Winter
Chapter 4

Snow had begun to fall and the temperature had decreased significantly. Haru had come to the conclusion that Miyuki would most likely succumb to the elements, which meant priority number one was to save himself before the bitter cold took him as well.

“Which way did we come from?” asked Haru, looking frantically around in hopes of seeing something that would spark his memory.

Haru retrieved his keys from his pocket and began pushing buttons frantically, hoping it would alert him to the whereabouts of his car. But from such a distance, it would be impossible to get a signal, let alone hear the horn. “Where the hell is the car?”

The chilling wind seemed to be blowing at its most ferocious near Haru. So powerful were the gusts that he had to duck behind a tree for protection. “I need to get out of here,” said Haru, trembling badly. “That damn weather girl said it was going to be a nice day today. She didn’t say there was going to be a blizzard. I’m going to sue everyone at that network when I get home.” He then chuckled. “I’ll have to enlist the help of Mr. Tanaka. I’m sure he won’t be busy seeing as Miyuki doesn’t need his help anymore.”

What Haru didn’t know was that razor sharp icicles were hanging perilously from the branches of near every tree in the surrounding area.

“I can’t wait here all day,” said Haru. “I’ll turn to ice before this storm goes away. I have to get to higher ground. I’ll be able to see everything from there.”

The instant Haru stepped away from the tree, an icicle fell from a branch and landed right behind him. A startled Haru turned to discover the projectile the size of a large kitchen knife jutting out of the snow staring up at him. “That was close,” he said before letting out a nervous chuckle. It wasn’t so much the fact that an icicle had nearly struck him that prompted the out-of-place laugh, it was the ferocity with which it had fallen. He was no scientist, but Haru knew things shouldn’t fall from that short of a distance with that much velocity.

Another icicle fell from a branch and whizzed by Haru’s face, landing at his feet. There was no chuckle this time. Haru was genuinely frightened by the near miss.

Looking up, Haru was horrified to find hundreds of razor-sharp icicles. Thinking that his footsteps might have something to do with whether or not they fell, Haru began walking away as carefully as he could. This did nothing to stop them, however, as numerous icicles began breaking off their branches and plummeting to the ground. Only narrowly was Haru able to avoid them.

Wanting nothing more than to escape the danger, Haru began running as best as he could through the piled snow. But his escape plan almost seemed to be making the icicles begin falling with even more force than before.

Seeing a clearing ahead, Haru was hopeful he would make it to safety without incurring any injuries. But one icicle succeeded in finding its target. It drove itself deep into his shoulder, sending Haru crashing to the ground and screaming in pain. Another icicle then stabbed him in one of his legs, making his escape even more difficult.

As Haru crawled toward safety, an icicle pierced the ground only inches from his face, stopping him dead in his tracks.

As suddenly as the icicles had begun falling, they stopped. But Haru was far from out of danger as the sound of approaching footsteps caught his attention. His eyes bulged to nearly twice their normal size when he got his first glimpse of the newcomer.

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