Brittany's Point of View
One of Alvin's arms was slung around my shoulder, limp, with the other around Simon's, and together we dragged my thick-headed boyfriend inside the cabin. He didn't stand a chance in the snowball fight that he wanted so so much. He wanted one, he got one, and now here he was. After barraging him with our first round of snowballs, he was finished. I guess he had no idea how active we -Me, Simon, and Jeanette- could really be.
"What happened?" Theodore asked with a slight edge in his voice that showed that he was used to asking that question. We dropped Alvin down in front of the fireplace that was set ablaze with a golden flame and took off our coats. By the looks of the room, decorations tossed everywhere and Dave man-handling a tree, Theodore was "helping" set up for Christmas. The tree was tiny, being able to fit in the car with us, but it was still big enough to climb which made it the perfect size. The tree looked fake, but I could still smell the fresh, wild pine and thought it just came naturally from our position.
"Save yourself, Theo." Alvin shivered, "or you'll be their next victim."
"You look cold." Theodore simply stated, completely ignoring Alvin's "warnings" and he then gave me a look of confusion, "Why not go in the hot-tub?"
"Great idea!" Dave explained, "Once you kids are done warming up, you can help with the tree." Before Dave could even finish his sentence, Alvin bolted down the hall, leaving me to stumble behind him. Forgetting about our clothes, we dove into the hot pool of bubbling water. The warm sensations of the water that relaxed all of my muscles broke through the barrier that my fur created and touched my skin, relieving me of all the stress Alvin caused. I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds of three other splashes. Okay, I know math wasn't really my thing, but by my count, there was only five of us in the tub. Who were we missing?
"Theodore," Eleanor brought up, "Aren't you going to come in?" My eyes opened and searched for the large body that sat on the edge of the hot-tub. Theodore had his head down, his ears drooped, and his eyes closed; for a second I thought he'd ignore Eleanor's question.
"Oh… No thank you." He stuttered.
"Didn't you want to?"
"Yeah," Alvin broke in, "You were the one who suggested it. Have a little fun."
"I changed my mind." Theodore replied. I knew he was a little self-conscious about his weight, but that never stopped him from doing something he wanted before. In fact, he never acted like this unless something was wrong. "I'll just keep watch so no one drowns." Jeez, was he ever depressed. We argued, saying that it wouldn't be as fun without him in, but he rejected any invitations we could offer. We were right, it wasn't the same without little Theo. Without him, Eleanor swam still, unable to enjoy herself to the fullest. The most we could do was splash around with little floaters until finally my sisters and Simon stepped out, dripping wet and strode through the hall to help with the tree set-up. We were left alone, me and Alvin, stuck with each others company. That was a good thing, right? Right, but onl until he opened his big mouth.
"You're not very good at snowball fights." Alvin said with a tired smirk.
"Don't even go there!" I threatened, "You lost fair and square."
"Three against one isn't fair!" He argued.
"But you fired first, Mr. 'I'm so 'I'm so awesome'!" I retorted. His arguing was getting on my last nerve and I knew I had to shut him up, "More like Mr. Chicken."
"Only a chicken calls others chicken!"
"A chicken would know! Only cowards fire first, and at a girl too!" I swear I saw his eye twitch when I called him a coward; that was the easy way to win an argument, however it also had it's risk of starting a whole new fight.
"Only a coward would call me a coward!"
"Are you calling me a coward?" I swam closer like a shark would to its next meal, "First you call me Dave, then a chicken, now a coward?!"
"Prove me wrong." He smirked.
"Alright, Munk," I raised my voice, "name any one thing and I guarantee that I can do it BETTER than you!" He grinned his evil grin, the one that made me think he was literally an evil genius, and for the first time I thought about what I'd just gotten myself into. My anger got the best of me; I'd have to follow through with whatever he dared me to do.
"Hmph, okay," He said, looking around. He stopped and stared out the window and at the frozen lake, "Let's go skating."
Not my brightest hour, agreeing to Alvin to go skating on a frozen lake. After decorating the tree and after Dave goes to bed, that is when we find out who's braver. Decorating the tree wasn't that bad, but my thoughts were on other things. What if Dave found out? What if the ice caved in while one of us was on it? We'd be dead; for both of those answers, we would die. I carefully place on another random decoration in a random spot and while in my own separate state, ended up telling my sisters about the dare.
"Are you insane?!" They whispered sharply when Dave packed everything we didn't put up, "You can't do that!"
"Relax, girls." I attempted to comfort them, "I'll be fine. It's not like anything bad can happen." I didn't believe my own words. I knew there were risks, but I couldn't let Alvin get the best of me. "Why don't you come out and watch? You know, for moral support." They agreed, but they didn't look happy about it.
"Okay, everyone, time for bed." Dave ordered sleepily and walked down the hall, further and further, into his own room.
"You told them?!" Alvin said, outraged at the fact that I couldn't keep a secret from my own sisters.
"Don't be mad, think of them as judges to see who's braver."
"They're your sisters, of course they'll think you're braver." He turned towards his brothers, who were already laying down on their spots on the bed, "If you get your sisters, then I get my brothers." He held out his hand, "Deal?"
