Hey Everyone! I hope the wait wasn't too long, I'm sorry if anyone thought it was though... :/
So enjoy this chapter... the next one is big :D
"Spoilers"
Anyways... read and review!
Lyra
"Lyra, Lyra, get up! Get up!"
I awoke to Michael shaking me and yelling in my ear.
"Five more minutes..." I mumbled, eyes still closed.
"No, you have to get up now," he insisted, yanking the covers away from my body. I felt the sudden cold immediately.
"What?" I moaned, rolling over to my other side and reaching for my stolen blankets.
"We have to go! You promised!" he said, still shaking me. I sighed.
"All right, all right! Cut it out will you? I'm up!" I said, sitting up and swatting his hands away. There was no way I was getting back to sleep now.
"But we have to go now!" He said pleadingly.
"What? Why?" I asked as I got out of bed and stretched, thoroughly annoyed with him at this point.
"The sledding competition, duh! You promised!"
I sighed. Every year on the first day of winter break, our neighborhood holds this sledding race for all the kids on one of the hills at the park. Michael and I have only done it once before, because in the last few years something has always gotten in the way. For example, last year there hadn't been enough snow on the ground to sled properly. I looked at my brother's pleading and hopeful face and frowned, remembering the weather report from last night, calling for higher temperatures starting today. There probably won't be a whole lot of snow on the ground by the time the race begins, I thought to myself, It will be slushy out there, in the least.
"Buddy, I'm really sorry, but I don't think it's going to happen this year."
"Why?" Oh man. His face was killing me.
"I don't think the weather will be so great- the snow's probably already started to melt and, well, you remember what happened last year-"
Michael started laughing. "Oh don't worry! They'll be tons of snow!"
"But-"
"Trust me!"
There was no talking this kid out of it. "Alright, we can go check it out I guess but don't be disappointed if-" But he ran out of the room, cheering, before I could finish. "Don't forget your coat!" I called after him.
...
After I had gotten dressed, helped Michael locate the sleds, and packed some food (he was too excited to sit and eat), we marched out the door and started toward the park. I paused, however, once we reached the street, slowly turning around in a circle.
"But... this... this is amazing!" I gasped, looking around me. Not only had the snow not melted or even begun to melt, but there seemed to be much more on the ground since last night. Loads more. "But how?" I thought aloud to myself.
"I know right? Awesome!" Michael laughed, scooping snow into his arms and tossing it above his head. I stared at him and the extra-wintery wonderland around me in awe. "It's more snow than we've ever had before!"
I was still staring at the white landscape when I suddenly heard something strange.
Laughter.
A boy's laughter.
Yes, Michael was still running around and laughing in the fresh snow, his sled momentarily forgotten on the ground in front of me, but this laughter... its voice didn't belong to him. It seemed...older. I knew my brother. This laughter belonged to someone else.
I glanced behind me, expecting to see someone else in the neighborhood enjoying the snow as well, but there was nobody in sight. I turned around on the spot, looking for the voice's owner, but there was no one there. Absolutely no one.
"Hey! Are we going sledding or not, Leer?!" Michael called to me, and, still confused, I shook my head, picked up my bag and sled, and followed him down the street.
...
"Sledders to your starting positions, please!" a man, who was acting as referee, called. Michael and I had been sledding all day. I even won a few races. I watched as Michael ran, practically tripping over his sled, to join the other boys at the top of the hill for the next race. After a full day of sledding, he was still going strong and showed no sign of tiredness. I, on the other hand, was exhausted, and perfectly happy to sit and cheer on my brother and his friends.
As I was sitting, I noticed a sudden change in the air. It seemed to become... colder. I hugged my jacket closer to myself.
