Internal Freeze

Black Ice

They drove for a while, listening to music and talking about anything that popped into their minds.

"Would you rather... Eat an elephant or a rhino?" Tom chuckled, thinking about the question. "Elephant." She looked at him in disgust. "What? A rhino would be too tough." Eliza rolled her eyes at him, "Yeah, but it's an elephant!" He chuckled, "So?" She put emphasis on her words as she spoke, "Sooo they're endangered!" Tom let out another laugh, "So are rhinos!" Eliza flopped back in her seat over dramatically. "Such a diva. Why didn't you wanna pursue theatre? I thought you liked it."

She straightened up again, "Don't get me wrong, I still love theatre! I had just really hoped that I would get to serve my country like my father did, and then go into some form of mechanical engineering. I mean, it's not what I really want to do with my life, but it's what'll give me a good, stable job that'll provide for me." He looked at her with sadness, "Don't waste your life doing something that you don't want to do. No amount of money is worth your happiness." She sighed heavily, "I know, but..."

"But what?" he looked at her with caring eyes, waiting for a response. "Every time I saw what I want to do with my life, people always tell me, 'You need a back up plan.' 'You're never gonna make a living.' 'Try something else.' 'Do something that'll make a difference.' 'Writing and acting can be a hobby, but do something better with your life!' 'Be like Emily! She's going to be a doctor!' I'm just sick of hearing it all, so I settled." He placed a hand on her thigh in a comforting motion, "Eliza, you can't let other people dictate what you do with your life. If they have issues with it, that's their problem. I know you feel like Emily gets all the attention, but you'll have your time in the sun." She placed her hand atop his, "Thanks. You're always there when I need you to be." He smiled at her, "That's right. And I'll be here as long as you want me to."

As they drove on, Eliza noticed how tired Tom was getting. "Hey, how about I drive for awhile and you take a nap," she suggested. He nodded his head as a big yawn escaped his mouth. He pulled over so they could switch seats and continue on their journey.

The roads were pretty bad, but people were still able to drive on them. Both hands on the steering wheel, her mind began to wonder, and she found herself thinking about all the things they just talked about. She got onto the bridge that goes over the large, icy river. When she was half way across it, the figure of a human stood in their path. She swerved the car to try and miss him, but he suddenly vanished. The tires hit a patch of black ice and the car spun out of control. Tom was awake now, and he was looking around frantically. The car broke through the metal guardrail and plummeted down towards the river below.

They hit the water with a large splash, and water instantly started to fill the car. She unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to Tom, who was struggling with his. She tried helping, but it wasn't budging. Tears rolled down her face as  as she tried with all her might to get him free. The water was rising quickly, and it was now up to their chests.

"Eliza! Listen! I'm not going to make it-" She cut him off right there, "No, no you are gonna make it, we're gonna make it together!" He became a little exasperated, "No Eliza, I can't get out. But you can." She looked at him, panic washed over her features. "W-what are you-" They were struggling to keep their heads above the water, and he opened his car door, shoving her out. Her body instantly began to float upwards slowly, but steadily despite her efforts to go back down. She could feel her throat tightening as the urge to breathe became greater and greater. Her thoughts were disconnected and her vision grew blurry, and she lost consciousness before she reached the surface.