Setting Fire to the Snow
Chapter Nineteen
Mrs. Frost dashed through the halls of Pitch's realm. She'd pass by the room that her son was fighting, but dared not to look. It would knock her off track and make her want to barge in and fight alongside her son. Her hair was in a bun, but some of it hanged out. Her hair was brown, just like her children, and very similar to their hair as well. It was straight, like Pip's, but her bangs where just like Jack's. Her outfit, which was a long dress and a cloak with some slippers, were dirty due to the dust here. It must have been underground.
The halls were long and dark, but somewhere, scattered around, were little holes that let in light. From where? She wouldn't know. She entered many different hallways, some with smooth walls and others that looked like caves with sharp, con rocks everywhere.
Once she felt like she should give us, for she thought she had gone in circles, looking in every place Flame could hide, she found another opening to a room. A bright light shone from the room, which drew the woman in more. She slowly entered the room, her hands on the frame of the entrance for support. She gasped, staring into a room that was rocky and old, dusty and dirty, but with a hole in the middle that let in a shining, bright light.
Like a moth drawn to light, she slowly went towards it. At first it blinded her, for being in a dark place for so long, but now it was nothing to bother about. She nearly tripped on a rock as she got closer. Standing over the edge of the rather small hole (Just enough to fit an oversized person in it), she looked down to see the sky. She thought they were underground, but whether or not it was true, how was the sky under them? Were they not under the ground?
I should tell the others about this, Mrs. Frost thought, But they are all out on their mission and I can't barge into the fighting.
Mrs. Frost looked back into the light. She saw a sky, still as before. Thought, she felt as if it was calling her to it. She felt the need to jump inside the hole. Like it could save her son's life. Well, maybe it would. What if Flame had fallen in and she could find him there? That was likely, as to the fact that he wasn't anywhere. Well, he could have also gone back to help Jackson, but she couldn't go there and she could only look for Jack in the hole.
Mrs. Frost stood straight and turned, looking at the entrance of the room. This might have some of the answers I seek, it could lead me to a maze. It could help me find Flame or maybe help save your life, but where ever it takes me, I do not fear. Sighing, she turned back to the hole. But, Jackson, I'm going in. Be Good.
And with that, Mrs. Frost jumped into the hole. She was greeted with the wind flying past her and the sight of her falling. She was falling, but then gravity turned around and she fell back, towards the hole. But the hole was gone, replaced with ground. It hurt at first, but she was more concerned with where she was. She stood up, brushing the access dust off her dress. She was in the middle of a town. She would obviously not know it, but she was in Burgess. She shook her head and started to walk around.
"Jackson Underland Flame!" She called out, remembering the name he was called not too long ago.
There was no reply, and she continued walking the streets, shouting Flame's name. Strangely, there was no activity. No one was outside, and those who were stood still. Were they afraid of her? Did they not like her so stand still like a dear in headlights? It was only as she passed a bird in midflight, stuck in the air and not moving at all, did she realize that time itself was frozen.
"Hello?! Jack?!" She called out one last time. She was just about to give up on finding him when she heard breathing from a block away. Yes, it was so quiet that you could literally hear just about anything within a mile. That's almost as quiet as Sandy, if not more.
Mrs. Frost hurried on forward towards the sound, only to stop dead when she saw Flame peeking into a window of a house. She watched him, sighing in relief to know she was okay. Flame heard her and turned around, gasping. He was scared for that one second and fell back into the grass. Mrs. Frost held in her laugh as she walked towards the boy.
"There you are, Flame. We were worried, and it had taken me awhile to find you." She said, bending over and holding out a hand for Flame. Flame gazed up at her, then smirked, taking her hand and getting up.
"Thank you, Mrs. Frost." He smiled.
"I have a question, though. A few, actually. Why'd you run off? And where are we? Why has time seemed to stop?" Mrs,Frost looked around, then back at Flame.
"We are in the past. Well, for you it's still the future, but for me it is the past. This happens to be just 2 years ago. Before I was Jack Flame." Flame turned to the window, motioning Mrs. Frost to look inside. "That's my mother and sister. Today she was sick and Momma is sitting with her on the couch, reading her the story of Alice in Wonderland."
"Alice in Wonderland is such a magnificent story. I see it has lived through many generations. Great stories always live long, huh?" Mrs. Frost smiled. It was also her favorite story.
"You know the story?" Flame asked, looking confused.
"Alice in Wonderland is a story that has been told for years. Many generations. It must be older then you think it is."
Flame shook his head. "Hm, Well, Anyway, I was watching them because I missed them so much. Sure, I have sister, but I may never be able to see mother and have her smile the same way she does when I return home from school each day."
