Whatever After #6: Cold as Ice Page 4

  Rope?

  I take another look at the floating heavy thing beside me. Oh! It is a rope! I take hold of it with my icy hands.

  “Hold on tight,” I hear.

  I do my best to squeeze my hands around the rope and hold on. I force every part of me to wrap my legs around the end. I feel it being yanked. I am being pulled toward the shore. I keep scraping against shards and chunks of ice. “Jo-nah, too!” I shout. “Jonah, too!” At least, I think I shout it. I can’t tell if my mouth is actually moving.

  Finally, I feel hard ice under my feet. Land. Ice land. But still land.

  “Put this on,” a voice says. A large brown blanket covers my soaking-wet shoulders. Ahh. Warmth. S-s-s-o good.

  “Thank-k-k you,” I say, my teeth chattering. “J-J-Jonah. My brother. We have to get him. Give me the r-r-rope. I have to go b-b-back in.”

  “We got him,” an evergreen tree says.

  The tree saved him! Hurrah!

  No. Wait. That’s my frozen brain talking. Or maybe my eyeballs have iced over. I blink multiple times. Standing beside me is a small, talking evergreen tree. It has a brown trunk and many green pine needles protruding from its body.

  It also has blue eyes and a long pointy nose.

  It takes me a few seconds to realize that the tree is actually a girl. She is wearing brown pants and a dark green coat that has pine needles taped to it. Her face is painted dark green and she’s wearing a hat that also has pine needles on it. A tuft of blond hair peeks out from under the hat.

  It’s a girl in a tree costume!

  Is it Halloween in this kingdom?

  The girl looks young. About my age. There’s a woman also dressed as a tree, standing behind her. She’s wearing a patch over one of her eyes and is glaring at me with her other one.

  The girl points to the other side of the lake and motions to a shivering lump sitting in the snow. I realize that it’s not actually a lump — it’s my brother wrapped in a brown blanket. Two other trees are standing beside him. Make that two people in tree costumes.

  “Thank-k-k you!” I manage to say. “My brother is okay?”

  “Yup.” The tree girl smiles. “It’s your lucky day.”

  “Can I ask why you’re dressed like trees?” I ask, still shaking. “Is that the style here?”

  “It’s our style,” the girl says and laughs.

  Hmm. What does she mean?

  “Why were you guys on the lake, anyway?” she asks me.

  “It’s a long story,” I say. “But basically, the Snow Queen stole our dog.”

  Her blue eyes widen. “The Snow Queen? Really? Her castle is around here?”

  “Right up the mountain,” I say.

  “No way,” the tree girl squeals. “I wish I could meet her.” She turns to the tree woman with the eye patch. “Mother! The Snow Queen lives close by!”

  The tree woman glares at the tree girl and me with her good eye. “Get in the sled.”

  Kind of rude, I think.

  The tree girl touches my wet arm. “Hey, you better change into something dry before you get sick. Do you want to borrow some clothes?”

  “Thank you SO much,” I say, feeling very grateful. “Do you happen to have extra shoes, too? Or boots? I can barely feel my toes.”

  “I’m sure we have something in the sled,” she says. “Follow me.”

  “Can Jonah come, too?” I ask. “He’s probably freezing.”

  She laughs again. “Oh, yeah, you’re both coming.”

  A weird reply, but I wave Jonah over. He’s standing up now, bundled in the blanket. I see that he lost his slippers in the lake. How many pairs of slippers have we lost in fairy tales by now? A million?

  “Mother doesn’t want to get too close to the Snow Queen,” the tree girl whispers. “But I would love to meet her. She has freezing powers! I wish I had freezing powers.”

  “She doesn’t seem very nice, though,” I say. “She uses her powers to hurt people.”

  Tree Girl shrugs. “Whatever.”

  Jonah reaches us. His teeth are chattering.

  “You okay?” I ask, putting my arm around him.

  “Of course! That-t-t was fun.”

  I resist the urge to roll my eyes. Only Jonah would find almost drowning in an ice lake fun.

  “She’s giving us clothes,” I say as we follow Tree Girl deeper into the forest. The three other tree women are not far behind us. “Isn’t that nice of her?”

