Chapter 3 #2
The water came from somewhere underneath, because it never dried up and was naturally warm. Even when there was early snow on the ground, the pond didn’t freeze until later in the winter and always thawed around March.
To everyone’s entertainment, Tally was not only skating herself but had gotten Scar on the ice.
Keys assured everyone that he was recording for their future enjoyment.
Though she was blind, Tally was proving to be a good skater.
The biggest issue was that her echolocation was thrown off by the snow and the kids’ laughter.
She didn’t want to risk running into anyone, so she was skating further away from the others.
Scar, who was the most agile man Steel had ever met, was not a good skater and was clearly only on the ice for Tally’s enjoyment. He hadn’t fallen—yet. But there were some pretty high bets going around the adults as to if he would.
By the time the ol’ ladies were calling everyone in to warm up, the sun was starting to go down.
Steel was helping some of the younger ones transition off the ice to solid ground as the adults on the ice helped to corral them.
Rather than create a backup on land, other members came over to lift the kids and carry them to the pavilion to have their skates removed and boots put back on.
All of their shoes were being kept warm by a heater.
Steel wasn’t the only adult who was looking forward to a cup of hot chocolate.
The day itself didn’t feel too chilly, despite the extensive snowfall, but when the mountain wind hit, it was brutal.
He would never admit it, but he was kicking himself that he hadn’t bought a heated snowsuit for himself too.
High-pitched laughter caught everyone’s attention, making their assembly line of children pause as they turned to see Tally and Scar.
It wasn’t quite a smile on Scar’s face as he watched the woman he loved try to twirl on one leg, but the brightness in his eyes portrayed his happiness.
There was a time when Steel had felt utterly conflicted when it came to Scar.
Even before his desertion, Scar hadn’t been getting better, and it made Steel wonder if being a part of the club was helping the man.
In comparison, Jumper, whose PTSD had involved hallucinations, blackouts, and severe panic attacks, had shown some signs of improvement as the years went by.
Nothing like when Jasmine had entered his life, but he’d been doing better.
And even the smallest relief was still relief.
But Scar? He hadn’t seemed to change. He wasn’t social, he wasn’t sleeping, he wasn’t eating… He was just there. Only two people ever seemed to be able to get through to him, Bulldog and Lucky’s daughter, Sissy. He was part of the club, but also not.
Looking at him now, seeing the enormous weight off his shoulders, and as close to a smile as Steel was pretty sure Scar was capable of, he knew that it wasn’t the club that had healed him, but Tally.
And Steel wasn’t the only one who would be eternally grateful to her for metaphorically and literally bringing their brother back from the dead.
Ollie and Aaron were on the ice while Bree was under the pavilion with the ol’ ladies; Lucky was trying to convince Scotty and Lila that the ice would still be there tomorrow; and the assembly line of laughing, squirming club kids continued.
Demo was handing Nelly Bean to Steel when there was an audible crack.
Everyone froze, the adults trying to place the sound. It wasn’t as crisp as a gunshot, but it had been as loud as one. Steel turned towards the ol’ ladies, fearing seeing one of them felled by a sniper shot.
A shocked yell where there had been laughter only a moment before pulled Steel’s attention to his left where Scar and Tally were skating.
As another crack sounded, Steel saw Scar reach Tally.
In a swift, singular move, Scar lifted Tally off the ice, spun, and bodily tossed her into the deep snow yards away. Tally screamed as she flew.
Scar made to follow, unsteady on the skates attached to his feet. He barely made it a few steps before the ice cracked again and Scar was plunged into the freezing pond.
It wasn’t like in the movies where a perfect hole was formed and water fills where ice once was.
The ice was not thin from melting, nor were the cracks small.
Once started, they created thick fissures through the entire pond from that single origin point.
The spot where Scar had stood held a rocking chunk of ice that teetered as it slowly flipped and covered the watery hole.
It wasn’t an exact match, applying pressure to the surrounding ice and causing more cracks and groans to sound.
The adults scrambled. No longer an assembly line, each grabbed a child or a teen and got them to the nearest section of land.
