Fissure

Fissure (4)

My shoes squeaked on the floors, making chills run up my spine. Instead of being sunny and calm as the weather predicted, the sky had turned a hard, grey color. It had begun snowing in the early morning, which was something no one in Fissure was prepared for. They walked into school, fluffy jackets thrown around them, shivering. Rick drove me to school, told me he wouldn’t be home until six because he was picking up snow-chains from the store and left me to deal with the snow alone. 

Dale had mysteriously gone missing. I searched for him everywhere, where we first met, the hallways, even class. The boy had simply vanished. Even ringing his phone was useless, all I got was stupid busy tone. 

“What’s cracking, Dahls?” Claudia asked, falling into step beside me, linking her arm through mine and guiding me towards the warmth filled library where we had our first lesson. 

“Ice, ice cracks doesn’t it?” 

She gave me a skeptical look, before barking out a humorless laugh and flipping her hair behind her shoulder, giving me a good view of her very obvious collarbone. She hunched her shoulders forwards and the thing almost looked like it would break her skin. It dipped and curved towards her neck and I couldn’t help but look at it. She slapped my cheeks together and I stepped backwards, stopped walking and glared out the window at the snow. 

“You OK?” 

I wanted to nod, say yes, continue walking and never speak of anything even remotely supernatural again, but her eyes urged me to say exactly what I was thinking. That she was there for me. 

“Ugh, Dale’s not here.” 

She smiled broadly, showing glittering teeth that were as white as the snow. This may have been the firs time I was paying attention to her, she was always there, sitting in the background or dragging me out of school for coffees or hot chocolates, but she was never really there to me. Just a backing track. 

“You there? Dahlia!” 

“Sorry, what?” 

She dropped her hands that were obstructing my vision and stepped in my line of sight. I looked at her and she flicked my nose. Making it vibrate from tip to bridge. I looked down at it, not completely satisfied with the numbness filling my nose. 

Claudia glared. 

“Get out of your bubble, we have to get to class.” 

“I like my bubble,” I moaned, she grabbed my arm and dragged me forwards, voiding all hesitation with a simple tug of her leather cladded arm. 

*** 

My ride lurched forwards, which made me promise myself I’d never accept a ride from Claudia again, she stopped at the corner, her face red as a tomato. 

“Ugh, you’re screwing up the car, it doesn’t like you, get out.” 

“Seriously? In the snow?” 

She gave me a dull look, and I returned it. She bared her teeth, then smiled, “Fine, don’t get out, my car will continue to splutter and die, and when we’re finally stranded on the side of the road, in the snow, without anyone to call to help, will you still say you didn’t want to leave?” 

“Yes, I will. Your car will not break down.” 

She pulled over, the side the road snow ridden, the only tracks visible in the snow were footprints were people walked recently. My fingers tingled, uncovered. The only thing that was warm right now was my butt because it was pressed against the warmth of Claudia’s fluffy car seat.