The Frozen Lake and the White Forest

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Cold wind blew across the lake freezing everything in contact. It was dark except for the blood moon that reflected on the icy lake. Dark scary creatures hid behind the shadows and on the branches of tall trees alongside the big bad owl who kept watch for hours.

"C'mon Frizzy, we're only halfway there, don't tell me you're getting scared already" Damian called out walking on the now frozen lake.

Frizzy didn't say a thing, there was no way he was going to let Damian know he was scared out of his pants as sweat ran down his forehead amidst the cold. He'd been so eager to see the ritual and it took a lot of convincing to make his older brother take him. They walked in a pack of twelve and every one were a little older than frizzy, it sucked to be the youngest one in the crowd in moments like this.

The lake was a big one, and it took almost an hour to get to the middle and they needed to get across it to make it to the white forest. No one neared the forest except on ritual day because it was believed that whoever made it to the forest never made it back, if they didn't get lost in the forest, they always ended up being swallowed by the lake. It was only on this day, when the moon turns red and the lake freezes that they eventually find their way there.

Damien had been to the ritual five times which was more than anyone in the group and that made him the perfect guide. He knew how to navigate the frozen lake like the back of his hand and how to make it through the forest without getting lost, so he was their only hope in this little adventure of theirs.

"I wonder what lies beneath this frozen lake", Dugg suddenly said, in his usual confused state.

"What else apart from beautiful cold water and all sort of nice creatures waiting to feast on us", Kendra retorted back at him giving him a disgusted look. They were always on each other's throats.

Damian suddenly stopped dead and motioned for everyone to be quiet, then he softly rested his left foot on the ice before them. Then he waited for a while like he was feeling it's heartbeat. He stood like that for minutes, then did same on the right side. After a while, he circled across that particular area slowly and motioned for them to follow him, they did without question.

He kept moving fast, looking back to make sure everyone of his followers were with him. The end of the lake was now a few minutes away, Damian could feel it and he too couldn't wait to attend this year's ritual.

"Ahhhhhh!!!", was the next thing that cut Damian's thoughts halfway. He stood frozen and his heart skipped as he heard his little brother scream. He ran some steps back to see what was going on.

"Frizzy! Are you alright??,He called to his brother who was supposed to be by Dugg's side. There was no response, instead what he heard was Dugg's heavy breathing, he looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"Dugg talk to me, where's Frizzy??!", He held him by the shirt and shook him hard almost knocking his head off.

"He-e-e...." Dugg stammered but the words just wouldn't leave his lips, he'd become white in terror.

"He got swallowed by the ice monster!", Kendra finally said and the others all gasped in shock.

Damian couldn't believe his ears, and he couldn't hold back his tears. The ice monster was only a legend, a tale told to keep kids from venturing into the white forest to watch the forest people dance around a fire sacrificing big calves to the Sun god. There was no way in hell that monster had taken his brother, no way.

He fell on his knees and hot tears began to run down his cheek. He couldn't believe it, his little brother was gone, the only companion he had. Even though he always acted all tough and treated his brother badly, he loved him so much and he didn't get the chance to show him. He didn't get that chance and it really hurt so badly.

The others just stood quietly around him, every one still as shocked at the other.

" Wait!, Do you all hear that?,", Sheila, the skinny girl who hardly spoke let out.

Everyone looked at her puzzled, obviously not sure what she was talking about.

"I hear some sounds coming from that direction", she pointed a little to the right towards the direction they were coming from and started to walk towards where the sound was coming from, every other person right behind her.

As they neared, the sound started to become louder and louder until they made out a little creature curled up on the frozen lake. Scared, they moved slowly towards it and when they got really close, they realized it was no monster at all, it was frizzy! sobbing.

Apparently, he'd mistakenly stepped on slippery plane which dragged him off and as he tried to regain his balance he twisted his ankle. The others who obviously were scared had thought he got swallowed by the Ice monster and ran off leaving him behind.

Damian ran towards his brother and hugged him tightly.

"I love you little bro, and I'm never loosing you, let's get you home", he said as he carried his brother and they all started to make it back home, away from the ritual, the white forest and the frozen lake.

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_{Thank you for reading this, if you enjoyed it or it connected to you in a way, I invite you to drop a comment I'll be glad to reply❤️}