If you saw on my Facebook and Twitter, I finished another short story! Winter Boot was it. There’s probably typos but hey! Here’s the next chapter! đ
Chapter 11
The room around us is filled with the same light eating fog that surrounds the house, the floor so cold, I can feel it through my boots as I hurry to the dim outline of a door. I donât wait long before squeezing through it and I donât think about getting cought until I hear Rabbitâs horrified gasp.
âSorry.â I whisper and my blush of embarassment is so warm, Iâm sorta glad I goofed.
âJust be more careful!â She scolds me.
Being extra, super quiet, I follow the tug of the hidden candy around my neck. When I slip on the icy floor and catch myself, I find the walls sticky; groianing umder the press of my mitten. I look down at my two friends and we all share the same look of stomach rumbly nastiness.
The jewel leads me down the squishy hallway to a grey, dirty cersion of Marsallaâs warm and pretty kitchen. A pot boils on the stove, way too small to fit the three of us inside it. I would snoop to see what is in it but the jewel shivers around my neck and pulls me around the corner.
Frog hunkers down deep in my pocket. Rabbit squeeks and pressed against me. I donât think Iâm breathing. My eyes tear as I focus on everything the three of us thought we would fine in Masallaâs home because of how people talk. But itâs here. All of it. Jars of creatures, most not moving and others wishing they werenât, bones littering the floor, some with meat still on them, and a black table with a mirrored top covered in tiny animal skulls and dripping candles. And the smell⌠How could it just be in this room? How did we not smell it from the hallway? It smells like something the dogs rolled in that made Auntie throw up.
When the jewel urges me inside, I can almost feel it apologize.
Downy feathers fly up, disturbed by my steps as I move and forcing me to look around. I see my poorly repacked bag and rescue it from the floor. With it on one shoulder and Rabbit on the other, I move to the table. I feel the jewel heat up when I look down into it, wax smeared and dribbled all over the edges and a wet, red handprint in the center. The glass shimmers with the frozen manâs face, the handprint making the blue features look wobbly.
âWhat should we do?â Says Frog in a shivering whisper.
Before I can guess, a low beep comes from the backpack. With Rabbit watching for the Bone Woman, I pull out a tiny cellphone toy. Blinking in confusion as it beeps again in my hand, I hopd the pastel plastic up to my ear.
âBoot?â Marsalla whispers through the toy.
I sputter a minute before answering. âYes?â
âA real phone wonât work there. I bet whatever is sucking up the warmth is sucking up all kinds of energy so I rigged up this toy.â Marsalla fumbles with the phone on her end. âWhat do you see?â
âItâs a mirror with candles on it.â I lean forward and shiver. âI can see the Princeâs face but thereâs a red hand on him.â
Marsalla gasps. âSheâs sucking the life right out of him. Donât touch the glass. Donât touch anything, actually.â I hear glass bottles being moved through the ear piece of the toy. âWhat else did you see?â
âNot much. The walls are sticky and the Bone Lady had us in cages.â
âBone lady?â
âUgly, hunched, skinny old bat.â Rabbit huffed. âI bet she would eat me.â
âBoot, be careful! Thatâs the Cold One!â
I hear skittering heading towards us from the hallway, like the dogs sound when they run around the kitchen, nails clocking on the tiles.
âGet out of there! Whateve ryou do, donât let her touch your skin!â
âI donât understan-â
Sheâs draining the life from the Prince through his blood on the mirror! If she touches you directly, youâll die!â