Mrs. Frost peeked into the window. She couldn't get a good look at Mrs. Flame, but she could tell that she too was just as a twin, though her hair was not put up into a bun. She then looked back at Flame, who looked down at his shoes with sorrow.
"I'm so sorry, sweetie. Maybe one day she'll smile with you again. I'm sure she will." Mrs. Frost said, trying to comfort the boy.
"Hmph." Flame said nothing. He turned around and, using the wind, which seemed to be the only thing unfrozen, lifted him into the air.
"Where are you going!?" Mrs. Frost cried out, running towards the boy.
Flame stopped and turned around. He swooped down and then grabbed Mrs. Frost's hands. He pulled her into the air, using the wind to help hold her. She freaked out, moving a lot.
"Calm down! Treat it like nothing and it will feel like nothing!" Flame said.
Mrs. Frost took in a deep breath and let the wind carry her without her moving. She then felt better. She became more calm. The wind held her while Flame guided her to where they were going. She looked down to see the town fly by. She then looked up at Flame.
"Where are we?" She asked.
"Heh. We're in Burgess." He smiled, continuing to look in front of him.
Burgess!? Mrs. Frost thought, This is my home town!
Flame reached a school, where he set down Mrs. Frost in front of the place. Flame turned to Mrs. Frost and motioned for her to follow him. It was a high school, which happened to be very big. Two or Three stories tall. Mrs. Frost has never seen a school like this. She followed Flame into the school, gazing at everything in the building. It was all amazing.
Apon walking through two halls, going up the stairs and going down another hall, Flame then stopped. Mrs. Frost tore her gaze of the random things in the school back to flame. Flame was looking into a door with a sad face. On the door read "Science". Flame then opened the door and walked in. Mrs. Frost followed.
There was no teacher in the class, and the class seemed to be out of order. Kids everywhere, out of their seat. One group of girls giggling on one side, a group of girls on another side, a group of guys somewhere. One or two sitting alone. She shivered at how some of the kids dressed. It wasn't proper, and hopefully it wasn't proper in this time period.
As she neared the end of the class room, the next sight she saw horrified her. In the corner was Jack Flame, or rather Jackson Flame at the moment, on the floor, holding up his arm in fright. Three other taller boys stood above him. They seemed to be laughing at him, saying things hurtful and kicking him. She saw the fear on Jackson Flame's face and it seemed he had already taken a beating, for he had bruises all over. Her eyes watered and She had to hold them in.
"Tell me this isn't true." She turned to Flame, who was looking at the scene with a mix of sorrow and hate.
"If I did, Mrs. Frost, I'd be lying." Flame muttered loud enough for her to hear.
"Jack, I'm so sorry. I wish I could do something about this, I really do." She cried. Flame stared up at her once he heard his name.
"It was something I had to get used too. I'm sure you've heard Pitch call me a fire freak. Well, he didn't make it up. The kids in my class did." He said, looking at Mrs. Frost with a face that told her not to worry.
"Why?" She breathed.
"Because my love of fire and heat got in the way of everything. So much that I was only known for that." Flame explained.
"It couldn't possibly get in the way of everything." Mrs. Frost fought back.
"Well, most."
"…." Mrs. Frost said nothing. She only watched the teen, wondering about what else she had not known about his past. It was a lot of things, but what just like this had he felt so bad about this?
"You see that boy over there? That's Jamie." Flame turned and pointed to one of the boys sitting alone. He was drawing in his journal, ignoring the sounds of the room.
"Why didn't he help you?" Mrs. Frost walked over to the frozen boy, then looking at Flame. Flame walked over before answering.
"We didn't know each other very well at the time. Just another class mate was what we thought of each other. And It's no surprise he wouldn't. The people who hurt me had yelled at him once for pointless things so much that he was afraid they'd beat him. He hates getting into things."
Flame looked over the frozen boy's shoulder to find that Jamie was drawing the guardians. He smiled. Mrs. Frost also looked down at the drawing with a smile.
"He's known the since he was ten and ever since Pitch last came, he's drawn them quite a lot." Flame said. "I only know from self-investigation. Pippa, being Sophie's friend, would tell me about Jamie and Sophie, and how they always had drawings of Santa and the Easter bunny in their house. Once I was immortal, I decide to look for myself one night. I must admit, Jamie and Sophie have talent."
Before any father conversation could be exchanged, the floor beneath the two broke apart. The frozen scene before them vanished and they both found themselves falling from the sky again. Mrs. Frost held the erg to scream while Flame began to panic.
"What's going on!?" Mrs. Frost screamed.