"Deal." I agreed quietly.
Late at night, me and Alvin woke up and shook our siblings awake.
"What do you want, Alvin?" Simon yawned.
"You guys are coming outside with us to help judge our little bet." Alvin replied, getting right to the point.
"No."
"Yes, now come on!" Alvin dragged his younger brother out from under the sheets and rolled him around to wake him. Simon only grunted. Surely he'd seen something like this coming. Theodore was silent, but came nonetheless. My own siblings woke with ease, but hesitated as we began our descent outside.
"What is this bet?" Simon asked as we all got our coats on over our nightwear.
"We're going skating to see who's braver." Alvin stated.
"What?! Alvin, you can't do that! It isn't safe!" This got me worried, Simon didn't think this was a good idea either, and I knew what he meant by this wasn't safe.
"Relax, nothing's gonna happen." That was all Alvin said before we climbed out the window and headed toward the frosty lake.
What on Earth was I thinking?! I knew I had my doubts, but this was ridiculous! I couldn't do this, it was way to dangerous. I quivered as we approached the iced water with our siblings slowly behind us. I couldn't go on that! The ice didn't look that strong, what could any of us do if it caved in on me or Alvin? I'd be a goner. No… I couldn't let fear get in the way; I would win this. I would show Alvin that I'm braver, end the argument, and most of all: get him to shut up. If Alvin won, he'd be all over it for weeks.
We agreed that each of us would only have to skate for a few minutes, that's all the time we'd need, then we'd head back inside into the warm cabin and under the even warmer covers of the soft, warm bed. Thinking of warm thoughts while in the cold was not working… The wind wasn't blowing, but still I froze. The natural cold of the night air was more than enough to make my fur stand and see my own breath. Jeanette and Eleanor shivered beside Theodore while Simon just sat back with a look of disapproval painted across his face.
"I really think you shouldn't do this," He warned, "The ice looks like it might cave in." Simon, SHUT UP! I'm scared enough, I don't need you saying one of us will likely drown!
"Lighten up, Si." Alvin spoke so calm, it was like he'd done this a million times, "It's had all this time to freeze and on a cold night like this, we'll be perfectly fine." Simon only scowled, but softened when Jeanette clung to him for warmth.
"Ugh… Just hurry up and don't do anything else stupid."Alvin rolled his eyes and I figured Simon took it as an approval. It was time to begin; close to midnight, almost the middle of winter, skating on a seemingly frozen lake with a slight chance of death, nothing had a definite answer tonight.
"You made the challenge," I nodded towards Alvin, "You go first." Without hesitation, he jumped on the ice and slipped around before regaining his balance. I heard his claws scrape across the frozen land that his skated across and I slowly eased up as time went by. He began to get cocky, skating backwards and spinning around in circles.
"Whoo hoo!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, "This is fun!" I was simply being mocked. As he slid farther out from the shore, I thought I could hear faint crackling sounds from the ice, kind of like bubble-wrap except not as loud or sudden. Maybe it was just my imagination, but either way I tensed.
"Please be careful." I whispered and noticed Simon look at me. Without turning to his brother, he spoke.
"Alvin, your time's up." He said, "And I'll be right back." He ran off before we could ask any questions, but not in the direction of the cabin.
"Your turn." Alvin said with a cocky smile, "Unless you're scared." Truthfully, nothing scared me more than falling through the lake and having the last thing I see be the blackness of the water. Fear flowed through every inch of my body, but it also pushed me to go on with the bet. I would not let Alvin have his victory. I shoved him as I made my way on the ice, going out further than he had. I shook, but not because I was cold, and I hoped no one noticed. The further out I went, the colder I got and the more the little voice inside my head told me to go back. Oddly enough, it sounded like the annoying responsible sound Simon made before we started.
"Be careful!" Jeanette and Eleanor shouted. Gee, thanks for encouragement… I flinched when I thought I heard the crackling sound again, my heart skipping a beat and leaving me paranoid with the thought of dying so instantly. I could sense everyone's fear along with my own. I turned my head back towards the crowd; my sisters, paw in paw as they gave me fearful looks with frightened eyes. I wish I could tell them I was fine, but the words clumped in my throat. Simon was returning from wherever he ran off to, dragging a large stick behind him, and I quietly joked that it was to hit Alvin with. Theodore shook more than usual in these situations, probably from the cold, and Alvin's cockiness was diminished. I expected to see him with his stupid smile or to show little interest in how long I was lasting, thinking he'd already won. But instead his eyes were glued to me with a strong intensity that made me forget he was a joker. The seriousness in his face told me that something was wrong and it had nothing to do with our little bravery bet.
"Brittany, I think you should get off the ice." He stammered. Was he serious or was this a stupid trick?
"Why?" I asked, "Scared that I'll beat you? Want me to get off so you can say you're braver?" More crackling shuddered my ears and I was dumb enough to ignore it.
"Brit, you win. Just please get off the ice." He was begging me? What got into him all of a sudden? He even admitted I won! Something was wrong, I needed to get off the ice like he said. Before I could react, a huge snap broke my eardrums and before I knew it, the cold blackness of the water consumed me.