  “Thank-k-k you,” Jonah says to Tree Girl. Then he whispers to me, “Why are they all d-d-dressed up as t-t-trees? Are we going to have to dress as t-t-trees?”

  “I don’t know,” I say. “But I’d rather dress as a tree than stay in my sopping-wet sweatshirt and pajamas.”

  “Me t-t-too,” he says.

  “It’s right there,” Tree Girl says, pointing.

  It takes me a while to see the sled because it’s white and blends in with the snow. But then I make it out, and I realize that there’s a white-and-gray horse standing in front of it.

  Wait. It’s not a horse. It’s bigger. And it has two huge, long gray antlers coming from its head.

  “Is that a reindeer?” I ask.

  “Yes,” Tree Girl says.

  “Cool!” Jonah exclaims. “I’ve always wanted to see a reindeer.”

  “The proper name is actually ‘caribou,’ ” I say. This caribou has a small bell around its neck.

  “Well, I prefer ‘reindeer,’ ” the reindeer says.

  I blink in surprise. Did the reindeer just speak? No. I must have imagined it. I stare at the creature.

  “Reindeer got your tongue?” the reindeer says.

  My brain must have cold-lake damage. “Did anyone else hear the reindeer talk?” I ask.

  “I did!” Jonah exclaims. “You can talk?” he asks the reindeer.

  “Yeah,” the reindeer scoffs. He has a very deep voice. “So can you. Should we both get medals?”

  I laugh from shock. I can’t help it. A reindeer is making fun of us. Of all the things I thought could happen when I went through the mirror in my basement tonight, this was not one of them.

  Although now that I think about it, maybe the reindeer in the original Snow Queen story did talk?

  “Put these on,” Tree Girl orders, reaching into the back of a sled and passing me a lump of clothes. There is a ton of stuff in the sled. Some silver forks and spoons and plates, some picture frames, more blankets, more clothes. Is that a statue? And a painting? Weird.

  I shake out the outfit. It’s furry. And white. “Is this a polar bear costume?” I ask.

  “Yes,” Tree Girl says.

  “Mine’s a penguin costume,” Jonah says. “I’ve always wanted a penguin costume! And it has a hood!”

  I cover myself with the blanket so I can have some privacy from all the tree women. Then I peel off my wet sweatshirt, pajamas, and socks. I step into the white furry one-piece. There’s a side zipper. Then I pull on the white furry mittens and white furry booties. The costume head is separate. It’s also white and furry but has a black nose, holes for my mouth and eyes, and two furry white ears. I put it on. Not because I want to look like a polar bear but because my face is really cold and my wet hair has turned into icicles.

  I drop the blanket and reemerge.

  I see Jonah. Jonah sees me. We both laugh hysterically.

  “Is that you, Abby?” he asks.

  “It is,” I say.

  Jonah’s costume is even more ridiculous than mine. His arms and legs are black, but there is a giant white oval over his stomach, and his booties are bright yellow. At least his costume doesn’t cover his face. There’s just a yellow beak and white eyes on the hood.

  “Is it a costume holiday in this kingdom?” I ask Tree Girl.

  “Sure,” she says, with another laugh. “A costume holiday.”

  I have a bad feeling I can’t put my finger on.

  “What’s this kingdom called?” I wonder out loud.

  “It’s not a
kingdom,” she says. “It’s a republic. There’s no queen or king.”

  “But what about the Snow Queen? Isn’t she the queen?” I ask.

  “She has freezing powers, but she doesn’t run the republic. No one runs the Republic of Blizzard.”

  “Then why is she called the queen?”

  She shrugs. “Maybe Queen is her last name?”

  Jonah licks his lips. “That’s what the republic is called? Blizzard?”

  “Yes,” Tree Girl says.

  “Like the ice cream at Dairy Queen? I love those. I would totally have a DQ Blizzard now.”

  “Seriously, Jonah?” I say. “Ice cream? Now?”

  He shrugs. “I’m hungry.” He taps Tree Girl on the shoulder. “Is there anything to eat in the sled?”

  “We have hot chocolate,” she says. She reaches back into the sled and pulls out a thermos and then pours the liquid into two mugs.

  I take a big sip. Yummm. I am not exaggerating when I say this might be the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted in my entire life. The warm liquid makes my body melt in the best possible way.

