The Silent Overture of a Snowman

I whimpered, ducking down into a ditch behind a rock. Snow cluttered the sky, the farthest visible thing being a tree, maybe a hundred yards away. Flakes of ice scattered around me, stinging the tips of my ears and nose. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.

Calm down. I inhaled silently, glancing to the right and left of me. My warm puffs of breath fogged the air, blending in with the white of the ground. A whistle of wind swished past my ears and I heard the familiar sound of snow crunching behind me.

Adrenaline shot through my body like a bullet. I would’ve screamed and almost did, but it came out as a tiny squeak. Too loud. Too loud. The noises stopped and something shuffled towards me. Quiet, quiet, quiet, please be quiet. I shuffled close to the rock, covering my mouth with a hand. Oh, God. The footsteps resumed and I exhaled. They were getting further away. I almost sobbed out of relief, grinding my canine tooth against the one beneath it.

It’d probably been chasing me for the past thirty minutes. My heart was beating so fast, I felt like my head wasn’t connected to my body. It wasn’t like he had done anything to hurt me yet, but after seeing what he’d done to my parents… my throat tightened and I gagged, choking down vomit. Tears stung my dry eyes. Yeah, he was totally going to kill me.

Wow, fun, I’m going to be chased to death. I’d not gone outside for the past few weeks, and running this much was taking a major toll on my limbs. I felt numb and in pain at the same time, my muscles tired and overworked.

The shrinking of ice cracking faded and I slowly peeked out from behind the rock. Why hadn’t it tried to kill me? It’d been so, so painfully close, I could almost hear its heavy breathing in my ear. Was it trying to lure me out?

I dispelled these thoughts. He couldn’t’ve tried that much, right?

The fresh snow groaned under me and I pushed myself to my feet, glancing around carefully. Where was it? Whatever, I’d better get a move on.

I crossed the opposite direction of where it had gone, going across the steep mountain’s hill. It would’ve been populated by skiers challenging themselves to a double black at this time, but that hadn’t worked out.

I knew somebody lived close by, I just had to get to their house. They could call the police, I couldn’t. My phone is shattered to pieces, stuck between two massive boulders. I’d left it there in my haste to get away.

But was it fair to drag it to their house? He might kill us both. My steps stuttered and I almost fell to my death. Holding onto a thin tree, I balanced myself. What should I do? I was completely and utterly defenseless. The nearest police station had to be at least forty miles away, and the nearest person was probably a ten-minute walk. I’m sure I’ll be dead by then. I groaned quietly again. What do I do?!

It was alive. I’d built it, though, so it couldn’t possibly try to kill me. It owed its life to me!

No, I couldn’t think that. It was a bloodthirsty monster, he’d kill me without the slightest thought. 

I must’ve stepped on a stick because that made the loudest noise. I went crazy. The nearest lodge was close by, right? It had been vacant, but I could still hide out for a few hours. 

Right?

I dashed deeper into the thick of the woods, stealing the occasional glance back. Where was it? It wasn’t following me, right?

The lodge was either closer than I thought it was or I blacked out. I stopped in front of it, panting and almost gasping for air. No time to wait, though. I pushed the door, but it didn’t budge.

“Oh my god, godda-!” The chalky sound of gravel under somebody’s body sounded behind me. My blood ran cold and frozen pricks of sweat stabbed at my back. It was behind me. 

It couldn’t be him, right? It was definitely another human, right?  I turned around and it stared at me with those beady charcoal eyes. I stared back, mouth half agape.

I screamed louder than I ever had. Louder than when he’d gotten Amelia, Mom, Dad, any of them. Louder than when I was playing in the pool with my friends. Louder than anything.

My ears vibrated with my own scream. Its rock mouth peeled its way open, and he smiled at me.

“Happy birthday, haha!” He paused.  “Hey, I said my first words. Uh, but… but snowmen can’t talk? Right?” He laughed, doubling over with a stick on its side. “All right, come on now, what’s the joke? Could I really be alive?” His pale white body had sickening flecks of pink and red splattered onto it. Why me? “Let’s go play together!”

“N-no, no, please don’t, Frosty, please!” I whimpered, falling into my knees. It was Over. I was already dead.

“Don’t be silly, now.” Millions of thoughts raced through my head. What were my last words? How long would it take them to find my body? It couldn’t be long, could it? Would I disappear? I let out a dry sob, hiding my face with my hands.

“Please, please, please-” I blindly begged. Cold, thin twigs wrapped around my ankles, bending like a real finger. I screeched and cried out as it dragged me through the gravel, face down.

Wow, haha, who would’ve known I’d be killed by Frosty the Snowman?

(Not me.)