Like dominoes, once the cracks started, there was no stopping them.
Skate blades slid into gaps, making the exodus to land more of a trip.
Those who had boots rather than skates grabbed arms, hands, and coats as they pulled people to safety.
Steel ended up on the edge of the ice, not caring that water was starting to flow over it as he grabbed Demo, whose leg had gone completely through as he balanced with Mikey in his arms. Others ran around, fighting in the snow to reach Tally, who still lay prone on the bank where she’d landed.
Ghost, Jigsaw, and Ranger, none of which had been on the ice, were trying to work their way to the hole Scar had gone through. All three were lying flat, spread out to distribute their weight on the weak ice.
Scar hadn’t immediately popped back up, soaked and pissed off.
Parts of the pond were deeper than others.
It wasn’t a uniformed, gradual depth to the center.
Whatever underground spring that fed the pond provided enough of a current where little algae grew during the summer, and mostly around the grassy edges.
The club had added more sand on the side closest to the clubhouse to create a beach of sorts, but it was mostly uneven ground below.
They estimated the deepest points to be around eight to nine feet.
The spot where Scar had fallen would be around six feet, if Steel remembered correctly.
As the women counted heads, Steel called for rope.
Even as careful as Ranger, Ghost, and Jigsaw were being, the ice was still protesting their weight.
Only years of training kept the panic in his soul from affecting his brain.
He wanted to get onto the ice with them, to help, but the more weight on the ice, the more they risked adding to the water below.
Why hadn’t Scar reemerged?
Bulldog, his heavy breathing visible like puffs of smoke, was fighting back into his boots.
The ol’ ladies were rushing the kids away.
Tessa now had a medical bag in her gloved hands as she hopped and followed the footprints around the pond to Tally.
She struggled and was slow going, but Steel could see Grumpy helping Tally to sit up.
Steel was still standing at the watery edge, where the ice had turned to slush at the trample of the mass exodus. He’d seen Aaron and Ollie get off the ice, and while there’d been close calls, no one else had ended up in the water. All were accounted for, except for Scar.
And unlike the last time Scar had gone into the water, they knew exactly where he was. They just couldn’t get to him.
Ranger got to the tipped ice first, but no sooner had he reached a hand out to try to move it, did the ice under him start to shift. His torso started to sink, causing him to have to shimmy his way back onto a more solid section.
“Scar!” came Tally’s frantic cry. She was trying to get back onto the ice, but Grumpy, Cage, and Tessa were holding her back.
Steel’s mind was working a million miles per hour, taking in the scene around him, the helplessness of knowing he couldn’t run out onto the ice to help, while also calculating the possibilities.
The ice had been solid. This wasn’t their first time ice skating this winter.
The kids had been out here, mostly Scotty and Lila, almost every weekend.
It made no sense. Looking over at the chunk of ice that was blocking the hole Scar had fallen through, it wasn’t thin.
The cracks had created a makeshift circle, weakening the ice where Tally had been skating.
Scar must have seen the lines connect to have acted as quick as he did, and mute, he couldn’t have called out a warning to his blind fiancée.
The pond should have been safe. Today of all days, with their heavy snowfall and the mountain winds, the ice should have been as solid as ever.
A blade jammed up from under the ice, nowhere near where he’d gone down and in a section of the pond Steel knew was deeper than where Scar had fallen in. The blade disappeared below the surface, and a moment later a small tube, like a worm, took its place.
“There!” Steel and Bulldog called together.
“What is it?” Tally demanded from across the pond. “What’s happening? Where’s Scar? Someone tell me what’s happening!”
Steel stepped forward onto the ice on instinct. More cracks appeared below his boot. Bulldog pulled him back.
“He can breathe,” the SAA told Steel harshly. “We just have to figure out how to get to him without joining him.”
“One, ten, one,” Steel reminded Bulldog. “His ten minute timer started almost four minutes ago!”
Bulldog’s face darkened even more with anger and worry, but he kept his hold on Steel’s arm. “That water is warmer than it should be this time of year. The surface freezes, and the water below is still cold, but it should give him more time.”