Sub Zero

Chapter Twenty Five

I don't know why I'm going with him. Because I'm desperate to escape? Because he looks like Finn? I honestly don't know. But it's a way out, and I'm willing to risk anything. I just wish I knew how he was able to find me.

I steal a glance at his face as we run towards a fire escape at the end of the hall. His hair falls into his eyes.  He blows them out of his face boyishly. I almost giggle, until I see the frown on his face. Why is he so serious?

"Well, if it was a dream, then that would explain why nothing made sense. But now that I think about it, nothing adds up now either." I grimace, and almost stop running as I realize that this may be a dream also. But if it is, at least I'll see Finn again.

We reach the fire escape door. It leads  to a flight of concrete stairs that jutt out into the parking lot. Finn stops, so I do. Why isn't he opening the door?  "Um.... You might need this." He says and shoves the hoodie into my chest. I catch it before it falls to the floor.

I try to thank him, but for some reason, his face is turned away from me. My heart sinks. "Th- thanks." I say quietly. Instead of answering, he pops the door open. The fire alarm goes off.

"We only have about five minutes, maybe less, to get the heck out of here. I suggest you keep up." He barks. I nod and pull the hoodie over my head. I stick my arms through the sleeves and breathe in deeply. "It smells like him."

"Let's go!" He shouts, then slips through the door. I follow him.

I almost pause as I'm greeted with a chilled gust of wind carrying a swirl of snowflakes. Snowflakes? I thought it was still Autumn! I guess this proves how disoriented my train of thought is.

If it's snowing, it must be January. Or at least some Winter month. Isn't my birthday around this time?

I feel a pang of dread as I realize that my childhood is officially over. Haven't I always wanted to be an adult? I would've been able to live on my own, then. But now it doesn't really matter. Now, I miss my mom. How twisted is that?

We begin to race down the steps, and, to my surprise, I'm ahead of Finn. I'm even faster than him when my bare feet slip and slide on the sleet. I almost smile arrogantly at my new discovery, but I decide against it as I remember that his weakness is the cold. That is if he's still a fire Mage. Does that even apply to the real world? I glance over my shoulder and see him struggling to keep up. He seems to be almost immobilized by the cold.

After I hear him curse, I stop running. "What are you doing?" He yells. "We don't have much time! Don't wait for me!" I shake my head and decide to ignore his irritated tone.

What I'm about to do is absolutely crazy. How can I summon this great amount of magic when I had found it difficult to materialize a single snowflake not too long ago? It's ridiculous; and that's why I'm doing it.

I grit my teeth in concentration and try with all of my might to pull  the snowflakes in the air towards me. I wait for a moment, my hopes held high; but they continue to dance and swirl in their chaotic torrent in the sky. I sigh, feeling that I've been defeated. I'm about to just pull Finn along and run again, but something stops me.

Some dormant power in my body seems to roar to life, causing my blood to freeze and making every hair on my body stand on end. My eyes feel different. Everything in my vision begins to glow a pale blue. My eyes widen with both amazement and fear. What in the world is happening to me?

I experimentally point my trembling index finger towards the steps. For a moment, everything is completely still. The snow hangs in the air like some imaginary force is keeping it there. Finn has stopped moving, and stands in an awkward position. The sirens have even stopped their wailing. It's all so unreal; but it lasts only a moment.

I take a breath, and release it. In an instant every snowflake shoots forward in the direction I'm pointing. The wind picks back up and seems to guide the snow towards the cement steps.

The steps are soon completely covered in snow now, from the very top to the bottom. Before the magic ends, the crisp, fallen snow begins to decrease in temperature. It packs together and becomes crunchy before it finally becomes solid. The pristine, white color  of the edge of the stairs begins to change into a piercing pale blue. The blue spreads to the rest of the snow, and soon takes over the white.

I gasp and almost collapse as my new-found strength begins to wear off. The stone steps are now completely covered in a slide of wintry accumulation.

A jolt of excruciating pain slices through my head, but I try my best to ignore it. The sirens once again pierce through the air, the wind whips my hair against my face, and Finn is no longer immobile. "Come on." I say to him. I look over my shoulder. I smile in spite of myself when I see an extremely surprised look on Finn's face. "Well?" I ask, my hands on my hips. "If I act cocky I can ignore the pain. We have to keep moving."

His expression quickly morphs back to the stony glare that has claimed his features. I might be acting arrogant, but I'm actually wondering how I managed to create this. What was it that just happened to me?

I hear a shout. I turn around and see a horde of doctors and nurses spill out of the fire escape door. "Crap!" I yell. Finn takes one look at the crowd and dives down on his back like a child on a water slide. I raise my eyebrow curiously, then gasp as he reaches out and grabs my legs. I wince as my butt collides with the ice. He pulls me down with him while I desperately try to position myself where I can hold my gown down. The last thing I need is for him to see my underwear! "Let me go!" I yell, the wind stinging my eyes.

The two of us tear down the slide, and I imagine that it's quite the sight. If you were to witness the scene I would imagine that you'd find it somewhat hilarious. "F-Finn!" I yelp. I'm too distracted to see the smirk on his face as I tremble under his fingers, the flesh on my ankle being taken over by goosebumps.

My hair whips against my cheeks, and my eyes tear up as the cruel wind blows a flurry of snowflakes in my face. The slope is somewhat curved because of the steps. This means that it won't be a very easy landing for us.

At last, as the steps end, Finn lets go of my ankle. I sigh with relief as I shoot down beside him, but the feeling doesn't last long. I once again tense up as he snakes his arm around my waist  and pulls me to his chest. I glare at him, then quickly look away as I feel my cheeks grow hot due to that devious smile of his.

He grabs onto a rail, causing our bodies to jolt upwards from the unsteady forces. How is his arm not ripped out of socket? We finally stop our decent down the slide. I look up and see the Asylum staff bustling about with an air of agitation. It worked!

I hurriedly wiggle free from his grasp (still blushing), then stand, fitting the appearance of a baby giraffe. Finn rises, and I crack up as I realize that he's the most ungraceful creature ever. He shoots a glare in my direction. "Shut up, Ice Mage!" He growls, his legs wobbling. I return the glare with a teasing smile.  "Shut it, Pyro Freak!"

"How do you know that I'm a Pyro?" He shouts. I grin mischievously. "It's not that hard to tell that a hot-head like you has hot-head powers!" I say, laughing.

"Knock it off!" An elderly female voice shouts. I jump and whip my head around towards the parking lot to see Mrs. Inoue. My eyes grow wide. "Wha-," I manage to squeak out before she flicks her wrist towards me. A gust of wind slams into my face. What in the world? "I'll explain later, dear." She says innocently, and smiles.