  “Now, that hits the spot,” I say. “Thank you,” I tell the tree girl again. “For everything.”

  “It’s nothing,” she says, turning red and looking at the icy ground.

  “No, really. You guys saved our lives. I wish I could get you a thank-you present! Like chocolates.” I think of poor Kai. “Or flowers!”

  “I’m allergic to flowers,” she says. “They make me sneeze.”

  “Then definitely no flowers,” I say. “But seriously, we’d freeze without these costumes. We’ll give them back to you when we’re done with them. I mean, I’m not exactly sure how we’ll do that since we don’t live nearby and we’re not staying long. Oh! Maybe we could trade you the costumes for our pajamas? They’ll dry eventually. They’re very comfortable. And almost brand-new.” We’ve probably left behind even more pajamas than slippers in various fairy tales.

  “Yeah! I can wear this costume on Halloween!” Jonah squeals, patting his penguin belly.

  The reindeer snorts. “You guys are clueless.”

  I’m so startled to hear him talking again that his words take a second to register. “Excuse me?”

  The reindeer looks right at me and starts blinking. Again and again and again. What’s he doing?

  “Are you okay?” I ask him. “Is something in your eye?”

  He sighs and stops blinking. “You really are clueless.”

  Tree Girl nods. “He’s right. You are.”

  “Huh?” Jonah asks.

  My cheeks heat up. We are not clueless! I do not like being called clueless! I have lots of clues. I feel an urge to roar at Tree Girl, like a polar bear.

  Tree Girl pulls a pine needle out of her mouth and says, “You’re both coming with us.”

  “No, we’re not,” I say quickly.

  “We have to rescue our dog,” Jonah explains. “He’s with the Snow Queen, and he’s frozen. We’re waiting until the Snow Queen goes on one of her trips. She does a lot of traveling.”

  “The Snow Queen?” the reindeer asks. “She’s evil. Your dog is toast. I hope you said good-bye.”

  My heart stops. “We’re going to save him,” I say.

  “I wouldn’t go near the Snow Queen if you paid me,” the reindeer says.

  “We have to go,” Jonah says. “He’s our dog.”

  I notice that now all four of the tree people are circling around us like sharks. Well, like sharks dressed as trees.

  “I don’t think you understand,” Tree Girl says. “You’re not going anywhere. You’re our prisoners.”

  It dawns on me. The girl. The family. The statues and forks and other odd things in the sled. These are not nice people who saved our lives. Whatever warmth was in my body drains out of me.

  “You’re the band of robbers!” I gasp.

  All four of them give us wicked smiles.

  “They are?” Jonah’s jaw drops. “You are?” He makes his air-guitar pose, which is not very funny given the circumstances.

  Oh! That’s why they have all these tree costumes! Not to mention the polar bear and penguin costumes. They wear disguises! To help them blend into their surroundings. They must have been robbing something before they saw us in the lake.

  “We take things, yes,” the one-eyed mother admits. “And now we’re taking you. You’re the same age as our other prisoner.”

  Other prisoner? Oh. She must mean Gerda! Just as in the original story!

  Mother points to Jonah’s wrist. “And we also want the watch.”

  Jonah clamps his hand over it. “But it doesn’t work anymore! It got ruined in the water. See?” He shoves his arm at the woman’s face. “It says one thirty. It’s not one thirty, is it?”

  She shrugs. “I suppose not. I guess you can keep your broken watch.”

  Jonah hides his hand behind his back.

  The mother’s face tightens. “Now get in the sled. Or else.”

  Another tree woman threatens us with her fist.

  I gulp.

  “What do we do?” Jonah whispers to me.

  In the original story, the little robber girl eventually lets Gerda escape. Gerda then comes back to the Snow Queen’s castle and figures out how to rescue Kai.

  Tree Girl must be the little robber girl. So she’s going to let Gerda escape, which means we will be able to escape, too. Hmmm. Maybe going back with the band of robbers and meeting up with Gerda isn’t the worst idea.

  Maybe it’s actually a good idea.

  “Get in the sled!” the mother snarls. “Second row!”

  And we don’t seem to have much of a choice, anyway.

  “Let’s go,” I tell Jonah.

