Cold

Chapter Twenty

I've been walking around aimlessly for hours. I don't even know where I'm going anymore. I just know I have to find Lyla and get out of here. Wherever here is. I looked in front of me and saw Lyla. Except she was lying on the ground. I ran up to her and sat beside her.

"Lyla, are you ok?" I asked.

"Ha ha!!! You should see your face right now" she laughed, standing up. "Well, you found me. So now you get to ask a question." I stood up.

"I thought you had hurt yourself" I said.

"That was the point. It's like you don't know me at all" she said. I guess I should ask my question. But I have to play this out right. I only get one question, but I can get more answers. I looked at the picture.

"This is a nice picture. I thought I had a question about it, but I guess not" I said.

"Where did you get that?!? I've been looking forever for it" she said, taking it from me.

"I found it in a picture frame that was sticking out of the ground" I said. "There is a story along with that picture, isn't there?"

"Ooh you bugger. You played me. Well, I guess I could tell you what you want to know. As long as you promise not to tell anyone" she said. I nodded my head.

"Okay. This might hurt" she said as she put her hands on my head. I saw a flash of light and then -

***

I woke up in a bed beside Lyla. I stood up and shook her awake.

"Lyla. Wake up. Where are we?" I asked. She woke up and looked at me.

"We are in my childhood room" she said.

"Why are we here?" I asked. "I thought you were going to answer my questions."

"I am. You just need a little back story for it all to make sense" she said. "Come with me." She grabbed my hand and led me out of her room and into an enormous hallway with two grand staircases. She brought me to a room to the right of them, that looked like a dining room. At the table was the five people from the picture.

"What do you see?" Lyla asked. I looked at the scene.

"You and your family sitting at the table" I said.

"No. Look deeper. Look not at the setting but at the situation. What do you think is happening?" she asked. I looked at the family again. No one has a smile. Lyla and her brothers look like they could cry. The father looked mad, and the mother looked terrified.

"The mother shared her secret. The kids are scared that their mother could hide such a thing. However, the mother is scared because the father reacted in such a way that means he is either disappointed, or extremely mad" I said.

"Try again. Trust me, we all knew the secret way before this moment" said Lyla.

"Maybe the father said something.....-"

"Wrong!!! Man you suck at this. Think. If it helps, think about what you have been through up until this moment" said Lyla. Why would she know what I have been through?!? Thinking back on it, I have been through quite alot. Both lies and the truth have brought me to where I am now. Even the bended truth. I don't even think I know what the truth is anymore.

"Everyone in this room has either been lied to, or told a series of bended truths that went too far, so much so that they don't know what the truth is. When they finally figured it out, they were either scared or mad because they wanted the truth to be something different. They wanted to think the truth was a good thing; something that would make them happy that it was kept hidden for so long. But when it finally got told, they were furious that it was hidden for so long. Now, nobody knows what to think. Nobody knows if they should trust the truth anymore. Why should they?!?" I explained. Lyla just stared at me.

"Damn" she said after a few minutes of intense silence. "I had no idea."

"Look, kid. I don't want your story, as much as it sounds like mine. I want my story. I need answers. And if you aren't willing to give them to me, I will wake up now" I yelled.

"Well on the bright side, you answered the question correctly. So onto the next scene" said Lyla as she grabbed my hand and pulled me to the living room. In the living room, I saw Lyla, sitting beside a body on the floor, crying, and an adult looking at her.

"What happened in this scene?!?" she asked. I looked at the people again. Lyla is clearly the little girl. But who is the boy on the ground?!? Why is he there?!? Who is the adult?!?

"I don't know" I said. Lyla gave me a look. So I looked at the people again. Without thinking, I sat beside the little boy, trying not to cry.

"Unbelievable" I said. "Your best friend died, so she came and gave you a deal so you would always see him. That deal was to turn you into the mountain, and she became the Cold's champion. Except the Cold doesn't exist. You guys convinced everyone that it did exist just so you can watch people kill each other until you could find someone to take your place. You need someone to become the mountain for you just so you can live again. That was her terms. That is why I'm here. You don't want to give me answers. You want to convince me to become mountain 2.0. You want me to leave all my friends behind. You want me to fill your place. Well, what about her. Did you really think she put those terms in on purpose?!? She probably loved you. She probably wants you to find someone new just so she can see your pathetic face again. Well guess what. I don't want to see your pathetic face again. I remember everything. Turning me into the mountain will not free me of this past-meets-present hell. I will not become the mountain. I am Summer. I am her. I am the one who started this, and I will be the one who ends it. Send me back Lyla."

"I can't -"

"Well find out how to. Because I am going to free everyone. Including you."