Disclaimer: Story, mine. Characters, not.
Alright everybody, I'm back again. No, don't run away! You haven't even read it yet. Well, in my opinion, the last story went over well. I was so relieved. I was scared everyone would be like 'You suck! Get off our sight!' Fortunately, no one said that. Actually, no one flamed me either. Well, at least the last time I checked. Thanks to those who reviewed. They were very appreciated. I'm hoping for a similar response this time. Now, this story is not as depressing as the last one. Actually, when I first wrote it, it was not a Digimon fic. I just adapted it for you all to read. Maybe I will eventually post some original stuff, but first I'll just stick to Digimon. Enough of my rambling. By the time you get through this, you probably won't even want to read the fic! Here goes nothing...
The Ice Children
The deep chill of winter was well set in the air. The sun reflected off the knee-deep snow, displaying each individual flake. Icicles hung from the silvery white birch trees, like crystal spears, giving the forest a surreal, ghost-like atmosphere.
"Kari!" TK called.
He and Kari had been playing hide-and-go-seek tag in the icy forest during their lunch break. By now, he had gotten cold and tired of looking for her. Lunch break was almost over anyways, and he was getting the creeps.
"Kari!" he shouted again, "Come on. We have to get to school!"
She was nowhere in sight. In her red jacket she should have stuck out against the white snow. An icy wind blew past him. It seemed to whisper to him.
"Kari!" he called.
"What?"
TK nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of her voice.
"Kari."
"Yes. I heard you the first three times," she answered sarcastically.
"Why didn't you answer?!"
"I don't know. Look, relax. Let's get back to school."
Before long they were sitting in class, bored as usual. However, today their teacher would say something interesting.
"Well class, today I would like to read you a newspaper article," he said.
This statement resulted in a unanimous groan.
"Now, come on. This is a sad story. Most of you probably don't remember this because you were about two at the time. It happened ten years ago in our neighborhood. A local boy, Timothy Rubin, went missing after going into the woods to play. His body was never found. The only trace of him was his glove, found near the river. I thought I'd bring this up today to remind you to be careful when you play there. I know you all think you know those woods well, but he was your age when he went missing, and I'm sure he thought the same thing."
These words echoed through TK's mind for the rest of the afternoon. He wondered what had happened to Timothy Rubin that caused him to go in the woods and not come out.
Finally, class ended and TK got ready to go home. Kari practically dragged him out of the school.
"Come on. Let's go play tag in the woods."
"After what Mr. Hiyama said?"
"So. Don't be such a wimp. We always go there. Why should it be any different now?"
Though it was against his better judgment, TK reluctantly agreed to go. He didn't want to seem like a complete wimp.
When they got in the woods, TK counted to 100 and started to look for Kari. He was starting to hate this game.
The cold knifed at him, and he turned his jacket collar up. The icy wind blew past him. He heard someone giggle.
"Kari, I can hear you. You're so bad at this," he joked.
There was no response, although he hadn't expected one. Kari could be intensely stubborn at times, and wouldn't give up without a fight.
There were no footprints in this area other than his own, which made him suspicious. But he knew he'd heard her, and forged on through the snow. The wind was picking up now. He could feel his body temperature drop. A stick cracked somewhere in the distance, and he heard more giggling.
"Okay Kari. I give up. Can we go home now? I'm cold."
There was no answer, but he heard something much worse, a splash.
"Kari!"
The river was fairly close to him, and it never froze over because of the fast current. He ran as fast as he could, afraid of what he would find once he got there. Although, when he came to the river, he saw nothing. The water flowed rapidly about a meter below him. He was standing on a piece of ice over-hanging the river. When he realized it was caving, it was too late.
Kari heard TK's scream echo through the frozen forest. Then she heard a splash.
"TK!" she screamed.
She ran to the river as fast as she could.
"TK!" she called again.
He was nowhere in sight. An icy wind caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand up. She heard a giggle and turned to look...
"Class, today I'm going to read you a newspaper article. You probably don't remember this because you were so young at the time. Ten years ago, two local children, Takeru Takaishi and Hikari Kamiya, went missing in the woods in this area. Their bodies were never found, and no one knows what happened to them. I thought I'd mention this to warn you kids to be careful while playing there. I know you all think you know those woods well, but they were your age at the time, and I'm sure they thought the same thing."