by CS Patra
“I’m pretty sure about that,” she murmured. “Donnie and I—well, I would like to get through this without him.”
“Did you have a fight?” Alice asked.
“No, we’re getting along. It’s just that—I need some space.” She said, trying to push Donnie thoughts out of her head. “We both need to focus on our work now.”
“I see.” Alice shared a look with the other two women. “All right, we need to go over some things before we do this. We will take you to that world, but you will have to do some of the work on your own. You must be willing to accept the fact that we may not be what you think we are. Keep an open mind. This is something that is not normal.”
“None of this is normal.” Olivia admitted. “I’m keeping an open mind, though. You already told me that you were travelers. Donnie told me all about parallel universes. I’m going in and out of weird worlds. I think I’m used to all this by now.”
Before Ms. Howard could say anything in response, her phone rang, so she excused herself and picked it up. Olivia turned to Gemma and Alice. “Before we go anywhere, you’re going to have to tell me how you travel from world to world.”
“Oh, that’s a bit complicated,” Gemma said. “We have the power to do that, but we don’t know how we got it. My mother always said I was born with it. She also warned never to do anything in another place that would alter the current reality.”
“So how will you get me there? Do I have to hold your hand or something?”
“Most likely.” Alice nodded. “You don’t have the power to do this like we do. You’re able to get there in dream space, but not while you’re awake. We can take care of that part. You’ll only have to trust us.”
At that moment, Ms. Howard came back in the room, and they all grew quiet. The look on her face was a solemn one, and she turned to Olivia. “I’m afraid I have bad news. That was Donovan’s uncle. He stopped by Donovan’s house earlier and found that his nephew was not there. The car and everything was still there, and he did come home after work. His stuff is around, and he’d even made dinner. He’s just not anywhere to be found.”
“Maybe he stepped out for a bit,” Olivia suggested. She had no idea where Donnie would go, but she didn’t want to think about the worst just yet. “Maybe he’s downstairs and working. He told me that he sometimes gets caught up in his work.”
“Oh, Raymond’s already looked down there and he didn’t find him. He’s checked out every room, but it doesn’t seem like he left the house. He did tell me about one clue, though—in the shop below, on top of whatever Donovan was working on, he found something cold and wet.”
“Cold and wet?”
“Yes. He thought it was a leak at first, but then he saw a huge puddle on the ground. Then he found some snow and ice.”
“Snow and ice, huh? I think I know where they may have taken him, then.” Olivia muttered. “Did anyone leave a note behind?”
“He didn’t find any notes, but he did see that Donovan wrote something down before he disappeared. All it said was, Hearts Under Ice can be thawed out. I don’t know if he wanted to tell you that or not. He might have discovered something.”
“Well, we need to go to that Frostland and get him back.” Olivia said, standing up straight. “I don’t think I can wait any more days to be certain. I know that’s where he is, and I need to save him. I highly doubt he went there on his own free will.”
“What makes you so certain about that?” Alice asked. “For all you know, he might have figured out his own way to cross into another world.”
Olivia didn’t have proof of this, but she didn’t need it. In her heart, she knew that Donnie didn’t go to the Frostland on his own, without her. Why would he do that and not tell anyone? At the very least, she knew he would leave her a text message. No, this wasn’t right at all. That ice and snow meant that someone has taken him.
“Are you sure about this?” Ms. Howard asked, not waiting for an answer. “It will be rough, and you don’t even know if Donovan is in the Frostland.”
“You’re right, I don’t know where he is for sure. If I can get in there, I will probably be able to find someone who can tell me if he’s there. Besides, I don’t think he would write that message down if it didn’t have any meaning behind it. Donnie is leaving me a clue, and I need to figure out what it is. That means I need to get to that frosty world as soon as possible. I want to know what he meant by that message, and how it’s going to help me.”
“Well, I can take you to the Frostland, but don’t hold your breath. There’s no guarantee that he’s there. Even if he is, we don’t know if he’s still alive.”
“He’s not dead,” Olivia said firmly. “I know it. He may not be in the best of shape, but he is not dead. He would not give up so easily.”
“I agree,” Ms. Howard nodded. “I just don’t know if you can handle this. You don’t have our abilities.”
“Look, I won’t ever know if I don’t try. I see these worlds in dreams. My mind can handle them. The only thing I’m certain about is that Donnie needs my help. He needs to be saved,” she said.
“He needs to be saved?” Alice repeated. “How do you know that he’s in danger?”
“Because—” Olivia stopped herself and tried to come up with a good reason. How did she know that he was in danger? Some water and ice did not necessarily spell danger. She hadn’t heard anything about him being in a struggle, or that his house had been broken into. At the same time, people did not just disappear. “I just have a feeling, okay? I’m trusting my gut on this one.”
“So we’re going to rely on your gut for this?” Gemma asked. “I’d have better luck asking a Magic Eight Ball.”
“I know I don’t have concrete proof, but I know that something went wrong. He left without taking anything? That doesn’t make sense. I know it would be smarter to go to the police or something, but this doesn’t seem like a case they can solve. Some water and melted ice isn’t evidence of a kidnapping or any foul play. They would just tell me that I was worrying too much.”
