Saving Winter

Prologue

  Winter Marie plopped dramatically onto the fallen log and let out a long sigh.
Being six was hard work, especially when your favorite playmate was two years older than you and had considerably longer legs.
"Winter, come on slowpoke!" Erik yelled from across the worn dirt path where he stood, poking at some foreign object with a long stick.
"You are going too fast, I can't keep up." Winter pouted, crossing her chubby arms and sniffling slightly.
Erik finally tore his gaze from the fascinating mushroom and looked at Winter.
He noticed the tears in her eyes and started to panic.
Girls were always crying, he had lots of girl cousins, so he would know, and he never knew what to do to make them happy again.
He crossed the path and sat down beside Winter, poking her arm.
"I'll slow down if you want me to." He sighed and hoped she could see what a big sacrifice he was making just for her.
Winter perked up, looking very hopeful.
"A little bit." Erik clarified.
He figured they could meet halfway.
"Well then, you have yourself a deal. IF we can go swimming at the creek." Winter added slyly. Nobody ever went swimming with her, and it was about time someone did.
"You have a creek?" Erik asked, eyes wide.
"Well.... yes. It's my creek, but daddy says I should't go there." Winter sighed.
"Why not?" Erik asked.
If a girl had her own creek, it wasn't fair to not let her go see it sometimes.
"Daddy says it's dangerous." Winter rolled her eyes.
"Dangerous? How can a creek be dangerous? Alligators?" Erik asked, uncertainly.
"Don't know. But usually I can't go alone. But this time I won't be alone, since you're with me." She smiled and poked him.
Erik puffed up his chest and smiled, "Yes. I'm a good swimmer and I'm not afraid of any old creek. Or alligators. Just ninjas."
Winter pushed herself off the log and grabbed Erik's hand, tugging him off his seat.
"Let's go!"
They followed the beaten trail down to the old creek, occasionally stopping to examine an insect or pick up a few pretty stones.
"Does your dad ever take you swimming here?" Erik asked.
"Sometimes, but not anymore really. My mommy is sick and can't leave the house much, so she can't take me, and my dad usually takes care of her." Winter dragged a stick behind her, looking over her shoulder every few seconds to see the patterns the stick made in the dirt.
Erik frowned, "My parents hardly ever take me anywhere. It's usually my nanny."
Winter looked at him, intrigued.
"She takes care of me most of the time. My parents think I'm a nuisance." he explained.
"Oh." Winter had no idea what a "nuisance" was, but it sure sounded bad.
"Yeah. But sometimes I escape through the window when I'm supposed to be resting." Erik smiled devilishly.
"Like today?" Winter asked.
"Yep, like today." Erik poked Winter's side and took off running, "You're it!"
Winter chased Erik on and off the trail, stopping only once to point to a rabbit by an old tree.
The sound of the whispering creek suddenly grew into a much louder splashing roar, and Erik stood, eyes wide as he watched the water rush by.
"This is my creek." Winter said smugly, noticing how impressed Erik seemed.
"Yeah. It looks kinda scary." Erik noted, a bit sheepishly.
Winter shrugged casually.
"It's not so bad unless it's still early spring, like now. The ice melts and the creek gets bigger." She opened her arms as wide as she could for emphasis.
"Maybe we shouldn't go swimming after all..." Erik cried, looking at the dark water with a wary eye.
"I think it would be fine, as long as we stay where we can touch the bottom." Winter pouted.
Erik looked skeptical and shook his head, "No, I'll watch."
Winter rolled her eyes.
Scardy cat.
She sat on the soft ground and pulled off her socks and shoes, setting them neatly by a big rock.
"I don't know about this, Winter...." Erik looked nervous.
Winter rolled her eyes once more and stepped into the water.
The cold nearly took her breath away, but she loved the mud squishing between her toes and the feel of the water against her bare feet.
"Look! A minnow!" Winter pushed forward against the current to see the small fish.
"Winter, come back! I'm scared..." Erik said, his face turning a bit pale.
Winter hesitated, but slowly inched back toward the bank.
"Erik, its very fun. At least come stick your feet in?" Winter pleaded.
Erik put his hand to his mouth and bit his thumb, deep in thought.
"If I do for a minute, will you come out?" he asked softly.
"Yes, I will. I promise." Winter assured him.
Erik sat down and slowly slid off his shoes.
He wasn't afraid of the water really, he was more afraid of what Winter's dad would do if he found them here.
One night he and Winter had gone to play in the treehouse and it was after dark before Winter had ran home.
Erik realized halfway home that he forgot his flashlight, and ran back to get it, only to hear Mr. Pierce raging and screaming at Winter for being late.
Yes, one thing that Erik definitely did not want to do was make Mr. Pierce upset.
Erik's left foot got stuck in the mud and he pulled it back out, laughing at the shhhhlop sound the mud made as he did.
His right foot accidentally kicked Winter's shoe into the creek.
"Oh no! NO! Daddy will be SO mad if I get my shoes wet!" Winter shrieked as she lunged for the shoe.
A large, slippery rock loomed just beneath the surface, and Winter lost her balance as soon as she set her foot on it.
The icy current dragged her down, and engulfed her.
Erik's screams were quickly drowned out by the rushing noise of her own head as she desperately tried to cling to one of the mossy rocks.
Her lungs felt like they were on fire, and she saw explosions of color before her eyes.
"Winter!....."
Then the world went black.  

