Will and Abigail hurried back to Troy, Theresa, and Brendan. All around them, people were calling out for help, but the cold air gave no answer. The evening light was fading as the group reunited at the far end of the terminal.

  "We found some sweatshirts and sweatpants, and a couple of blankets, but nothing that will keep any wind out," Will informed the group.

  "Oh man, oh man... What are we going to do? This is crazy!" Troy's voice shook.

  "The power is completely out here. There's no heat, and the temperature is still dropping. Based on the news reports, it's like this all over. I'm worried that this many people trapped in this airport will start to panic, and that things are going to take a turn for the worse," Will thought out loud.

  "We can't stay here," Theresa said, her voice sinking. "Where can we go? Can we find a hotel somewhere?"

  "If this airport doesn't have power, I don't think many other places will have power," Abigail reasoned.

  "My wife and son are at home, outside Detroit. If I'm leaving this airport, I'm going to get home to them," said Will. A pit started forming in his stomach as he thought about the implications of his statement. Leaving the airport. Venturing outside. The freezing cold. Survival. "Look, we have to go somewhere, and if we can find a car, we can stay warm in there while we drive."

  "I have a car. I drove to work this morning," said Troy, standing a little taller. "I just want to go home. If you can get me home to my parents, I'll give you my car!"

  "OK, let's bundle up and get to Troy's car. We want to be outside for as little as possible. Troy, where's the exit closest to your car?"

  Troy told them about the employee lot on the side of the airport. After everyone added a layer of clothing from the gift shop, they began their walk through the dim hallways. Will's heart hammered against his chest as he watched the cohesion of the airport patrons unravel. People were shouting at workers behind their desks. Fear was in every eye. They continued down the long hallway, approaching the end of the building. Behind them, shouts escalated and Will heard a commanding voice ordering someone to step back. More shouting. Warnings.

  BLAM!

  Screams...

  Will looked over his shoulder to see a security guard standing with his legs wide, gun pointed at a crumpled body on the floor.

  "Run!" Will snapped to his group, as he snatched Brendan up off the ground and began running toward the exit at the end of the hall. Theresa limped along, supported by Abigail as Troy led them, burdened by the extra blankets. He slammed his body against the red bar on the door reading "Alarm will sound." No alarm sounded as they all filed out of the door into the frigid air. Immediately, Will's eyes hurt. He snapped them shut and kept blinking as he surveyed the group. Everyone was breathing shallow, the air from their lungs creating a fog that slowly dissipated with each breath.

  Sirens echoed in the distance. Will could count nearly fifteen distinct fires around the horizon of the cityscape. He wasn't sure which was more dangerous, facing the deadly cold outside, or the life-threatening pandemonium inside. He turned his attention to the roads, expecting to see bumper-to-bumper traffic. Instead, he saw mostly clear roads, with cars littering the sidewalks. Puzzled, he fixated on a car pulled over on the side of the road. Its headlights were on, exhaust pluming out of the tailpipe. He could hear the engine whine as the tires spun unimpeded on the slick pavement. Ice, or frost. Of course. Everything froze.

  "We've got to move. People will be flooding out the exits any minute, now that someone's been shot," Will explained. As if in response, three more shots rang out, muffled behind the now-closed door.

  "T-this way..." Troy chattered as he led them toward the parking lot. Cars, neatly arranged were not far. Will wasn't sure how far he could make it in this cold. His legs felt tight as he struggled to put one foot in front of the other. The air against his exposed skin felt like thousands of tiny needles. He was actually glad to be holding Brendan so tightly against himself. The warmth trapped between them was his only relief from the knifing cold. As Will ran, his mind raced. Abigail. He had to keep Abigail safe. The others too. The weight of their lives pressed down on him harder than the frigid air around them.

  A scream from behind him turned his head. The car that had been spinning its tires had an open door. Three people were dragging the driver out of the vehicle, the door opening into the road.

  "No! No! Don't leave me out here!" yelled the driver as two of the figures pushed the car back onto the road while the third piloted the vehicle. As it gained momentum, the two jumped in the car and it rolled off down the road, nearly missing an oncoming black SUV.

  "Help! Please! I don't want to freeze out here!" called the abandoned driver to the frigid city.

