Whatever After #6: Cold as Ice Read Online Free PDF Page B

Crocs game in the toilet.
    He is not good with electronics.
    “I’ll be careful,” he says. “Hey! Wanna go skating while we wait for the Snow Queen to leave?”
    “Did you sneak skates through the mirror, too?”
    “No. I wish. I meant pretend skating. Like this.” He attempts to skate across the ice in his slippers. “Or we should play hockey!” He pretends to run as if he’s chasing a puck. He ends up tripping and landing elbows-down on the ice.
    That’s when I hear it.
    A loud crack.
    Oh, no. I do not like the sound of cracks. Cracks do not mean good things. Not for bones. Or for mirrors. Or for frozen lakes.
    “Jonah? What was that?”
    Jonah is staying perfectly still.
    The ice is splintering around him.
    “Abby,” he says slowly. “I think we have a problem.”
    “No kidding,” I reply.
    “What do I do?” he squeaks.
    I try not to panic. “Don’t move! I don’t want you to make it worse.”
    “But if I don’t move, how do I get off the lake that’s about to break?”
    Good point. “Okay, maybe move. But can you move really, really slowly toward me?”
    He stands up carefully. The ice holds.
    “Now step toward me,” I say.
    He takes one step. So far, so good.
    I hold my breath.
    He takes another step. Another.
    Crack! Crack! Crack! It sounds like popcorn popping. A spider-web of cracks spreads across the ice.
    The cracks reach all the way to me.
    Jonah and I lock eyes. Then … crack! The lake breaks, and both of us plunge into the frigid water.

T he cold water feels like thousands of needles piercing my body.
    I kick and splash to stay afloat. Ouch, ouch, ouch! The water is so cold! I have never felt water so cold!
    Where is Jonah? Is he okay?
    I strain to lift my head above the water. My hat has fallen off and probably sunk to the bottom.
    I’m surrounded by huge chunks of ice floating in the water. Great. Just great. I don’t like swimming in regular water. Never mind freezing-cold water filled with ice shards poking me and trying to turn me into a human ice cube. At least there are no sharks in lakes.
    There are no sharks in lakes, right?
    RIGHT?
    “Jonah!” I scream. “Jonah, are you okay?”
    I don’t hear him. I don’t see him! I have to save Jonah! Where is he?
    “I’m here!” he yells back. His left arm is in the air, and he’s paddling toward me. “I’m okay! Kind of! It’s hard to tread water when I’m trying to keep the watch dry! But don’t worry, Abby! I won’t let anything happen to the watch! I promise! I will keep it safe no matter what!”
    “Don’t worry about the watch!” I yell back. “Just worry about not drowning!”
    My toes and fingers are starting to freeze. Must keep swimming! Must not drown! I need a plan.
    Yes. A plan!
    What is my plan? How am I going to not drown?
    Oh! I know. I need to get out of the water. I need to get to land.
    But where is the land?
    I try to grab on to a chunk of ice that looks secure, but it breaks off in my hand. What do I do? I need to think. Can’t think. Brain is too cold. Teeth ch-ch-ch-chattering. Feet too cold. Can’t move.
    Slam.
    Ouch!
    Something heavy just hit me in the face. A shark is attacking my face!
    No. We’re in a lake. There are no sharks in lakes. RIGHT?
    I hear, “Grab the rope!”
    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