Icy Heart: An Alex Greyson Story

One of the weirdest days on my life was on a Thursday, obviously. I was staring out the window of my Ancient Civ class, lamenting how my scholarly prison kept me from the beautiful May day outside. The birds chirped and the wind sang with a gentle breeze. I could be Frisbee golfing or throwing rocks in the river with my best friend Jake. “Greyson! Alex!”barked my teacher.
That was Mr. Webster, like the dictionary. My grizzled old history teacher was always tough on me, but I really kinda liked him. He got on me for daydreaming in class but I aced every test so he could never be too angry. When we finished our class work early sometimes he would tell us stories about his great great grandfather who escaped slavery in the south to fight in the Civil War. His sharp voice brought me back to the real world. “Can you tell me when your namesake rose to power in Macedon?”
“He took over his father’s position in 336 BC when he was just twenty years old.” I replied
I loved everything about Alexander the Great ever since I was a young boy. Some of my earliest memories are of my mom and I sitting by the fire in the cold Connecticut winter, while she read me ancient history texts about the man I was named after. “He was just like your father, God bless his soul,” she would say.
We never talked about Dad; I always made the assumption that he died soon before I was born. I asked her once what happened to him when I was very little, She told me, “He’s gone my little survivor, and we can never get him back.”
“Very good Greyson, but keep your eyes forward next time,” Mr. Webster scolded.
Jake gave the thumbs up from across the classroom. I have no idea how Jake and I got to be friends. He is tall and lanky while I’m sturdy with an average height. Jake has a runner’s body and he is fast but I’ve never seen him actually play a sport. He can always get out of gym class with a Doctor’s note because he keeps having surgeries on his legs. I asked him about it once and he told me it’s just the way he was born. That’s also why he has to wear knee braces. To me, Jake walks just fine, but I don’t point that out to him. We’ve known each other since 6th grade when he helped me get a book about Leeches from the top shelf of the school library. I really don’t have any problems hanging out with other kids but often it seems like Jake is the only real friend I have. “...And that class, is why the battle of Issus was the turning point in his campaign. Homework tonight, pages 167-178, quiz tomorrow.”
The bell above the door rang, letting us out of Mr. Webster’s class for lunch. I mingled with the other people pouring into the hallway and headed for Jake’s locker. When I didn’t see him there, I got concerned. We always walk to lunch together. I turned around to walk back to Mr. Webster’s room to find the hallway empty. Totally and completely deserted. A tumbleweed could’ve blown through. This was unusual, nay impossible at Ashburton Junior High right before lunchtime. “Alex come on, we have to get out of here.”
I quickly turned to see Jake with a panicked look frozen on his face. “They’re after you. Follow me and be hasty”
He took off running for the exit doors at the end of the hall “Jake! Wait up!” I yelled as I ran after him.
Sprinting down the hallway, I could barely keep up. I told you he is fast. Then suddenly, CRASH! All I could see was Jake lying on the ground in front of me being attacked by a grey cloud. I slammed on the brakes right behind him as he threw the cloud away from himself. That’s when I got a clear look at the thing that attacked him. It was a large wolf, maybe about the size of a black bear, with angry red eyes and rippling silver fur. The wolf got to its feet and turned to us. It snarled and drooled and got hit in the head with a rock and fell over unconscious. I turned again to Jake, on his feet with an old fashioned slingshot in his hand. It looked just the one Bart Simpson would use, with a wishbone shape and solid oak construction. “That won’t keep it down for long, we have to keep running”
And so we ran. I followed him out of the emergency exit to the parking lot where all the staff parked they’re cars. “Here, we’ll take Mrs. Dillon’s car”
“I’ve never been our principle’s biggest fan but do we really need to take her car? Can you even drive?”
“Just get in the passenger’s seat Alex”
“It’s locked”
SMASH! The driver’s side window caved in and Jake reached in to hit the unlock button. I opened the door as he started the engine, though how he won’t teach me. I was immediately struck by the fact that my best friends now had furry haunches that led to two large dark hooves where his feet should’ve been. “Dude! You’re half sheep!”
He haphazardly pulled out of the parking space and sped towards the road. “Half goat! I’m a satyr dingus. See?”
He removed his trademark bomber hat to reveal two tiny horns growing from the top of his head. “What were those things?” I asked
We wove through the streets of the tiny town to the freeway. “Werewolves, they must’ve caught your scent. They’re no doubt tracking us right now.”
“Do I stink or something? And what are werewolves doing in Connecticut?”
“Looking for you. I’m not the best at explaining this stuff. I’ll let Chiron do it once we get there.”Jake slammed on the gas on the entrance ramp.
“Where are we going? And slow down, you’re doing like 90”
“You’ll see when we get there. Now pop in some tunes. It helps me concentrate.”
I threw in some AC/DC and just stared out the window contemplating the recent events. I had so many questions but Jake didn’t seem like he was really in the mood to talk to me. We drove South past Gardiner’s Bay along the coastline. “Givin a Dog a Bone” came up on my playlist. Jake told me “Definitely skip this one. They’re close behind. I can smell them”
I wasn’t going to ask how he can smell werewolves but I guessed they can smell me so it’s no big deal. We drove straight into the heart of New York. We passed the Bronx and turned back North on Long Island. Jake was looking a little tired as we began turning onto smaller and smaller roads. “Alex, you have to do exactly as I say, when I say it. It is a matter of life and death.”
