When Jack awoke the next morning he felt a little cold. That was odd, since he hadn't really felt anything but comfortably cool since the transformation, unless he went inside or near a fire (those were terribly hot, and made him very uneasy).
When he looked around, he realized that he could see only the tops of trees and houses. It had snowed almost ten feet overnight, and it hadn't stopped yet. He flew into the air, frantically searching the area for anyone who might be caught in the terrible storm. He hoped everyone had gotten inside. The wind was howling, a few power lines had been knocked out, and there was no way anyone was driving anywhere. Had he caused this?
He cleared a little hole in the snow out back of his house, deep enough that he could see into the window. His mom was bustling around, finding candles. The power was out. Emma was huddled under a thick blanket on the couch. Of course, if the power was out, so was the heating. If Jack was a little cold, everyone else must be freezing.
He blasted some more snow around the house, burying it further. He hoped it would insulate his family from the bitter cold.
The storm was stopping quickly now, but the snow still covered everything. Jack flew around the neighborhood, checking that people were alright. Everyone seemed huddled inside from the cold, but Jack still had a feeling that something was wrong. He flew down the next street, searching. He had an instinctive feeling, a kind of heaviness in his stomach, that someone was stuck in his snow.
My snow, he thought. If someone had gotten hurt because of him…
Suddenly he saw it. Or rather, he felt it. Deep in the woods behind his neighborhood, someone was struggling through the thick snow. He sped through the trees, finally realizing that the person was in the little cave near the river. Jack used to spend summer nights in that cave. It was a remote place, and at the moment, completely buried. He could sense someone digging, trying to get out.
Jack raised his staff and spun it towards the large snowdrift. A gust of wind blew, and the snow carved away, creating a tunnel into the cave. Jack ran in and saw Highland laying at the entrance to the cave, weak and shivering.
"Highland!" Jack cried, stopping abruptly. "How did you get out here?"
Highland raised his head slowly. "Jack?" he asked, seeming dazed. "Help…"
Jack didn't even stop to register the fact that Highland could see him. He pulled Highland up, draping his arm around his shoulder. Together they walked out of the cave and into the snow-filled woods. As soon as they reached the edge of the tunnel leading into the cave, Highland collapsed. Jack picked him up and flew towards the nearest hospital. If Highland hadn't been unconscious and the situation so serious, Jack would have loved showing off his flying to him. But as it was, all Jack could do was worry.
He looked Highland over as he flew. His lips and fingers were blue, he was wearing no protective clothing. The most he had on were sneakers and a jacket. He must have been stuck in that cave for a while. What had Jack done?