Whisper

Chapter 31

Clarise rubbed her head sorely as her other hand held an ice pack on the back of her head as she just sat on the floor with Frost. 

"Did you really need to call that BEYOND guy?" Frost was in a middle of scooping up water in her hand and crumbing it into another bucket, just filling a bucket with chunks of ice. 

The motel the group had stopped at had a broken ice machine, but lucky for them Frost was a walking ice maker.  Also luckily for them the motel was near-abandoned, with a exhausted front-desk worker who checked them all in rooms with no questions asked. Now the group had split into their quickly assigned rooms. 

Frost and Clarise in one room. 

Weaver and Link in another. 

And Spring and Golem in the last one. 

"He helped me," Clarise whispered, since the sound of her own voice made her headache worse, "So I wanted to help him." 

"You should've just let him get captured again," Frost sighed, poking at the ice bucket to mindlessly busy herself, "He might just turn around and try to recapture us." 

"He won't." Clarise rose and stretched, putting the ice pack down. The ice pack was just a towel wrapped around a block of ice, curtesy of Frost. She looked to the bed and pulled the covers, scrunched her nose at the musty smell. She can't see it, but she knows of the hundreds upon thousands of bedbugs crawling all over the sheets. "Want to sleep in the same bed?" 

This wasn't really a question, it was more like a suggestion as both the girls were a tad bit grossed out by this room. Everyone was a bit put off by their rooms, but no one was going to complain. 

"I don't think that's a good idea." Frost murmured, staring at her damp hands that had a layer of frost on them. She quickly wiped it on her clothes, just trying to forget the fact she couldn't really touch anything. "I don't want to freeze you in your sleep." 

Just staring down at her hands, red and wet from just handling ice. She couldn't feel cold anymore, though she didn't know what warmth felt like anymore. 

As part of her study at the facility she would dunk her hands in boiling water and they would see how long it would take for the water to freeze over. They would increase the amount of water every time, and every time it would freeze within seconds. 

Of course there were more things the facility did to her, but that was more of the memorable tests. 

All of the sudden a pair of hands wrapped around hers and she instinctively tried to pry her hands away. Only to be held tighter. 

"W-wait Clar-" Frost felt her eye burn with frozen tears as she watched the ice spread up Clarise's arms. "Please let go!" 

Clarise didn't budge, even though her arms were screaming to be released. Despite being frozen from the outside in, it felt like they were burning. Every fiber of her being wanted to pull away, while she could still feel her fingers. 

"Listen to me closely," Clarise's mind was strong, not hindering even when her instincts were going haywire. Frost was panicking and struggling, surprised how this feeble woman was actually quite strong. "Ava! Listen to me." 

It's been so long since Frost heard her real name, her old name. The name she was given and called by those who loved and cared for her. She always thought that name was boring. Just three little letters only made up of two. 

"Cl-clarise I-I can't! I can't control it!" 

"Ava just remember what it was like to hold someone else's hand." Clarise tried to grip Frost's hand tighter, but her hands were not responding at all, "Just remember what someone else's warmth feels like." 

Her mind was steadfast, knowing what the outcome of this situation is. Though the actual execution is excruciating. 

"I-I I can't!" Frost blinked a couple times, the ice chunks falling from her eyes, freeing real tears that felt molten hot as they rolled down her cheeks. "I can't- I want - I can't!" 

"Ava," Clarise's voice was calm, "Ava you are stronger than you know, just remember what warmth felt like. What it was like to tan in the sun and just feel the rays on your skin." 

 Frost closed her eyes, trying to remember the last time she got to see her parents. It was just before she was entered into the facility. Her mother went to give her a hug, tears in her eyes, and just before she got to touch her daughter she was pulled away by the security. 

The last time she hugged her mom was just before prom. Once again her mom had tears in her eyes, crying about how beautiful her little princess was. She took a million photos of Frost in her blue gown. Forget about her date, it was all about Frost. And just before she left, Frost got the biggest back-breaking hug from her mom, smothered in her mom's warmth and floral perfume. 

When she opened, Clarise was smiling at her, finally letting go of her hands and showing them right in front of her. Clarise's hands were red but fine. She even wiggled her fingers around for good measure. 

"See?" Clarise's voice was soft and calming, "I'm perfectly fine." Suddenly she put both hands on Frost's shoulders, "Now go take a shower and I'll get you some pajamas." 

Frost was so shaken up that she didn't even realize what Clarise said until Clarise stood up and walked around her, grabbing the room's key and walking out. 

Just sitting on the floor in a daze, eventually looking down at her hands.

She's been in the same outfit for a year and awkward chemical showers. She never got to shave her legs without freezing the razors, nor hold utensils without having them crumble into pieces. 

It was actually so easy to just turn off her powers.

Who knew?