The Black Dragon

by W. D. Newman

CHAPTER 6

  THIN ICE

  "Deck the halls with boughs of holly, fa-la-la-la-laaaaa-la-la-la-la!"

  "Come on, Dad, give it rest," Casey cried.

  Charles laughed and threw some tinsel at his daughter. Casey ducked, but the bright silver strands still landed on her head and tangled in her bright red curls.

  "Hot chocolate's ready!" Carol called from the kitchen.

  Ben came out from behind the tree and carefully laid his ornaments down on the sofa. They could finish decorating the tree AFTER the hot chocolate.

  Things were back to normal in the Alderman house. Since Carol woke from her coma back in the summer, she had steadily gotten stronger and healthier. Charles had taken the remainder of the year off to care for his wife and now that she was doing so well, he was planning on going back to work the first of next year. With Ben and Casey out of school on Christmas break, the house was once again filled with love, joy, and laughter.

  Everyone sat down at the table where Carol had placed an odd assortment of cheerful Christmas mugs, full of piping hot chocolate. Casey put a dollop of whip cream in her Santa Claus mug and sprinkled some cinnamon on top while Ben plopped three big marshmallows into his Snowman mug.

  "How many days till we leave for Grandma and Grandpa's farm?" Casey asked.

  Ben rolled his eyes. Casey had always hated going to her grandparent's farm. Then last summer they met Grandma and Grandpa's neighbors; Sam and Rebecca Langston and their two children Joey and Jenny. Joey and Jenny were close to Ben and Casey's age and while Ben had a crush on Jenny, Casey had fallen head-over-heels for Joey.

  "We're going up Christmas morning, sweetheart," Carol answered. "You know that."

  "Two more days," Ben thought to himself. Although he was hoping to see Joey and Jenny, he was really anxious to visit Amos and his three dwarven friends; Hob, Gob, and Nob. Maybe they could even travel to the Twilight and see how the castle was coming along. At any rate, it was shaping up to be a wonderful Christmas. While they sat around the table, sipping on their hot chocolate and talking about last minute Christmas gifts, the telephone rang. Carol got up from the table and answered the phone.

  "Hello?"

  "Hey, Carol."

  "Hey, Louise! How are you and George doing?"

  "We're fine. How are you guys?"

  "Everyone is well. We're decorating our tree right now. Just took a short break to drink some hot chocolate."

  "Oh my, that sounds lovely. I might have to dig around in the cabinets and see if I have some cocoa."

  "Well, this isn't the real stuff like you fix, this is just the instant mix. I want some of the real stuff when I get there, okay?"

  "Absolutely! We're making that spiced cider again this year too."

  "Oh, I can't wait! So, are you and George ready for the party?"

  "Well, that's actually what I'm calling about. You know our neighbors the Langstons?"

  "Yes."

  "I just got off the phone with Rebecca. Her husband Sam had to make a run to Maine and he is completely snowed in. It doesn't look like he is going to be able to make it home for Christmas."

  "Oh no, that's terrible!"

  "I know. I felt so sorry for Rebecca and the kids that I've invited them to join us for our family get-together. I hope you guys don't mind."

  "Louise, why on earth would we mind? That's a wonderful idea. I'm sure Ben and Casey will be delighted too."

  "Well, I just couldn't let them spend the holidays alone. I've just sent George to town to get a few things, so that I can prepare some extra food. Rebecca is going to bring a pecan pie, a pumpkin pie, a green bean casserole, and a gallon of sweet tea."

  "I'll make extra mashed potatoes, rolls, and creamed corn."

  "Wonderful. I think it is going to be a very merry Christmas. I'll see you in two days."

  "I can't wait! Take care!"

  "Bye-bye."

  Carol hung the phone up and returned to the table to finish her hot chocolate.

  "What's going on?" Charles asked.

  "Yeah," Ben added, "what are we going to be delighted about?"

  "It seems that you two guys are going to be able to celebrate Christmas with your Langston friends this year. Their father made a last minute delivery to Maine and he is snowed in. Louise has invited Rebecca and the kids to join us for Dinner."

