Ice cold

Dan is sitting on the floor of the frozen lake with Phil leaning against him, asleep, when he hears a small crack. He assumes it's just either him or Phil moving around a little when he hears that quiet, cold crack again. He glances at the ground underneath them and he suddenly notices a web of lines, like veins.

He cries out a little, and the ice cracks even more. Phil wakes up with a start and looks confusedly at Dan. Dan scrambles up to his feet, away from the cracked ice. "Phil! Get up! Now!" Dan shouts, panicked, and the ice cracks even more under Phil. Phil blinks, and only then he notices the weakening ice underneath him. He gasps, and stands up quickly and-

The ice gives one last loud snap, and the ground beneath Phil collapses. The last thing Dan sees of Phil is his terrified face. Then all that's left is a large, jagged-edged hole in the frozen lake.

Dan rushes to the edge of the hole. The water is almost clear and he can see Phil a few feet below, slowly sinking, his ebony hair floating around him like a halo.

Dan gasps and throws off his coat, then leaps into the water. The liquid is freezing and Dan lets out a bit of air in surprise. Water encloses his whole body, almost immediately numbing him. He forces his eyes open, the iciness almost making him close them again.

Through the blurry water, he can just make out Phil. He is floating several feet below him. Dan's eyes widen in surprise. What he thought was 2 feet was actually 10 feet. He kicks down, down, down, his oxygen depleting quickly.
Finally, Dan is able to reach out and grabs his arm, his oxygen all but gone. He looks up, and he can only just see the faint sunshine coming through the hole, a pin prick of light.

Dan kicks as hard as he can, his lungs feeling like they are on fire. His eyes are burning and he sees black spots around the edges of his vision and he know he can't go on much further.

When he is less than 2 feet away from the surface, he is struggling to kick. He gathers the last shred of his strength and heaves Phil up through the hole. A flurry of bubbles accompany him as Phil is thrown to the surface and half his body lands on the ice like a dead fish.

Dan doesn't see if Phil is alive. Dan's lungs are screaming for air, and he can't stop himself from taking a breath. Icy water rushes into his mouth and fills his lungs. Dan closes his eyes, and the last thing he thinks of is Phil's laugh. Then the darkness envelopes him.