  Will slowed his jog, looking toward the driver. He wasn't sure how long they would last in the cold, but he could already feel his legs weakening. Minutes. Not enough time to get to the person and get back to the car. More gunshots sounded from inside the airport, and he could hear distant screams. Will looked at Troy, while still holding Brendan close to his chest. "Get us to your car. We won't make it out here long enough to help him without your car."

  "Dad, he'll die," Abigail pleaded. "What if that was one of us?"

  "Abby, I don't want to leave him. I don't know how long we'll last out here. I'm not letting that happen to you. Or the others." Will couldn't stand to leave someone helpless, but would never forgive himself if they diverted to help the stranded person and Abigail ended up paying the price for his bad decision. His voice softened. "I'm sorry, Abby. He's not one of us. If we can get ourselves situated, we'll try to help him. But not until we're safe." He knew the chances of helping the stranded victim were infinitesimally small. Every step he took away from the cries for help felt like a betrayal of everything he believed in.

  Troy led them the final paces to his small car. It would fit the five of them if they crammed in. Will hoped that being packed in tightly would actually help them stay warm. Abigail got in the back with Theresa and Brendan while Troy got in the driver's seat. He slammed the key into the ignition and cranked on it.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  Click click click click.

  Again.

  Click click.

  "Stop," Will commanded, worried that they were wasting any remaining electricity.

  "The battery is frozen," Theresa said. "All these cars are going to have frozen batteries. We can't jump it."

  "Not all of them," said Will, as the black SUV the carjackers narrowly missed pulled into the parking lot. "Stay in the car. Try to stay as warm as you can. Don't open the doors for anyone," he instructed.

  Will hadn't realized how much warmer the car had become once they were all inside it. Still freezing, but when hit in the face with the outside air, he had to brace himself to catch his breath again. He couldn't have even imagined the temperatures being this cold. His voice was raspy as he yelled at the car making its way to the opposite end of the parking lot. As he waved his arms over his head, jogging to the SUV, it slowed to a stop and a man got out, dressed in a heavy winter coat, hat, and gloves.

  "Hey, can you help us?! Our car is dead and we need a jump," Will called out as he approached the man.

  "Look buddy, I'm as lost as you are. I'm just trying to fly my family someplace, anywhere, that isn't an ice cube," the stranger intoned, warily.

  "It's a mess inside that airport. Dangerous. And all the flights are grounded," Will informed him.

  "I'm not going in there. I have a plane parked in a hangar on the other side of the parking lot."

  "I'm just trying to get my daughter and I back to my wife and son. Can you please just jump our car?" Will pleaded.

  The man looked back into his vehicle, obviously wrestling with his own situation. "Yeah, yeah, ok. But we have to be quick. I'm getting us out of here and I'm not waiting to log my flight or anything," the stranger explained. "I'd offer to take you. Look, you seem like a good guy, but I don't know you or anything."

  "I'm going home to my family anyway. I really appreciate it." Will could feel the cold penetrating his clothing. His fingers were stiff, and he held them to his mouth and exhaled sharply through them as he jogged back to the car. The man followed in his SUV.

  Once Troy had seen the SUV coming back to the car, he had gotten out and gotten the jumper cables hooked up. The SUV pulled up, popped the hood, and Troy connected the cables.

  "Get back in your car, you aren't dressed to be out here," the stranger said. "I'll hook it up." Will's fingers fumbled trying to grasp the driver's door handle so much that Abigail, seeing his trouble, reached up and opened it from the inside. Will took the driver's seat and waited for the stranger to give his SUV some gas as Troy slid into the passenger seat. He heard the engine of the SUV rev up and turned the key with his numb fingers.

  With little effort, Troy's beater rumbled to life. Troy gave an exuberant shout of excitement and clapped his hands as the stranger got out of the SUV to disconnect the jumper cables and put them back in Troy's trunk. Will waved at the black SUV as it pulled away, resuming its course across the parking lot. Troy immediately turned the heat on in the car as Will maneuvered for the exit. Will glanced down the street, hoping not to see the victim of the carjacking. Several blocks away he could barely make out a huddled mass motionless on the sidewalk.

  An eerie feeling settled over the group as they drove through the city. The few other cars on the road were driving slowly, managing the slick roads. Most people seemed to be inside, but occasionally they could see people running down side streets. Slowly, the air coming out of the vents turned slightly warm. The engine was struggling to produce any noticeable heat, but it kept the sharp bite of the cold away.

