DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN OHSHC

"Do you two know where we're going?" Haruhi asked. She stepped over yet another fallen branch and raised her head to glance up at the now paused twins. The nervous shifting of eyes towards each other confirmed her suspicions. From the start they probably had no idea where they were going.

She was stupid for trusting them and letting herself be led away from the field trip, but they had promised to finish her ski lessons from the last trip without the many eyes of customers on her. They even said they knew the perfect spot to practice. But now, they were in the middle of nowhere, and with each step they continued further away from the safety of civilization.

"Of course we do." The twins answered, continuing their trek, matching skis lugged over their shoulders.

"We're lost aren't we…?" Both twins stopped once more to glance back at Haruhi. Her petit form was shivering badly, and her legs looked as if they would fold underneath her at any moment from the strain of walking distance.

Yes, they were lost, but how could they tell her that?

Hikaru rubbed the back of his neck gingerly while Kaoru shifted from foot to foot, deep in thought. Neither made the first move to announce the bad news.

Identical amber eyes met. No, they wouldn't tell her yet.

The older twin sighed and gave another long scan of the area before freezing on one spot.

"Look! Kaoru, remember. We've been here before!" He beamed, running out into the open area. It was devoid of any signs of life. All that was seen was just a white blanket of snow, and even the trees surrounding it seemed to avoid the barren area.

"I think I do remember now…" Kaoru started, smiling. There was hope yet!

Both Haruhi and Kaoru shuffled forward. Their eyes wandered over the large expanse before them and the to Hikaru. He was in the middle of the area now doing a full circle to figure out which direction to go in next.

"How many times do I have to tell you it's dangerous to go exploring in this area?" Their mother had hissed, her hard eyes turning on her two young sons.

Kaoru froze mid-step and held out an arm, effectively stopping Haruhi as well.

"There's a lake nearby that freezes over during the winter and becomes hidden by snow."

"Hikaru, stop, come back!" Kaoru yelled. There was a strange waver in his voice, one that made the other two members turn a concerned gaze on him. Hikaru's face contorted in confusion.

"But, we're almost there…" He yelled back. "It's across this area, I think."

Haruhi lay a tender hand on the young twins arm. Her mouth was turned down in a worried frown. "What's wrong, Kaoru?"

He ignored her and took a small step forward. "Just, walk back, Hikaru! Slowly, please don't run."

Hikaru, still confused, nodded and complied without thinking. The terror in Kaoru's voice was enough to trap any good comment he could think to retort with anyway.

"A lot of stupid kids in the past thought it would be fun to play on the lake, and a lot of them got hurt or never came back. So, I want you two to stay in the main ski areas, okay?"

A loud snap could be heard and all three teens became as still statues. The oldest of the three looked down at his feet. A small pool of water had begun to grow steadily underneath him. He didn't move, instead he stared down in fear. The wet, melting snow slowly revealed the hidden ice trap.

"Kaoru…" He gasped.

"Hikaru, move!"

Too late.

Hikaru's scream was short lived, muffled by frigid water as his head went under, submerging him in the lakes dark depths.

"Hikaru!" All rational thoughts went out the window. Kaoru ran forward, toward the new hole in the ice.

Hikaru, thankfully had resurfaced and was now flailing around in the water, sputtering and coughing. His gloved hands moved to secure himself, but to no avail, the ice continued to break around him every time it was touched.

"Kaoru, be careful! You'll fall in too!" Haruhi cried after him. Her small hands wrapped around his arms, pulling him backwards with all her strength. "We'll figure out how to get to him, but you can't risk your own life trying to-"

She wasn't prepared for the rough pull against her hold and was sent stumbling forwards, her arms reaching out to prevent her from falling face first into the snow. Her grip was met with air. Kaoru once again had begun to shuffle carefully forward on the ice.