  "The more the merrier," said Charles. "But we probably should buy a few extra gifts to take."

  "You're absolutely right!" said Carol, "let me get my purse and we'll get that done right now. Do you kids want to come along?"

  "No way," Ben and Casey cried at the same time. "We'll stay here and finish the tree."

  "What do you think we should get Joey and Jenny?"

  "Jenny likes Taylor Swift and she doesn't have her new CD," Casey answered. "You could get her that CD and maybe a pair of pretty earrings."

  "Okay, that sounds good. What about Joey? Any ideas, Ben?"

  Ben scrunched his brow up and thought. Joey was a huge sports fan and played football at his school. He was a total fanatic when it came to college football and his favorite team was the Clemson Tigers.

  "Get him a Clemson Tiger football jersey or a Clemson tee shirt. He'd love that."

  "That might be hard to find in Bulldog country," said Charles with a grin, "but we'll give it a shot. Who's his favorite pro team? In case we can't find anything Clemson?"

  "Carolina Panthers," Ben answered.

  "Well, that shouldn't be too hard. I'll let your mom pick out something for Rebecca and we should be set."

  In a few minutes, Charles and Carol were bustling out the door to buy the last minute presents for the new guests. Ben and Casey started back decorating the Christmas tree.

  "I'm so excited about going to Grandma and Grandpa's house for Christmas this year," Casey exclaimed. "Do you think I should have told mom to pick up a gift for me to give to Joey?"

  "Just Joey?" Ben asked, wiggling his eyebrows up and down.

  "And Jenny," Casey quickly added.

  "No, I think the gifts Mom is picking up will be enough," Ben answered. “We haven’t seen them since summer time.” Still, he couldn't help but think back to last summer, when he actually got to hold Jenny's hand. Casey and Joey had stayed in touch and exchanged emails all the time. They were friends on Facebook too, and their little long distance romance was still going strong. However, Ben and Jenny's never quite took off. She was older than him and he was certain that she must have a boyfriend at school; someone who was probably captain of the football team, or maybe even someone in high school.

  Ben threw the ornaments he had picked up back onto the couch. He was tired of decorating for now and wanted to stretch his legs. He wanted to get out of the house too. He finished his chocolate, which was no longer hot, and then grabbed his coat that was hanging off the back of his chair.

  "Where are you going?" Casey asked.

  "I'm going for a walk," Ben replied. "It's a pretty day outside and I need to get out of the house for a little while."

  "Let me get my coat and I'll come with you."

  Outside, the sky was blue with a few wispy white clouds. The temperature was extremely cold for Atlanta. The past few nights had been in the twenties and last night had actually dropped into the teens. The expected high today was only thirty-five.

  "Do you think we'll have a white Christmas this year?" Ben asked his sister.

  "No, we never have a white Christmas. You know that."

  "But if it's been this cold down here, it has to be colder at Grandma and Grandpa's farm."

  "They're only two hours away, Ben"

  "Yeah, but it's two hours north!"

  "Grandma said the last white Christmas they had at the farm was in 1965. It's just not going to happen."

  The two kids came to the cul-de-sac at the end of the street where they lived. There were three houses in this cul-de-sac and one undeveloped property. The house in the
middle, a two story cape cod, was vacant and had been on the market since the start of the school year. The other two houses were empty as well, but only because the two families were out of town for the holidays.

  The lot that did not have a house, on the far left of the cul-de-sac, had a board fence around it. The fence was put up by the home owners association, because there was a small pond located at the back of the property. All of the kids in the neighborhood knew that two of the boards in this fence were not nailed at the bottom and, with a little tug, you could slip in between the boards to gain access to the area. Ben found the two boards and pulled them back for Casey to enter.

  "What are you doing?"

  "I want to see if the pond is frozen."

  Casey pointed to a white sign with faded red letters that was nailed on the fence for all to see. "Can't you read? It says 'no trespassing'."

  "A lot of kids come here; it's really a cool place."

  "I don't think it's a good idea. We could get in a lot of trouble."

  Ben pointed at the empty houses. "How? No one is home, for Pete's sake. Listen, all I want to do is see if the pond is frozen and, if it is frozen, I want to toss a few rocks on it to see if I can crack the ice."

