Alexa Frostbite

5 - The Awakening

It was dark in the chamber, the air cold and thick. Black stones leaked vines onto the ceiling, the floor, the walls. A dripping could be heard. Blood or water? You couldn't tell – no matter how long or hard you listened. 

Jake picked his way over the moss, his lungs frozen in his chest. But that didn't stop him. At this point, he felt that nothing could. In front of him, Max still had possession of the knife. Jake thought about trying to take it from him, but his hands were shaking too hard. Whether it was from the cold or the fear, he didn't know. As the two of them headed down the steps, he tried his best not to trip. His numb legs really weren't helping.

"What is this place?" he breathed out into the dark. He even expected the dark to breathe back. But nothing – no one – answered. Max ploughed toward the coffin at the bottom of the steps. Unlike the rest of the chamber, it was small and humble. Like a wallflower at a party. For some reason, Jake felt like he'd seen it before, somewhere. He took a step closer and around him, the world sharpened. On the lid of the coffin, it was just plain wood. No writing, no dates. No name. From beside him, Max gasped.

"I can't believe it". Shouldn't I be the one saying that? Jake thought. He refused to acknowledge what sat in front of him. The truth. It was starting to get all too real. Every horror movie he'd seen, every Halloween party he'd attended was nothing compared to this.

"After all this time," Max breathed, moving forward and giving the lid of the coffin a heavy shove. Jake grabbed his arm.

"What are you doing?!" His grip tightened.

"What does it look like?" said Max, his murderous calm having vanished. He shook him off and began pushing the coffin lid off of its base. Something inside Jake broke. He couldn't let him open the coffin, no matter what happened. Before he could use his brain, he snagged the sleeve of Max's coat, yanked him backwards so hard that he hit the chamber wall. With a grunt, he righted himself. The knife shimmered.

"You"—

"I can't let you open that coffin. I just can't". Max lunged. They met halfway, slamming punches into each other's jaws and kicking each other's legs out from under them. The knife wavered in-between.

"I should've killed you when we first met. Like my parents told me. Would have saved myself the trouble!" Max yelled, smashing his fist into Jake's stomach. He doubled over but straightened up just in time to bat the knife away. Max took the opportunity to push him backwards, so he smacked into the coffin lid. A moment later, it crashed onto the floor. A breath hitched, and it was then that he saw her. The girl from his dream, the girl with Lilly's face. In the flesh. Her cheeks, pinched and pale, were shadowed by the blackness of her hair. Her fringe covered one of her eyes and the one that he could see was closed. In the coffin, she'd been presented on a black velvet cushion, dressed in an outfit to match. Her bare feet were covered in dirt. Jake let himself breathe a gasp he hadn't realised he'd been holding. She was there, right in front of him. She was beautiful. She was— A sharp pain tore through him, and he gasped as Max shoved him to the floor, the knife he'd just nicked him with raised high above his head. Jake pulled himself up onto his elbows and checked his side. It didn't look too bad.

"You ass!" he shouted, mainly because he couldn't think of anything else to say. Max ignored him, stepping up to the coffin and leaning over its occupant. He brought the knife closer.

"Stop! What are you doing?!" Jake tried desperately to stop him but found that his legs were no longer on team 'standing up'. All he could do was watch as Max held the knife higher and higher and higher still until it appeared as if it was floating.

"Alexa Frostbite," he breathed. "The Abomination. Your rest will finally become eternal."

"Stop, please," he winced from the stone. But Max wasn't listening. Jake felt his world starting to unravel.