Kingdom Come
Chapter 4: Searching for Answers
"See what I mean, they totally look like footprints, right? And they're made of ice. At least now I have proof that I'm not completely crazy." Sophie explained proudly.
"What kind of weird poltergeist shit is going down at your house? This is so cool, you should've called me over before it all melted." Cupcake said in awe as she flipped through all the pictures of the bizarre footprints on her cell phone.
"It was almost midnight though. I don't think my mom would have appreciated having company over at that time. Sorry."
"At least Skype or Facetime me or something." The hulky girl persisted before handing her back her phone. "That's too cool of an opportunity to miss. You should call one of those ghost adventure people that they have on those t.v. shows."
"I can't, my mom would throw a fit and probably send me and the poor ghost crew into an insane asylum." The blonde argued as she flicked through the photos again herself. "Seriously though, what kind of ghost has the ability to freeze the floor? I get the whole chilling, ghostly atmosphere, but causing actual ice. That's a bit odd don't you think?"
"Maybe you've got a Frosty the Snowman ghost following you?" Cupcake chuckled as she began doodling on her notebook in front of her.
Frosty the Snowman? That actually might not be too far off. However, thinking of snowmen made her thought process turn to winter then Chirstmas then Santa Claus. What if this ghost wasn't a ghost at all though? What if it… or he, Sophie remembered correctly (after hearing his faint voice a couple times) was a mythical being instead? A childish sort of glee filled her insides with anxious butterflies at the thought of uncovering something so unique.
She was going to research a bit more before coming to any conclusions though. As far as she knew, it could still be just a ghost. Maybe if she could find a way to communicate with it she could get some answers?
"You still zoned out, Blondie?"
"What? Oh oops, sorry about that. I was just thinking about how I'm going to figure out who the ghost is. I'm mean there's probably only a few ice making creatures out there, right?"
Sophie spent hours after school that day looking up mythical ice creatures and narrowing down her never-ending list. She was wrong about thinking there would only be a few though. There were freaking millions of these ice guys. Yet it was easy narrowing down even if it was time consuming, for example: the ghost couldn't be an ice nymph since they were an only female species. Then she crossed off Jotuns or frost giants from her list as well since she couldn't imagine anything giant sneaking in and out of her room in the night.
Groaning at her lack of progress, she was almost tempted to name the ghost Frosty at this point. However, at least she finally had something to occupy her time, she thought with a sad smirk at how pitiful and strange she must look. Her half crazed, raccoon like eyes rarely blinked as they skimmed the monitor in front of her while her body hunched over the keyboard almost protectively. She just had to know what that thing was even if it drove her mad trying to find out.
"That's it, I need a break," Sophie sighed out, as she shoved away from her desk. She left the picture of an ice demon bearing it's fangs out in a creepy snarl on the screen as she headed downstairs and slipped her shoes on. It was still light out, so she quickly hurried to her favorite little lake and allowed the place to sponge out all the mental strain she had put herself through the last few hours.
Lying down in the soft grass, Sophie let out another sigh of relief and opened her eyes only to squeak in surprise. A flurry of leaves floated down to land on her face and she tried to bat them frantically away with her hands. The crisp leaves crunched as she swatted them to the ground before lying still once more only this time with a slight smile on her face. She loved the outdoors; there had never been a time in her life where she hadn't loved being outside.
The daylight was fading slowly away after a while and when Sophie opened her eyes again to see this she frowned. Her stomach growled in reminder that had yet to eat dinner, but she didn't want to leave just yet. She sat up and yawned, stretching her arms to get some feeling back into them after her little nap when she first saw it.
A white and blue blur raced through the thick bushy pine trees with such speed that it took her breath away. The creature nimbly picked a path and vanished without a trace so effortlessly and quietly that if she hadn't spotted it then she would have missed it completely.
Wondering if she was just seeing things, Sophie shook her head then traveled back to her house to stuff her face with whatever her mom made that night.
"Honey, are you okay? You've been spacing out for a while now."
"Uh w-wait what?" Sophie blinked a few times to focus again on the fried chicken and mashed potatoes that still sat on her plate. Her stomach rumbled again to reaffirm her hunger that she had before she had blanked out again. "Oh yeah, yeah I'm okay."
"… Well alright then." Mrs. Bennett said at length before taking a drink of her iced tea. She set her glass down but she didn't retract her hand as she continued to stare at the object. It looked like tonight was going to be a stale zoning out night for both of them. Whereas Sophie couldn't shift her thoughts from what she saw in the woods, her mother sat rigidly with her jaw set. It was a sign that she was contemplating on something important. Whatever it was though, she decided not to share it with her daughter.