  Troy directed them through several turns as they passed broken windows in storefronts. There were no lights on anywhere. The only illumination came from the occasional headlights of cars. More and more frequently they saw bodies of people huddled in corners of buildings, apparently caught in the cold and unable to continue.

  "We've got to help them," Will began. He immediately recognized the hypocrisy in his words after leaving the lone person crying for help outside the airport parking lot. But they have shelter now. Warmth...

  "No." Theresa interrupted. "There are too many. And it's too late. We have to take care of ourselves," she said as she pulled Brendan closer and covered his eyes.

  "We can't do nothing!" Will glared at her.

  "Will, look around. There is nothing that we can do. We..." she held Brendan tighter and lowered her voice to a stern whisper. "We don't even know if we can make it ourselves."

  Will focused his attention back on driving the slick roads, saying nothing. He knew Theresa was right, but the sounds of the man calling for help still echoed in his ears.

  The car rumbled on, its passengers silent. Abigail reached to the front and flipped on the radio. It ran through all available channels, producing nothing but static. She turned it off in disappointment, the hopes of hearing any helpful information dashed. Every so often, the sounds of distant sirens were heard over the laboring engine, but none close enough to identify their source.

  The city buildings gave way to smaller suburban houses, their windows dark and frosted. Lawns, usually green, were now stiff and white with frost. They found themselves in a subdivision as the sun slipped below the horizon.

  "That's my parents' place, right up there." Troy gestured to a dark house. The large window in the front was smashed, and the door stood wide open.

  "Troy..." Abigail said, her voice trembling as she put her hand on the young man's shoulder.

  "No, they're ok," Troy's voice hitched.

  "Everyone, wait here. Keep the car running and warm. I'll look inside. Troy, it's up to you if you want to come." Will looked at Troy, waiting for his response. Silently, Troy nodded and reached for the handle of his door.

  They exited quickly, trying to keep as much warm air in the car as possible. Even still, as they left the car they could hear the sharp breaths from the three figures huddled together in the backseat as the air knifed through their sweatshirts and sweatpants.

  Will and Troy jogged up to the wide-open front door, listening for noises. The sound of the grass crunching under their feet was the loudest noise in the dark subdivision. Will's heart was beating so hard as he approached the door that he momentarily forgot about the painful cold. He took a slow, single step into the blackness of the house, not knowing what to expect. As his eyes adjusted to the failing light, he stopped dead in his tracks and quickly turned to Troy.

  "Troy, wait— " Will's voice trembled as he grabbed Troy's shoulders.

  "No, what is it?! I have to see!" Troy shrugged out of Will's grasp and pushed past him into the living room. He stopped after a single step. Will was thankful that the only light was from the moon in the windows. He didn't want to clearly see what was certainly a gruesome scene.

  Dark patches that could only be blood spattered the ground. A woman in a dress lay, facedown, on the carpet, her head cocked to the side at an impossible angle. Her arm was outstretched in front of her, reaching for the couch. On it, the body of a man was sprawled, what was left of his head hanging off the armrest of the couch, a frozen puddle collected on the floor below it.

  Will looked at Troy, seeing his face frozen in horror. He grabbed the boy as he fell to his knees, his hands digging into the carpet.

  "No!" Troy screamed, his breath catching in his lungs, coming more and more shallow. "No!" Troy's voice cut through the silent house, raw and primal. His fingers tore at the carpet, not being driven by conscious thought.

  Off to the side, a loud crash was followed by the thundering of footsteps as a figure, wrapped in darkness ran down the stairs and bolted out the front door. Will and Troy jumped to their feet, not knowing what to do next.

  "Damn it, I told the kid to stay quiet. Thought we could hide out here until it warmed up," came a voice from the stairs. Another figure was there, holding what could only be a baseball bat. "You can get out of here if you want. I'll let you go. We just wanted to get warm. We were looking for coats," he explained, as he took a few steps down the stairs.

  "You animal!" Troy's voice broke as he shouted at the man. Will stepped around Troy and put his arm in front of the boy.

  "You think I wanted this?" the shadowed figure inquired. "I was a normal guy yesterday! Never thought I could kill someone. But I'm a killer now. The second one, the lady, was easier. I don't want to kill you either, but I'll do it if you don't leave," the voice scraped against the cold silence.