"Last call for this race!" the referee shouted. At that moment, one of the boys-Jamie- sped past me with his sled. He seemed excited, at least, more excited than he had been five minutes ago. And he had been pretty hyped up then. I watched as he ran up the side of the hill, and noticed that the air, though still cold, had lost its sudden chill. That's a bit odd. Looking around at the parents and other kids around me, I saw that no one else seemed to have noticed the slight changes in temperature. They were all too busy chatting with each other, not really paying attention anyway. I looked back to the top of the hill and saw the kids all huddled around Jaime, who was whispering to them excitedly. Some of the kids were jumping up and down excitedly, while others were shaking their heads, as if to say Nah ah, no way! I noticed something else- there was a gap right next to Jaime in the circle they'd made, big enough to fit another person, like they were saving a space for someone else. I glanced around, but there didn't seem to be anyone who looked like they were about to join the group at the top. As I turned my head, however, I thought for a brief moment that the gap had been I blinked, and once again saw empty space. Funny, I thought, I was sure I saw something blue next to Jamie's black coat. I looked at Jaime again, who was now gesturing toward the empty space.
Finally the group broke apart, and the boys lined up at the top of the hill. Some looked excited, but some looked nervous. I found Michael in the line up and waved. He saw me and waved back, smiling widely. I gave him a thumbs up, with a questioning look- Everything ok? He nodded in response, returning my thumbs up before climbing onto his sled, a look of determination on his face.
"On your mark, get set... go!" the man called, and all at once the kids pushed off down the hill. My heart skipped in my chest. They were going way too fast. All of them. I'd been watching for about an hour now, and the kids' sleds had never moved as fast as they were moving now down the long hill. I leapt up from the bench I had been sitting on and ran up the side of the slope, careful so I wouldn't be in anyone's way as the sleds passed me. As the kids were still a ways up, I took the opportunity to study the snow on the hill right in front of me. Seems normal enough, I thought. I was about to look back up towards the top when I saw something out of the corner of my eye again. The same flash of blue. I looked back in front of me, focusing hard, but the flash was gone. No blue. Just the green trees and white snow.
But something was moving in the snow. Or rather, forming. I watched in surprise and shock as a thin layer of ice seemed to spread along the slope in front of me.
"What the...?" I began, but at that moment, the kids on the sleds, my little brother included, whizzed by, all screaming and laughing at the top of their lungs. I looked back towards the hill, and saw the ice...melting? It seemed to melt into the ground as soon as the kids passed the spot, disappearing as quickly as it had come. I ran onto the hill and bent down, ripped my glove off, and felt the snow. It felt powdery and cold- it felt like normal snow. There was no slippery hardness or any other signs of ice.
Utterly confused, I ran down the hill and found Michael, who was laughing with his other friends, cheering and giving each other high fives.
"Michael!" I called. He ran toward me and I encased him in a tight hug. "What happened up there? Are you all right? What were you thinking? How did you-"
"Lyra, you're crushing me," came my brother's muffled voice.
"Oops, sorry" I said, releasing him. "But what happened?"
"Jack," he said simply, smiling
"I... I don't understand,"
He and the rest of his friends just looked at each other and smiled, like they all shared some private inside joke. I looked at each of them, but none seemed like they were about to explain. I looked imploringly at Michael, but he just shook his head. That's when I saw it again- something blue and brown, directly behind Michael. I looked away from my brother, but like the other few times, the flash was gone as soon as it come. There was nothing there.
Jaime seemed to follow my gaze. "Lyra, you ok?" he asked.
"Did you see that Jaime?" I asked, looking from him to the space behind Michael. "Just now-something... blue?" He didn't respond, but gave me an odd look.
"Something blue? Is it still there?" My brother asked me, curiously.
I looked back and forth between the two boys. The looks they gave me confused and annoyed me. They probably think I'm crazy.
"Nevermind," I muttered, "Come on, Michael, I think we better go home now." I ignored his pleas to stay and waved goodbye to his friends.
"See you guys," he said sadly.
Once we were out of the park, I stopped and faced my brother.
"Michael, is there something you're not telling me? Who is this 'Jack' person you keep mentioning?"
He took awhile to respond, staring at something behind me. I glanced behind me as well, but saw nothing of interest. Turning back to my brother, I said, "Well?"
"He's... he's a friend of mine. He'd like to meet you."
"What? But who is he?"
Michael looked me straight in the eyes. "He thinks that you already know who he is."
"Michael..." I began, starting to feel a little exasperated.
"You can figure it out Lyra," He insisted. "You just have to believe."
And with that, he took off for our house, leaving me alone on the sidewalk feeling more confused than I'd ever felt before.
