Lost People in Hidden Places

Chapter 14: Night Scarin'

We actually heard 'em before we saw the cracks. It began as a low growl deep in the ice. In seconds it rumbled up with surprisin' force. Freck's eyes were round as hula hoops. Her head was flippin' this way and that. Terror flashed in 'em like lightnin' bolts. The sound was so loud I thought a volcano was explodin' b'neath us. The ice groaned bloody murder like the whole continent was takin' a knife in the stomach.

Captain Bobcat screamed, "Get the hell outta here!" Our rope line all turned 'round ta run back the way we came. I fell and was dragged by the others. I couldn't get up. They were runnin' too fast.  I kept slippin'. There was no way ta get my feet back under me. I bounced over the hard lumpy surface like I was bein' dragged by a pickup truck over cobblestones. Then Freck fell too. It didn't slow the mad rush. Not at all. Pure panic powered their feet.

Did I feel a bone break? I was purty sure of it. A sudden jolt stabbed my side, then another excruciatin' blow to my knee. I was bein' busted ta smithereens. If I screamed no one could hear. The deep rumblin' groans was louder than a squadron of jet airplanes takin' off.

Freck was just ahead, flappin' 'gainst the ice like a flag in a hurricane. We ain't gonna survive, I thought. I was sure of it. All of a sudden the ice split. A major piece broke straight off. Freck and me was jerked to a sudden stop. We was over the edge danglin' by ropes. 'Gainst my good sense I opened my eyes. There was nothin' beneath me. The white at the top gave way to light blue. The blue gradually darkened ta neverendin' black. Them excruciatingly loud noises continued, but they seemed to be slowly creepin' away, like thunder movin' with a storm. I screamed, "Freck!" as loud as I could. I don't think she heard me. We was swayin' back and forth like a two kid pendulum over the gigantic abyss.

Then I woke up.

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My stomach hurt. I flew off the bed, ran to the bathroom, and puked enough to fill a silo. I knelt on the floor with my head hung over the bowl until the spasms finally slowed.

Bright-gray, Gee, stood in the doorway lookin' sympathetically confused. "Was it the dinner?" he asked.

"Maybe. I don't know. Give me a sec."

After being sick like that ya have to rinse out your mouth with fresh water, or the taste alone would make ya do it again. I splashed my face. In the mirror what I saw didn't look like me. It was a boy with very blonde hair like mine, but his eyes was bloodshot, his lips was purple, and his skin was whiter than a lizard's belly. Too weak to stand, I slumped down onta the rock floor.

Gee called out ta me, "Are you okay in there? Should I call a doctor?"

I moaned, "No, is . . . Freck . . . okay?"

Without leavin' my room, Gee tuned inta her thoughts. Then he spoke ta me, "Wishes if you are feeling a little better do you mind if I go check on her in person?"

I didn't dare go too far away from the potty. I wasn't even sure I could get off the floor again. "Go," I told him.

It turned out Freck was just as sick if not sicker than me. It warn't the food. We both knew it was the dream. She shared it with me step-by-godawful-step. I didn't know dream sharin' was possible. Don't dreams come from inside your own head? Maybe it was like mind-reading. Or maybe, and this thought scared the heck outta me, what if it came from outside us, like what the sirens do? They get inta yer brain and make you believe anything they want. What if it was a warning?

I pulled myself up and stumbled into Freck's room. Phew! I almost gagged. The smell of someone else's puke is worse than your own. My eyes was waterin'. I hoped ta find Gee there, but sumpin' else musta called him away.