I was about to object but we both saw a huge object looming on the road ahead of us. As we neared it, I could make out the figure of a giant wolf the size of a minivan with piercing red eyes. Closing fast, Jake swerved to avoid the wolf. The car careened into the roadside ditch with a crunch. Dazed I stepped out of the car. Jake was already on his feet on a grassy hillside leading to a forest near the car. “Alex! Run to the pine tree!”
Jake pointed to the top of the hill where a massive pine grew like a lighthouse along the shore. Four werewolves bore down on him from across the road, followed by the biggest wolf. Jake pulled out his slingshot and fired small rocks from his pockets again and again, but this time it seemed only to annoy the wolves. They got closer and closer while I stood petrified. Then the four wolves leaped at Jake, bringing him to the ground. They tore at his body like birds to carrion and his could barely raise his hands to defend himself. I leaped over the car hood and ran towards him. And then I felt something.
I felt cold. While this might not be an irregular phenomenon for most people, I never get cold due to blizzards or frigid winds or winter in general. I don’t even get ice cream headaches. The only time I can remember feeling cold is when I was really stressed out for a test or when my mom would leave on her long expeditions. I felt cold the time I saw Wilson, the school bully, picking on Jake for his chronic limp. My vision focused as I stormed across the schoolyard. Goosebumps prickled my skin and my fists clenched. When he saw the icy glare in my eyes he hastily left my friend alone, but I will never forget the feeling of being cold.
As I sprinted to defend my fallen friend once more, the world slowed around me. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. I could see every detail in the scene before me, which wolf was where and what their weak points were. I could see the fog of my breath even though the temperature couldn’t have been less than 70 degrees. I was nearly to Jake’s position when I realized I had no plan. I had no weapon, no armor, and no attack that could actually be usefully. I instinctively raised my right arm in my charge and felt something light yet weighty in my right hand. I brought it down on the closest wolf to see a sheer glazed sword made entirely of ice. The sharp blade miraculously caught the werewolf across the neck. Its entire body seized up and white crystals spread from the cut to cover the werewolf until it was just a fallen ice statue. I was already into my next maneuver, thrusting my ice blade into the second werewolf’s exposed belly. Similarly to the first wolf, it became a were-pop on the ground. Never stopping, I swung my left fist into the jaw of the still surprised third wolf. In a fluid arc, I sliced it across the back, creating another sno-wolf. In a moment of battle fury, I dropped my frozen sword and reached for the final werewolf. My right hand gripped its snout and my left its jaw. I forced open its mouth at an excruciating angle and summoned all of the blizzard swirling inside me. I blew the gust of cold vengeance right into the werewolf’s mouth. For the first time, I saw the look of sadness in creature’s eyes as it froze from the inside out. In four solid blows, I smashed the four ice statues surrounding my friends. The resulting ice chunks disappeared into the ground.
Still filled with righteous wrath, I charged the giant wolf still slowly striding toward my friend. My mouth let loose a guttural primitive yell as the ice sword reappeared in my hands. I was nearly upon the wolf and my sword rose to swing when the creature took his enormous paw and smacked me out of the way. My body flew the air like a ragdoll and crashed into the wrecked car on the side of the road. I could barely keep conscious as my battle adrenaline deserted me. I heard a yell from the top of the hill. “Archers ready! Fire!”
Beautiful glints of silver raced through the air. The salvo of arrows pierced the beast’s side and it turned to the top of the hill to see several warriors charging at it. Equipped with Spartan style helmets, large shields and bronze swords, these new combatants seemed to be only teenagers in jeans and tennis shoes. One of them even had a spear that crackled with electricity. The fighters engaged the wolf in combat futilely. Their weapons could not seem to harm the wolf but the wolf would try to bat away the warriors, only to have them expertly dodge his blows. I knew I could not sit idly by as my friend was still in trouble. I summoned all of my remaining strength and got to my feet once more. And one more time I instinctively bull rushed the giant creature without any real plan at all. While the furry mutt was distracted by the Greek fighters, I ran to its flank, raising my fist. This time I saw ice crystals growing from inside my hand. In a few short seconds, the ice had formed a long blade protruding from my fist like an ancient katar. I leaped into the air and drove my blade fist right into its ribs. Once, my hand was inside the wolf, I grabbed the first squishy thing I could and forcefully tore it out. The giant head quickly turned to me and I head butted the wolf right in the face, knocking several teeth out. As if it just now learned of its injury, the beast fell to the ground, black dust pouring from the gaping hole I just tore. The dust kept flowing until the entire wolf turned to dust and seemed to melt into the ground and I collapsed from exhaustion. One of the warriors took off her helmet to reveal a teenage girl with a stark face and dark brown hair. “We haven’t seen an entrance like that since you know who.” She said
“Is Jake alright?” I coughed.
“He’ll be fine. Will is the best medic there is.” She replied
The last thing I saw before blacking out were little ice crystals falling from the sky. Snow was falling from a cloudless sky in 69 degree weather in the middle of May.

Notes

Everyone please tell me if you find any spelling or grammar mistakes. I will correct them right away, I really appreciate it

-CaptainHammer