“Are you suggesting that we break into his house?” Ms. Howard asked.
“I think we should take a look, to be sure. You guys said you can travel anywhere, right?” Olivia asked. “Well, we should be able to get into Donnie’s house without using the key or breaking a window. All we need to do is take a quick look around the place.”
Ms. Howard looked at her friends, who just shrugged in reply. “All right, I think we should, look but not in the way you’re suggesting. We should just go over there ourselves and knock on the door. If it looks like something has gone wrong, then we’ll plan our next move.”
Olivia started to open her mouth, but stopped. Ms. Howard did have a point. They could not just barge into Donnie’s house like that. “I’ll stay here in case he shows up or calls.”
“Good. I can go there very quickly and see how things look. You can come with me, Alice.” Ms. Howard said, nodding at her friend. “Look after Olivia, Gemma. We need to be careful, in case she has another vision.”
“Can’t I go with you?”
“No, dear. After what has happened, I need you to stay put. If you can, Olivia, try to go back into your dreams and see if you can find anything. I have a key to Donovan’s house, so I can get in the normal way if needed. We’ll be back,” she promised.
Ms. Howard was right. She needed to try to find some more answers from her dreams. If she was lucky, she could figure out who this brotherhood was and why they had sent for her. They could have even left her a clue as to where Donnie was. As the other two left, she nodded at Gemma.
“Do you mind if I rest a little?” she asked, lying down on the couch. “I want to see if I can find out who sent that message.”
“I’ll be right here.” Gemma said, moving to the end of the couch. “If I think anything is going wrong, I’ll wake you up.”
“Thanks.” Olivia closed her eyes and tried to picture those words again. Gemma was watching after her, so sh
e knew she’d be safe. Still, there was a part of her that was scared. Things weren’t going to end so easily. She had no idea why, but something told her that this was just the beginning of her adventures into other worlds.
Chapter Sixteen
Donnie had no idea how he had gotten straight from his shop directly into this place. He had been asleep for a long time, but when he woke up, he was in some kind of icy prison. He could see his breath when he exhaled, and he felt cold. However, he wasn’t completely freezing, and he wondered why that could be. His prison cell was made entirely of ice. He tried to stand up, but saw that he was shackled to the walls. His feet were also shackled, and he noticed that he had several tubes hanging around him. They weren’t attached to him, but he had a bad feeling about them. Fortunately, he was still clothed, or else he was sure he would freeze to death.
“Huh?” Donnie asked out loud, pulling on the shackles. He could not get out of them, no matter how hard he tried. Everything was confusing, and he had no idea how he ended up here. There was light in his cell, but no one else was around. “Hello? Can someone help me? Hello!”
No one answered, and he tried to remember what had gone down at his house. The cold was unbearable, but he attempted to keep himself warm. The light around him was helping a little. There was warmth coming from that, so he knew he wouldn’t freeze to death. All he had to do now was figure out how he got here, who brought him here, and how to escape this prison.
He’d made it home in one piece, and went straight downstairs to get to work. He felt down, because Olivia hadn’t visited him much during the day. She had so much work to key in today, thanks to him. Even at lunch, Olivia had gone off alone and didn’t come back until it was time to work again. He ended up getting no free time with her because she had left before he could really talk to her. Feeling guilty for not stopping by her office, he’d decided to go home and go back to his work. He dragged himself down each step and looked at the thing in the corner of the room. It was covered by a giant gray sheet, not that anyone would have known what it was. He only kept it covered because he didn’t want dust or bugs to settle on it. Sighing, he sat down and looked at it. So many days and sleepless nights had gone into making this thing. He sometimes spent the entire weekend on it, and only came upstairs if he wanted to eat something. No one knew just how many times he went without eating sometimes. Raymond knew about his projects, of course, but he would never understand them. He just left his nephew up to his own devices and assumed that Donnie could take care of himself. For the most part, things worked fine.
“Well, I’ve come this far, and I still feel like I have a long way to go,” he mumbled. “Oh, Olivia, I wish I could have told you about this.”
He had no idea why he wanted to show her this. Olivia had never been down here before, and she probably wouldn’t be interested. She had showed interest in the parallel universes, but that was about it. A girl like Olivia would never really want to know more than that. She only cared because she could envision these other worlds. She could converse with the other people there, and get around in the terrain. That was a lot more than he could do while asleep. If she didn’t have that ability, then she probably wouldn’t bother with him. He had seen her talking with Vijay and Leila during breaks, and it was so easy for her. She might have been quiet, but she could attract people. She knew just what to say to get them to listen to her. He wondered what he had been doing wrong for so long. Was it the fact that he was a genius that turned them off? That didn’t seem to be a problem for Olivia. She talked to him like he wanted to be spoken to. She treated him like he was a normal person, nothing superior or special. That was what he liked.
He stared at the wall for a long time, lost in his thoughts. When the phone rang, he got up and decided to answer it. “Hello?”
