first place. But the woman seemed to be missing. With mom and dad gone, their house in ruins, Derek always hoped in those first several years she'd come back just one more time. To give him just one more moment of wonder before all innocence was lost. She never came. On the last visit, While Kyle went looking for the "Good Stuff" out of the three dollar long boxes, Derek sat all alone listening to this same song and shed the last tears in him for his lost ice queen before he gave up all hope.

"You followed me?!"

Derek blinked and lounged back against the familiar carpeted bleachers. He didn't say a word to the hard glare of outrage that wrinkled Sarah Connor's face as she walked in perfect balance for where he sat. He held his response till she was close enough. He let her lord her full stature over his position a moment before he spoke.

"John was worried …" He didn't look at her. He didn't tell the truth, letting her believe what she wanted to.

Sarah crossed her arms. "It's not John's business." She snapped at him.

A grudging smirk of mirth twisted his uninterested face. "Maybe you would've liked it if he sent the machine to find you. Unless you'd like to play twenty questions with it about what you're doing here." He motioned to the rink as he snuck a glance to his roommate. Sarah relented just a touch to his logic.

When they locked eyes, she glared again. "It wouldn't be her concern." She said defensively. He nodded in agreement.

"Couldn't say it better myself." He sighed.

There was a long pause between them. He watched her take a good long look around to stall for the next bout. She was defensive, ready for anything: lectures, ridicule, and teasing. But when it didn't come, she was surprised. He saw that she had come ready to swing as per usual, but with no one to fight she seemed to regain herself. She crossed her arms across her chest and took a deep breath to the cheese song on the loudspeaker. He let her come to him, finding something else to focus on when she clopped toward him in her ivory skates. She slipped down next to him, their shoulders touching as they listened to Paul Davis singing about a cool night.

Sarah took a deep sigh letting the last of her flustered surprise be exercise from her diaphragm. She bit her lip and discreetly found Derek's soulful eyes that encompassed her fully. Trying to escape those hazel spotlights she sat up and leaned forward and looked out at the ice she spent all evening skating over.

"When I was little … my mother used to take me ice skating." She started as she busied herself untying her skates. "It was the most fun I used to ever have. See, my mom, she was a very wealthy woman … but she was sick, a lot. Sometimes she would get really bad and I wouldn't see her for long periods of time. But when she did come back home, we'd always come here to skate." She paused, and there was a sad lilt in her nostalgic smile. "When I was here, on the ice, I didn't have to think about my crazy mom or her over affectionate grandmother that controlled me." She began tying the skates after tightening them. "When things got bad … I started to compete. I never won anything, and I wasn't any good." She smiled. "But I didn't do it for medals or trophies. I did it because, It was my only escape. Even when I busted my leg and I had to get pins, and the machine came and killed mommy and Kyle … I still would come here and skate." She nodded. "There's something pure about it, you know, simple?" She turned to Derek who was staring out at the ice as if she was somehow still out there.

"Sometimes Fruity Pebbles are just made with real fruit." He nodded.

Sarah frowned in confusion at his comment and shook her head. But Derek wasn't in a sharing mood as he shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest. She studied him quietly. There was a private smile that came from a lowered defense, the real Sarah peaking over the rampart. Sensing it he smirked at her presence.

"You wanna …?" She started to offer.

"No," he shook his head politely. "I'm good right here." He assured her. She gave a toothy grin; the thought of future resistance badass Derek Reese on ice was a sight to behold, even in one's mind. He watched her clop down the steps carefully before going out onto the ice. She skidded to a halt and looked out to him. There was something in the distance of her green eyes that touched the twelve year old in him. An assurance that she knew he was there and that she appreciated it.

"I'm good right here." He repeated quietly.

While Sarah Connor skated around the rink she found her peace in the ice and Derek his long lost queen. They were brought together for one moment of escape from all of the problems that faced them outside the Mines of Moria.

Author's Notes

Yeah, it's not Jameron …

but … broaden those horizons kids. John and Cameron have friends and family and they're interesting too.