102 - Riker falls into a frozen lake
Riker POV
We were at our cabin in Colorado and it was really nice to get away from life in California. Except I couldn't get my mind to shut off. I was overwhelmed about a lot of things and I couldn't sleep.
So I got up, went downstairs, put on my coat and snow boots, and went for a walk, using my phone as my flashlight. That's pretty much all my phone is useful for here. We don't have cell service in the mountains.
It was snowing lightly as I walked down to the lake. I was slightly afraid of bears, but if it's snowing, the bears are hopefully hibernating.
I sat down on the edge of the dock with my feet dangling over the edge. It was really cold and dark, but it was really peaceful. And it was helping me clear my mind.
I decided I wanted to walk on the ice, so I slowly slid myself off the edge of the dock, onto the ice. It held, so I took a few steps forward. Nothing happened, so I figured I was fine. I took a few more steps and heard a crack. I tried to turn around, but I was underwater before I knew what was happening.
I made sure to keep a tight grip on my phone, but the freezing cold water almost made it hard to move. It was shallow enough that I could stand up, but barely.
I got back over to the dock and struggled to climb out. I let go of my phone and let it sit on the dock while I tried to warm up. My fingers and toes were numb now. I was shivering and my teeth were chattering like crazy.
I sat there for a few minutes on the dock, trying to control my breathing and warm up a little, but I was just getting colder and colder.
This is bad. This is too cold.
I grabbed my phone and put it in my pocket. I didn't want to try to carry it because my hands were numb. I stood up and started trying to walk back to my cabin. But my body felt really stiff and tense from the cold. It was hard to walk and my feet were completely numb.
I got to my driveway and immediately tripped over something and ended up on the ground in the snow. I just laid there for a minute, trying to get the strength to get up again. It felt impossible. My boots and jacket are so heavy from being soaked.
"Riker! What happened!?"
I looked up, seeing a flashlight coming toward me.
"R-Ross?"
"What happened? Why are you all wet?"
Ross grabbed my arm and helped me stand up.
"Did you fall through the ice on the lake?"
"Y-yeah."
"We need to get you inside. Your skin feels like ice."
He put his arm around me and helped me walk the rest of the way up the driveway. I practically collapsed on the floor once we got inside.
"W-why w-were y-you a-awake? H-how d-did y-you k-know-"
"I wasn't asleep yet. And when you didn't come back right away, I got worried."
Ross shut the door and turned on the kitchen light. It was enough to be able to see downstairs but hopefully still dark enough to not disturb our other siblings sleeping upstairs.
"Ok, I'm going to put you by the fire so you can try to warm up," Ross said.
I nodded, still shivering like crazy. Ross started pulling my clothes off of me. Once I was only in my underwear, he wrapped a blanket around me and helped me walk over to the fire. When I was settled, he knelt down next to me and wrapped his arms around me tight.