“Donnie, it’s me.” Raymond was calling in to check up on his nephew. “I haven’t talked to you in days, and you haven’t been online lately. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“Yeah, I’m okay. I just haven’t had much free time,” Donnie lied. He had plenty of free time, but he chose to daydream during it instead. Lately, Olivia was the one on his mind. It wasn’t just her abilities that he was impressed with. He found himself intrigued by everything else as well. She might not have known what she wanted out of life, but that wasn’t bothering her. She knew she was still young enough to figure out the rest of her life later.
“What’s the trouble, Donovan? You don’t sound like yourself.”
“Uh, trouble?” Donnie asked. “What makes you think there’s trouble?”
“I can hear it your voice, dear nephew. Something is on your mind, and it’s not the usual stuff that bothers you. This is something new,” he observed. “What have you been thinking about now? Did someone make fun of you?”
“Uncle Ray, I’m twenty-six! I’m past the years of being bullied and tormented!” Donnie exclaimed. Deep down, he didn’t know how true that really was. Maybe no one was calling him names to his face, but the torment wasn’t over. He still had the same issues that he’d had as a teenager. He still had his anxiety and his doubts about himself. “I am thinking about someone—”
“Someone!” Ray interrupted him. “Well, this is something new! You never told me about any ‘someone’ in your life until now!”
“That’s because she’s technically not in my life. Not in that way. She works for me.”
“Right. So what do you like about her?”
“I like her work ethic and her punctuality.” Donnie said, trying to steer the conversation away from Olivia. “She’s everything I’ve looked for in a new employee. That’s enough about her, though. Is there anything you wanted?”
“No, I just wanted to see how you were. Turns out, you’ve got a special lady.”
“I don’t have a ‘special lady!’” Donnie started to turn red, even though no one was around. “Really, Uncle Ray, I’m fine. I’m alone, but I’m fine.”
“I’m sure you are, buddy. Well, your father would be happy to know this, may his soul rest in peace. You don’t need to hide your feelings from me. You might keep to yourself, but I know you. I know how you get sometimes. She’s definitely something special, and I’d try to find out more about her, if I were you.”
“Well, you’re not me, and I know what I’m doing.” Donnie sighed. “Look, it’s going to be late soon, and I’m starving. I haven’t made dinner yet.”
“Sure, Donnie. Take care of yourself. I might stop by this weekend if you’ll be available. Of course, if you have plans—”
“I have no plans, Uncle Ray. You can come over on Saturday.” He was anxious to get off the phone now. “I’ve got to get back to work now. I’ll see you then.”
“See you, Donnie. Have fun on your date.”
Donnie bristled at that word and hung up the phone. He had not mentioned a single thing about a date, yet his uncle had assumed he was going out with Olivia. Well, he was going to be shocked when he found out that there was no girlfriend in the picture. Olivia was nothing more than a coworker. He was now having doubts that she was even his friend, let alone something more than that. She acknowledged his existence, and that would just have to be good enough.
For the next few hours, Donnie worked on his projects and tried to figure out why Olivia had received that message. He believed everything she said about the dream, but he didn’t know how she got the frost on her car. Carefully, he wrote down the words, Hearts Under Ice can be thawed out. He always did this whenever he started an experiment—wrote down what he wanted to see as a result first. If it came out right, he would put a check mark next to the sentence. If he was wrong, he’d put an x and write down what the result turned out to be.
Sitting down, he thought about what to do next. Before he started, the A/C unit kicked in, and he could feel the air blowing down on his head. The house was getting colder, so he decided to turn up the thermostat. For some reason, it was also making him tired. He dragged himself up the steps and fel
t his eyes closing. The whole room was starting to grow even colder, and he could see some of the windows fogging up.
Wait, it’s summertime. Why is this happening now? Why do I feel so tired? His hand went for the thermostat, and he tried to raise the heat.
After this, I’m going to take a nap. After this—
That was the last thing he remembered before he closed his eyes and fell asleep. What happened next, he had no idea. He kept having some strange dreams about a woman with long, silver hair and icy blue eyes. This was definitely not Olivia, but she still looked familiar. She opened her mouth, but no words or sounds came out. Before he could ask her anything, she’d melt into a pool of water, and the walls around her turned bright red. It took him a second to realize that he was looking at walls of blood. Gasping, he’d try to run away, and eventually he had woken up.
That woman must have been the Frost Queen. She might have sent that message, he thought, remembering the bits that Olivia had told him. Now here he was in this ice prison, unable to break free of his chains. He found himself struggling to stay warm as the light poured down from the openings in his room. Even though he couldn’t see his watch, he knew that the daylight was coming to an end. “Come on, come on! Stay out a little longer, sun!”
“You can beg all you want. It’s not going to listen to you. The sun has its own way of doing things. It rises and falls when it should,” someone replied. Donnie looked up to see where the voice was coming from. He knew it was from outside of his prison cell, but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly where or who it was. “Do not be alarmed. We’re not here to freeze you to death.”
“Then what are you here for? I know it’s not to have a friendly chat.” Donnie kept struggling with his chains. “Who are you, anyway?”
“You may call us the Brotherhood of Iced Blood. We have brought you here, Dr. Vaughn, and it’s all for a good cause. We’re not here to hurt you. If you continue to cooperate, we see no reason to do anything harmful to you.”