"What is it?" Sophie finally asked after getting a little unnerved at her mother staring blackly at her tea for a half a minute.
"Oh… nothing just… I managed to stop by that gas station you talked about a few weeks ago. I asked how the application process was coming along, and managed to pull a few strings. I think you'll be getting a phone call soon for an interview." A hesitant smile formed on her mom's lips as she waited expectantly for her daughter's response.
The blonde had to reign in her surging anger that rushed forth at the thought of her mom interfering with her affairs. She had wanted to do everything by herself to showcase her maturity and independence. Yet her mother was still treating her like a helpless child that needed a guiding hand. It was beyond infuriating, but Sophie quickly masked her emotions and tried to calm down before she exploded. The reasonable side of her cried out above the fury and frustration brimming at the surface though, telling her of the more likely story. Her mother just wanted to get on her good side again by doing her an act of kindness. She had gone out of her way to help her daughter succeed.
"I-ah, thank you." Sophie replied awkwardly as she began eating once more to avoid any more conversation for a while.
Her mother looked like she was going to cry for a minute before she finally managed to say. "It looked like a nice place. The cashier lady that I talked to was very kind."
Sophie grunted in acknowledgement as she continued to shove food in her mouth. It seemed like the only thing she truly missed from her mother while she was away was her admittedly heaven-like cooking skills.
After she had finished eating, the blonde slowly trudged back upstairs and slumped down in her desk chair. Shaking the computer mouse to wake the monitor up, Sophie frowned at what appeared. A tiny elf had replaced the ice demon that had filled the entire screen only a few hours ago. The creature had chalk white skin and pale blue clothing. It almost looked like an old cartoon style of design.
There was no name by the image, and when she clicked on the website link she was met with a blank screen. Apparently the webpage had been deleted at some point.
"... Argh, I'm so done with this! I'm going to bed."
"You saw something weird happen again, and you didn't contact me…. Again!" Cupcake continued to scold her during art class, when Sophie discretely mentioned how she saw something in the woods.
"I couldn't take a video of it, the blue thing was moving too fast. It was so cool though, but I have no idea what it was." Sophie explained as she traced the outline of the lake sketch that she was working on. They had a paint project due in a few weeks, and they all needed to have a rough sketch of their paintings by the end of the week. Without really thinking of it, Sophie added the blue creature into the background subtly enough that no one but her would know it was there.
"I feel like we should hang out more after school, that way I can experience these things too." The bulky girl grumbled before she playfully nudged Sophie, which nearly made the blonde fall out of her chair. "By the way, what were you doing out in the woods that late anyway?"
"Taking a nap."
"By yourself?" Cupcake frowned.
"Well, not really since I had mister ghosty watching over me apparently." Sophie said with a small grin.
"You've got guts girl to stay out that late in the woods and take a nap of all things. What if a wolf snatched you up or something? Or if a bear mauled you while you were sleeping?"
"I like taking naps outside though, it's the only time I can actually sleep peacefully."
"You remind me so much of your brother with all your weird quirks." Cupcake told her with a faint smile. "You two are so much alike that sometimes it's just strange."
"I haven't seen Jamie in years," Sophie admitted. "I miss him so much."
"He should be back in a few weeks, and you can see him then." Cupcake informed her without missing a beat. Although she wasn't paying attention to Sophie as a mixed expression came across the girl's face. The bulky girl kept her eyes glued to her paper instead as she erased a crooked line that messed up her horse sketch.
"Oh yeah, I remember my mom telling me about that a few weeks ago."
"Hopefully winter break will come up soon. I can't wait for the old gang to come home again. I miss my big bunch of idiots."
Sophie nodded in response as she tried to picture her older brother coming home for the holidays. It had been years since she thought about seeing Jamie again. Yet now there was a very real possibility that she would be able to catch up with him for the first time in years. Unlike most siblings, the two had been inseparable even past their childhood years, getting into all sorts of trouble and mischief together. It had been devastating to them when they had chosen opposite sides when their parents started fighting.
A/N: Yay, I like doing quick updates! Man today was a sucky day, not for me but for my beta reader Ixel202. She just got her wisdom teeth out today and is in a lot of pain. So it might be a while before she does anymore editing for this story. Although I have up to chapter 9 written out and I'm starting on chapter 10 tonight. I'm guessing that the next update should be out in about 2 weeks or less, but I'll keep writing later stuff in the meantime. Hope you guys enjoyed reading this. Jack should be showing up soon.