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When Winter opened her eyes again, she was in an unfamiliar place in an unfamiliar bed. 
Everything was really, really big, and very, very white, and it smelled kind of like when mommy cleaned the house.
Winter's mom was beside her, holding her hand, and Erik's pale, worried face peeked up at her from under the rail on her funny bed.
"Winter, my love, how are you feeling?" Winter's mother asked softly, stroking the hair out of Winter's face.
"Cold. Tired. My head aches, mama. What happened?" Tears burned her eyes even as she struggled to blink them away.
Daddy always said that crying was for babies, and Winter didn't want to be called a baby anymore.
"Winter, you got swept away, and a big sharp rock poked you." Erik explained, wide eyed as he pointed to a bandage wrapped around her middle. "You scared me so bad. I'm so sorry I let you jump in. It won't happen again, I promise. You're like a queen, and I'll be your knight and I'll keep you safe forever. Even from ninjas!" Erik promised, thinking that he would be quite a good knight, although he still didn't like ninjas. They had a bad habit of appearing where you didn't think they would, and most of the time they were never where you thought they would be.
"Its okay, Erik. I should have listened to daddy. But.... Will you really keep me safe? Forever?" Winter felt rather happy with that thought.
"Yes, forever. I promise." Erik crossed his heart earnestly.
Winter smiled. She knew that Erik was special and she wouldn't ever let him go.
Loud footsteps echoed down the hospital hall, and Winter's mother blanched. 
"Erik, love, I need you to listen to me for a second," She turned to face the little boy with urgency in her eyes, "Go to the other side of the bed and crouch down like you're playing hide and seek, okay? And see how very quiet you can be until I tell you that you can come out again, okay?"
Erik nodded enthusiastically, noticing the dark shadows on Mrs. Pierce's face for the first time.
They looked like bruises. He wanted to study them for longer, but she frantically shoved him in around the bed and he hid.
"Winter, pretend you're asleep and don't open your eyes, baby." Mrs. Pierce whispered softly.
"Hadley, what is the meaning of this?" Caleb Pierce's boom felt earth-shaking, and Erik crouched lower. He really, really didn't like Winter's dad.
"Caleb, please lower your voice. Winter is sleeping." She pleaded.
"I heard she got swept downstream and that some of our neighbors fished her out." Caleb barked, only slightly lowering his voice.
"Yes, Caleb. Thank goodness for the Brownleys."
"What was she doing down by that river, Hadley? She knows better than that! That idiot girl will be punished." 
Erik squeezed his eyes shut and wished he were back home.
The tone in Mr. Pierce's voice scared him.
"She is six years old, for heaven's sake, don't be so hard on her. She already needed stitches, she collided with a sharp rock that-" A sharp crack cut off the rest of Mrs. Pierce's words.
"Shut up, woman. The girl will learn to obey me, or else. She is as headstrong as you. Tell the nurses to release her."
"Caleb, they would like to keep her for another 24 hours to keep an eye on her. The water was so cold that-" Another crack split the air, and Erik felt like the world was spinning.
"I said tell the nurses to release her. She can recover at home, and if she doesn't... one less burden to bear."
A cry from Mrs. Pierce made Erik's stomach swirl, she sounded so sad... "You don't mean that."
"I do." Mr. Pierce's cold statement froze Erik's heart still.
He didn't understand what was going on, but he understood that Winter's daddy was really, really mean, even meaner than ninjas. 
A door slammed and thunderous echoing footsteps called out Mr. Pierce's departure.
Erik studied the floor, his foot was falling asleep.
And why was the floor wet?
He realized that it was because he was crying.
"Erik? Oh, love." Mrs. Pierce scooped Erik up and cradled him in her arms.
Erik blinked and noticed that the side of her face was red and was starting to turn purple.
"Did he hurt you?" Erik demanded.
"No, no, of course not." Mrs. Pierce insisted. 
Erik knew that she was lying... but he couldn't figure out why.
Her eyes darted nervously around the room, and Erik finally decided that it was because she was scared.
"We need to get you home, love. And don't say a word about this to anybody, do you understand?" 
Erik nodded solemnly. He wasn't good at keeping secrets... but Mrs. Pierce was so scared that he knew he had to keep her secret if he didn't want her to get in trouble.