"I…t-think that…this is some kind of magic illusion!" Flame yelled back.
"How do we get out!?"
"I have no idea!"
The last cloud passed them and Flame looked down to see the ocean. This was NOT good. He panicked, waving his arms. He called out to the wind to pick him up, but this time it did not come to his aid.
"W-what's wrong!?" Mrs. Frost cried out, grabbing onto the boy.
"WE'RE FALLING TOWARDS THE OCEAN! I'M A FIRE SPIRIT! WATER, FIRE, MIX, NOT GOOD! GAH!" Flame yelled at the top of his lungs.
"WELL CALL THE WIND TO SAVE US!" Mrs. Frost called, trying to hide her own panic. She could drown just as the water could put out Flame.
"I ALLREADY TRIED!"
The water got closer and closer. Flame and Mrs. Frost stared into each other's eyes, the same message going through their minds. We can't die. This isn't reality. This was a fantasy. This is a nightmare. This was something Pitch and his nightmares had made up. Created. Like a wonderland. They were falling like Alice falling through the rabbit hole. Tears fell from Mrs. Frost's eyes, falling up and not crashing down.
They crashed into the water, the coldness taking over. It was like the water grabbed them and took them into her depths. Flame could instantly feel his skin burning, a sensation that a fire spirit should not feel. Everything on his body burned and he could feel the heat leaving his body. The water that had touched him sizzled. Mrs. Frost was not hurt instantly, but her breath would leave her in a matter of time. She looked at Flame, holding her breath. She swam after him, touching him. The water to his skin was hot, thus her touch was like her touching an open flame. It stung and she pulled back.
Mrs. Frost had to do something. Flame was dying and so was she. Her breath was running short. Of all the things that could happen to her, why this?
We can't die. This isn't reality. This is a dream. A nightmare. A twisted wonderland.
But wait. In dreams, even nightmares, couldn't you control yourself? Couldn't you decide what was to happen? It only happened if you knew you could, if you happened to be self-conscious. This had to be the most self-conscious she'd ever been in a world of unreality. She could control her and Flame's fate, right?
Mrs. Frost concentrated, closing her eyes and relying on the last breath she had. She tried to imagine her with unlimited breath under the sea, but that obviously failed. She imagined Flame being able to grab her and fly out the sea, but opening her eyes to find Flame still in pain, it failed. She then imagined a way out of there. Another hole. She looked around, the last breath escaping her. She saw it. A hole at the sand of the waters.
As the water entered her, she grabbed Flame and swam towards the hole. The burning on her skin hurt, but she refused to let it get to her. The water pushed its way into her, but she still failed to push towards their way out.
Just as she felt her body giving up, she reached the hole and al the water vanished as she fell through it. She and flame fell through and she was able to breath. But her first reaction was to cough the water out. She and Flame hit the ground of a place. A dark, dusty place. She vomited the water out, regaining her breath. She turned to Flame, who was awake and alive, but he shivered in pain. He held out his hands, apon a small flame glowed. It made him fell warmer and it also helped Mrs. Frost, for the water made her cold too.
"Well, what do we have here?" A voice said.
The two of them looked up to find Pitch. They were in the room with the guardians and Jackson. Looking past Pitch, it seemed that Baby Tooth, Jack Frost, and Sophie had beaten them here. The Tooth Army, The yetis and elves, and the egg army fought alongside each other, fighting the nightmares. Mrs. Frost smiled, grabbing Flame and running past Pitch, towards her allies.
"Where do you think you're going?" Pitch laughed.
Flame looked back, watching Pitch pull another Nightmare arrow on them. He tugged his hand away from Mrs. Frost, who stopped ant turned to watch Flame, confused as to what he was doing. Pitch pulled the arrow back and released it. Mrs. Frost watched as Flame put his arms out, hands together, and concentrate. Fire sparked in front of him and he twisted the flames around his arm and figure. He opened his eyes as the fire grew in size. A Phoenix with burning wings formed. It screeched, stopping everyone in their tracks.
The arrow came toward the Phoenix, who protected Flame by flying in front of. The phoenix breathed fire, the arrow being burned to a nothing by it. Flame smiled at his success and Pitch growled. Yet another of his attempts of assassination failed. How long would it take for him to get it right?
"Oh yeah! Go Flame!" They could hear Jamie smiled. Other cheers could be heard from Tooth, North, Pippa Flame. Sophie, Jackson, Jack, and even Bunny. Pippa Frost giggeled, amazed at how everyone was just fighting, not cheering a once questioned spirit on.
And to think they were only classmates, anonymous to each other only a few years ago. Mrs. Frost smiled, thinking of how Flame and Jamie were back then.