The Marenon Chronicles Collection - By Jason D. Morrow Page 0,52

ice laughing hysterically and pointed as Julian sprawled helplessly.

“Hey!” Julian yelled, still sliding.

He got up and then continued to play ice tag with Morgan. They made their way out to the middle of the pond and Julian soon realized that even in such a simple game, he was no match for his larger brother. Over and over he was shoved to the ice. His clothes were covered in the white powder. All he wanted was one good hit on his brother. Eventually, Morgan agreed to give him one free shot to try and knock him down. Taking his chance, Julian charged at him with everything he had. When Morgan scooted out of the way in the last moment, Julian fell flat on his face into the ice.

“You cheated!” Julian yelled, as he rolled onto his back.

“You fell for it, you little twerp!”

Julian shifted himself onto his butt and looked up at his brother. “You’re no fun. You’re always mean.”

“That’s because you deserve it. You’re nothing but a little murderer.”

“What do you mean?”

“You killed mother, when you came out of her. Didn’t you know that?”

“I did not, take it back!” This was not the first time Morgan had told him this.

“I’ve always hated you because you’re just a little killer!”

Julian was on his feet now, moving toward his much larger opponent. He shoved into him, pounding with his fists. “I said take it back!”

“Get off me,” Morgan shouted.

“Take it back!” Julian said still pounding.

Morgan had all he could take and hot anger burned through his skin. “I said get off me!” With that he shoved Julian as hard as he could, landing him on his back once again. He kept sliding until he was a good ten feet away. The wind was knocked out of Julian and the jolt formed surprised tears in his eyes. After a minute he started to stand to his feet once again and then he heard it. A cracking. The noise made him freeze in place and Morgan stood at a short distance staring. The cracking and squeaking of the ice grew louder and louder and then without a chance to get away, Julian fell through.

The sudden shock of ice water on his skin felt like a boiling vat until the cold set in seconds later. His head was instantly submerged and he accidently swallowed a mouth full of water. Julian was a good swimmer for his age, but the skates weighed him down, giving him little buoyancy to move toward the surface. Morgan stood in place. His expression had changed from a look of anger to a devious crack in his lips, forming into a light smile of twisted delight.

Julian tried to cry out for help, but he had swallowed too much water. Why was Morgan not helping him? With his flailing and flapping arms, he was able to bob to the surface, and he caught a glimpse of a running figure in the distance – his hope, his father. Morgan noticed his father too and instantly fell flat on his belly and shimmied his way to Julian. He wasn’t going to be seen doing nothing to save his little brother. He made his way to the edge of the cracked ice and offered his arm to Julian. Julian tried to grab it, but every time he reached, Morgan’s arm went out of range. Julian was losing his strength and he started to sink lower.

He could hear the muffled yells of his father, then another large crack, followed by a splash. A foot under the icy water he came face to face with his now struggling brother. The ice had broken under Morgan’s weight. The bubbles reaching the surface became fewer as Julian tried in vain to swim toward the surface. It was too late to save either of them by the time their father made it out to the pond. Their father’s weight proved too much for the ice as well and he fell in about twenty yards away. He was able to pull himself out from the first break and crawl to his nearly dead sons who were then barely struggling. He dived in and tried to save both of them, but the lake proved too much for even the grown man. Julian’s fear multiplied when his brother and father became still. He reached out to his father and mustered his last bits of strength to shake him. For some reason, Morgan and his father died several moments before Julian did. However, it