Rimwick

How To Win A Snowball Fight

"Move!" I snap. I grab Anvil's hand and yank him back, away from the pile of boulders and the creek, to the other side of a small cluster of trees.

"Why are we here?" Anvil whispers to me.

"We have to hide. We-"

"Fallon says to come back."

I look up. Echo smiles at me, her lips painting her face with a small, apologetic gesture.

"We can't!" I say, trying to keep my voice down even though I'm desperate for them to listen. "Don't you see? We followed Roman to the same place that Brooke and Felix lead you and Fallon. Then the tracks stopped. They must be planning something, and until we know what it is or figure out our own strategy, we need to stay safe."

"Um..." Echo looks at Anvil, then back at me. "Not that I disagree with you, but Fallon says that there are probably still tracks somewhere and we should look for them."

That's stupid, I want to spit. We might as well splash ourselves with glow-in-the-dark paint and do the chicken dance on top of those boulders. THAT'S how easily they're going to get us.

But I don't say anything. Fallon's the one I need to argue with, so I follow Echo and Anvil out of the trees.

Fallon isn't there. Great.

Echo revolves around on the spot, searching the trees. "Where did she-"

BAM! A sphere of white powder slams into Echo, not hard enough to unbalance her, but a solid hit. She spins around, wide-eyed; I whirl around, kicking up snow behind me, and duck around a massive cedar. It's bark is black the way tar is, dark and sticky with sap.

A ventum tree. I don't touch it.

On the tower of boulders by the creek stands Felix, blond hair and black shirt outlined in white flurries, a packed snowball in each hand. He smiles kindly, no malice staining his face. Two figures- a floating, smirking girl and a wolf with bared teeth- step up next to him. Together they crown the hill's crest with an unmistakable power of victory.

Before they see me, I duck behind the tree.

"Run along home, Echo!" Brooke's condescending tone carries to my sanctuary. "Follow your oh so expert captain all the way to ignominium."

I peek, then duck back again. What dusk kind of teenager uses words like 'ignominium'? Brooke is a moron. She probably just made that up.

Echo's gone. I don't know where Anvil is.

The wind is blowing lightly, snow drifting around me in minute cyclones, and Felix, Brooke, and Roman the Wolf are tramping through the forest on a manhunt. My breath comes quicker and my heart beats in my chest with the rhythmic drumming of some ancient tribal instrumentalist. If I move, they'll see me. If I stay, I'll be found. Or...

Gingerly, I bend down and scoop snow into my hand. Cupping it, I form a ball, letting its cold shape dance around my fingers until I step briefly out of the tree's cover and throw the bullet at Felix.

I miss. It landed near his feet, and now they know where I am.

Roman growls, barking, almost, like a dog, and I run. Around the tree, behind a rock, scrabbling through the snowflakes that flee from the sky the same way I flee from the Children behind me. The wind pushes against my back and I follow its urging, even though the ground sucks fiercely at my boots.

I stop when I run smack into a colossal drift of snow. Sinking into its pillowy wall, I catch my breath and listen. The only sound I hear is the wing-beat of the wind. As I hide in the nook that the tempest caresses, I am all but invisible from the forest.

Invisible, and undetectable, as the air carries my scent away. Roman leaps over a cage of shrubbery and sticks his glistening black nose in the air, but fails to notice my hiding place. I dig my hand into the snow next to me. A ball of revenge leaves my fingertips, and breaks apart on Roman's hide.

He turns, shocked. I raise my hand and wiggle my fingers to wave the wolf away. His muzzle crinkles into a venomous growl, then tips back and calls a howled warning to the sky. I stare, shocked.

He didn't.

As the wolf dashes away, I propel myself off the forest floor and into thicker woods. Roman's howl wasn't fair. Now his team knows where to find me. I need to decide what to do, where to go, and fast before they-

"Steady there. Don't want you getting wetter than necessary."

Ice blue eyes shine into mine. Felix's hands are steady, hardened, and gripping my arms. Brooke floats behind him.

"Alright," I say. "You got me. But Anvil-"

Brooke laughs, high pitched and ringing. "Why do you think it took us so long to get to you?"

Felix turns slightly, frowning in her direction. I stomp on his foot, twist away from his grasp and grab a fistful of snow. I hurl it at Brooke, and it momentarily slices through her smoky form.

"Bye," I say, pausing before I run away from Felix.

Brooke doesn't move, just laughs. Again. "Oh, Sweetie. Snowballs never hit me. The just go through."

What? That's ridiculous! "I still hit you!"

"No." She smiles. "You didn't."

"Well, actually Brooke," Felix says, "I don't think we need you here anymore. Thank you very much for all the help."

And with that, he tosses a snowball at my side. It hits before I can dash away, and though the impact is gentle, I feel its crushing force drive all the way into me.

You'd think I'd be used to it, but I don't like losing.