"Kaoru! I can't…" Hikaru trailed off, his teeth were chattering so hard in his mouth it seemed to rattle his brain. Fear grew to panic, and soon Hikaru found himself trying to grab onto the floating ice chunks around himself to stay afloat, anything to keep himself from going under again.

Kaoru knelt down, and then began to crawl the rest of the distance to his now pale and shivering brother. At least Hikaru had managed to finally grip onto an edge now, but it was clear by how he was no longer trying to get out of the water that he was losing energy and body heat fast.

"It's cold…I can't…feel anything." Hikaru's words stumbled out of his mouth.

A gloved, extended hand reached out for Hikaru's. "You'll be okay, Hikaru, just grab onto my hand. I'll pull you out."

"I'm…going to…die…aren't I?"

"Don't be silly, Hikaru. Of course not." Kaoru's voice shook, but he managed to plaster a fake smile on his face for his terrified brother. Inside however, his head was spinning.

They were in the middle of nowhere, no one knew where they were, and Hikaru was about to die from hypothermia or drowning depending on which event would grab a hold of him first. This was worst than any choose your fate book he had ever read.

"I can't get a signal!" Haruhi's voice called, raising her now useless cell phone into the air.

He felt like he was going to cry. This was far too much at once, and the worst part was that they had recently learned about hypothermia and how the body reacts to the cold in school. Both boys, however had opted to doodling and passing notes instead of actually paying attention, but they had Haruhi. She had to know something useful.

Gasping, Hikaru lunged forward to grab onto the hand reached out for him. His grip was tight, but not tight enough to hang on for long. Before his hand could slip however, Kaoru grabbed Hikaru's arm with his free hand.

"Tell him to kick, Kaoru! It'll make puling him out easier!" Haruhi's voice floated over from the trees.

Thank god she always paid attention in class.

"Hikaru, kick while I pull, okay?" Hikaru didn't respond, instead his head lolled until it lay on the ice. "Hikaru! No, you have to help me. I can't do this on my own, please, please, stay with me!"

A weak nod came from the drenched twin, but his head didn't lift. His hand in Kaoru's became slack and he sank a little further into the frigid water.

Panic rose within Kaoru. He pulled, harder and harder, until Hikaru's body slowly began to surface inch by inch. Still, half of Hikaru's body remained submerged. Kaoru's breath came in short pants, his eyes dilating with fear.

He can't die. He can't!

"Hikaru, please hold on." He was begging now. Tears sprang forth in his eyes and he pulled harder, finally Hikaru's legs slid out of the water.

"I'm…holding…" The slack boy mumbled.

"Don't stand up, Kaoru! You need to roll away from the ice first." Haruhi's voice came once again from the edge of the lake.

"Hikaru." Kaoru spoke.

The boy in question turned half-lidded eyes on his twin, but didn't move. He too had heard Haruhi, but his body was shaking too badly to move properly. He rocked himself forward, and then backwards, trying to get momentum until eventually he rolled forward once, onto his back. He stopped, took in a deep breath and tried again but to no avail. There wasn't enough strength in his body to continue on.

"I can't stand, Hikaru. I have to pull you, okay?" Hikaru gave a weak nod and raised a numb arm over his head toward his brother.

Kaoru slowly crawled backwards, pulling Hikaru along with each inch he went back. Finally, they reached an area he deemed safe and pushed himself up to stand, dragging a pale Hikaru up with him into slumped stance.

Hikaru was cold, and pale, but otherwise fine externally. Internally was another story. He still was at risk for hypothermia, in fact, it was quite certain by looking at him that he was already suffering its effects.

"I'm warmer now." The drenched boy slurred.

Kaoru smiled, relief washing over him. "That's great, Hikaru."

Haruhi's eyes scanned over his body. His shivering was so bad one could mistake it for a seizure.

No, he wasn't getting better, he was getting worse.

Jeez, I need to stop churning out so many fics at once. Okay, this will probably be a two-shot. As always, tell me what you think, comment, suggestions, critiques. This is un-beta'd so I expect mistakes, sorry.