  I climb inside the second of four rows. Jonah climbs into the space beside me.

  The others climb into the other rows.

  “Does this have a seat belt?” I ask.

  Everyone ignores me.

  I try to calm down. Everything will be fine. We’ll hitch a ride with Gerda back to the igloo castle, and then we’ll save Kai and Prince. Presto, we’re done. And that way, we don’t mess up the story at all! Easy peasy. Smooth sailing.

  Or in this case, smooth sledding.

  About half an hour later, we jerk to a stop.

  “Get out,” Mother orders.

  There is a large house in front of us. It’s in shambles. It looks as if it’s been abandoned for years. The paint has peeled and it’s surrounded by sludgy snow. It is not an igloo castle. It is not even an igloo.

  “Is this where you live?” I ask Tree Girl as we all get out of the sled.

  “Yeah,” she huffs. “Do you have a problem with that?”

  “No,” I say quickly.

  “Put them in the basement with the girl,” Mother tells Tree Girl. “And don’t forget the reindeer,” she adds.

  The reindeer, too? He’s a prisoner? Why?

  We walk into the house, past a crumbling dining room table and broken chairs and half-burned-out chandeliers. In the corner of the room are piles of cutlery, statues, paintings — just like the stuff in the sled. Stuff they stole from other people, I’m sure. They are robbers.

  Tree Girl leads us to a staircase.

  “Here’s your new home,” she says, giving me a slight push down the stairs. “Don’t come out.”

  Jonah and I head down reluctantly, and the reindeer clomps along behind us.

  “Horrid, stupid, miserable place,” he mutters.

  I glance back in surprise. I’m still not totally used to him talking.

  The basement is about the same size as our basement at home. It smells like basement, too. Cold and damp. There’s no furniture. Just a pile of brown blankets in the corner. Water leaking from the ceiling has frozen into threatening-looking icicles. There are also patches of frosty green mildew growing on the walls.

  At least this basement is bigger than the last location Jonah and I were trapped in, Rapunzel’s tower. Although this
place is much grungier. And darker. The only light comes from one oval window near the high ceiling.

  There’s a very skinny girl in the center of the room. She’s doing jumping jacks and wearing a bright orange tracksuit.

  “I’m back,” the reindeer says. “They kidnapped some more prisoners.”

  “A penguin and a polar bear?” the girl asks between jumps.

  “They’re costumes,” I say, taking off my headpiece. “I’m Abby. And this is my brother, Jonah. Are you Gerda?”

  Please let her be Gerda, please let her be Gerda!

  “Yes,” she puffs.

  “Hooray!” I exclaim. “It’s so nice to meet you!”

  Gerda is Asian, with straight black hair that she’s wearing in two low pigtails. Her face is heart-shaped and tanner than mine, and she looks to be about my age.

  “Oh, sure,” the reindeer grumbles in my direction. “Introduce yourself immediately to the human. I’ve only been with you two for hours. Did you introduce yourself to me? No, you did not.”

  I flush. “Sorry. I didn’t realize! It’s just that —”

  “That I’m a reindeer?” he humphs.

  “No, that I wanted to meet her!”

  That sounded better in my head.

  The reindeer double-humphs and turns up his black nose.

  “Don’t mind him,” Gerda says between jumps. “He’s a sweetheart under all the grumpiness.”

  “Rudolph the grumpy reindeer,” Jonah sings, and I laugh.

  “You would be grumpy, too,” the reindeer huffs, “if the robbers forced you to help them rob people, wouldn’t you?”

  “I definitely would,” I say.

  “Also, my name is not Rudolph.”

  “I know your name isn’t Rudolph,” Jonah says. “It’s just a song. It was a joke. What is your name?”

  He squares his reindeer shoulders. “Ralph,” he says.

  Jonah giggles. “Close enough.”

  “Well,” I say. “It’s very nice to meet both of you, Gerda and Ralph.”

  “We’re sorry the robbers took you prisoner, too,” Gerda says, still jumping. “I’m not staying long. I am getting out of here. I have to find Kai. That’s why I’m doing jumping jacks. To stay in shape and keep my energy up!”

  I clap my hands. “Oh! Kai! We saw him!”

  She stops in mid-jump. “You did? You know Kai? Is he okay?”