ice cold | tmr

1

"Don't do it, Frankie." A boy sat before her, brown haired, green eyed, and freckled. "They'll throw you in the maze, or they'll kill you! They might even inject you with the virus."

"I'm sorry, Charlie." The girl sighed, her appearance matching him almost identically. "I can't watch them keep killing our friends. I wish you would just do it with me. We could save them all."

"I've been trying to keep us safe! What don't you understand? We're protected here."

"Thomas is doing this with me. I can't understand why you and Teresa are so adamant about helping WICKED. They're evil, can't you see that?"

"WICKED is good, Frankie."

-

WICKED IS GOOD, FRANKIE.

The phrase bounced around her head, seemingly echoing and ricocheting off of every crevice of her brain.

Slowly, she opened her eyes. But she was met with darkness.

WICKED IS GOOD, FRANKIE.

There was that phrase again, but what did it mean? What was WICKED? What did they do that was so good? Who is Frankie? Is that her?

Frankie must be her name.

How could she not be sure of her name? Actually, how could she not remember anything?

Suddenly, the sound of metal on metal rang out around her, pulleys and levers moving in disarray. Frankie was thrown off her feet as her entrapment lurched upward. She suddenly realized she was in some type of elevator.

An overwhelming feeling of pride washed over Frankie. She somehow knew she had achieved a goal. Somehow she knew she had wanted to be moving upward in that elevator. She didn't feel fear.

Yet.

Minutes flew by quickly, and before she knew it, the metal sounds grew quieter, and the box slowed to a stop. With one last clank, she was completely still. The silence that followed was intense, all that Frankie could hear was her own breathing.

She slowly got back up on her feet, and began to examine the four walls that surrounded her. She found that the metal walls were lined with wooden barrels, cardboard boxes, and large metal canisters.

She thought for a moment, and then reached to open one of the boxes. As she freed one of the folds, a sudden bright light shone in from a sliver on the top of the box. The light was blinding, and kept attacking her eyes as the sliver expanded.

It took Frankie a few moments to adjust to the light, and when she finally did, she could make out the faces of two girls standing above her. They smiled warmly down at her, but it did not make her feel any less uneasy.

One of the girls had pale skin and platinum blonde hair, which was braided on one side. The other was much deeper in complexion, and dreadlocks that fell to her shoulders.

"Hey there, newbie. You want some help getting out of there?" The blonde asked, and held her hand out to Frankie.

Frankie gladly accepted the request, and the girl aided her in climbing out of the box.

"Welcome to the Spring." The girl with dreadlocks said, holding her arms up as if to show off their surroundings.

Snow, Frankie though to herself, It's snowing!