  Casey looked at the empty houses and then back up the deserted street.

  "Come on, Casey, don't be such a stick in the mud!"

  Even though she did not like breaking any rules, she finally relented and followed her brother between the loose fence boards. It wouldn't hurt anything for Ben to toss a few rocks. Although she did not have any desire to throw rocks, she did want to see if the pond was frozen. She had her cell phone with her and, if the pond was iced over, she wanted to snap a few pictures to show her friends. A large body of frozen water was something you rarely got to see when you lived in Atlanta.

  Once inside the fence, they followed a path that wound through ivy, brambles, and the ever invasive Chinese privet that was slowly but surely taking over the vacant lot. The path ended on the red clay bank of a small pond that was, indeed, frozen solid.

  "Check it out," Ben cried.

  "Wow, it really is frozen."

  Casey flipped open her phone and snapped a couple of pictures while Ben picked up a rock and tossed it out onto the frozen water. The rock bounced and skittered across the ice.

  "This is way too cool," said Ben, searching for a larger rock. He finally found one on the edge of the bank and managed to pry it loose from the frozen ground. This rock was too heavy to throw with one hand though and he had to use both hands to fling it out onto the pond. This large rock, however, also failed to crack the ice. Ben pushed his glasses up on his nose, planted his hands on his hips, and stared at the frozen surface.

  "How thick do you think it is?" Casey asked.

  "I don't know, but it's thick." Ben walked down to the edge of the pond and stepped on the ice.

  "Ben, get away from the edge, that's dangerous."

  "I think it's safe," Ben replied. "Look." He took another step and carefully jumped up and down a couple of times. The ice held fast. Ben took another step toward the center of the pond.

  "Ben, quit messing around and get back over here!" Casey yelled.

  "This ice is hard as a rock. Watch this." Ben took several small, fast steps and then suddenly planted his feet, so that he would slide on the frozen surface. He slid across the ice to the center of the pond and slowly came to a stop, then turned back toward the bank, where Casey was standing. "See? It's perfectly safe!"

  A loud pop made him jump and Casey screamed. Ben looked down and saw the ominous spider web cracks in the ice around his feet. And then ice gave way.

  From the bank, Casey watched in horror as Ben fell through the ice. Tragedies often unfold in slow motion and time slows down for victims and spectators alike. There was nothing slow about this accident. One second Ben was standing on the ice, the next second he was gone. Casey stared helplessly at the black hole where her brother disappeared and screamed again, "BEN!"

  Precious seconds ticked by and her brother never surfaced. He must be trapped under the ice. Casey did not know what to do, but she knew she had to do something. She stepped out onto the ice with one foot, and then the other foot. She remembered seeing something on television about dispersing your weight in a rescue situation like this. Trembling and crying, she got down on her hands and knees and began to crawl toward the hole in the center of the pond. When she was about ten feet from the hole, she heard a rapping noise beneath the ice. She looked down at the frozen surface of the pond and she could vaguely make out her brother's face and hands, pressed up against the ice, beneath her.

  "BEN!" she screamed again.

  One of his hands came away from the ice and then reappeared. He was pressing something gold and shiny against the ice for her to see. Then he vanished.

  "The gold leaf," Casey cried. "Oh, thank you God, thank you, thank you, thank you."

  She carefully eased her way back to the bank, slowly rose, and stepped off the frozen surface. What a mess. What a colossal mess. She unbuttoned her coat and reached beneath her sweater and pulled out a little gold chain. On the end of the chain dangled a golden leaf, fashioned in the image of a leaf from a Faerie Oak; the strange trees that made up the Twilight forest in Camelot. The leaves were gifts to her and Ben from Marcus, the Keeper of the Twilight. Casey grasped the leaf in her hand and spoke a single word. "Twilight."

  The still silence of the cold December day returned to the vacant lot. Already, the black hole in the center of the pond was beginning to re-freeze. A nervous squirrel scurried up a nearby tree and sat upon one of the lower limbs, chattering noisily; the interlopers had mysteriously vanished.

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