Lumi wasn’t any ordinary girl. She was known for her short temper and pride. It was said by the people that if you were to catch her eye, you would turn to pure ice. When she was to touch the green grass below her feet, it would turn frostbitten and shrivel up. The power of this young girl was unknown to most and they suffered greatly under her hand.

~

“You’ve got to be kidding me! I just cleaned this window and you have to go and slobber all over it?! Mom isn’t gonna be happy with you,” Summer, a 16-year-old girl, yelled at her dog, Daisy, who was running out of the room, “And stay out!!”

She shook her head and got back to work on her last weekend chore.

Daisy was a Korean Jindo. A cute little purebred puppy. She was a creamy white color and the tips of her ears a light brown. A joyful puppy always ready to play. Summer had named her Daisy because she reminded her of spring time when the flowers, daisies to be exact, would bloom and make the gloomy feeling go away.

Summer got Daisy when she was in the hospital with appendicitis the previous summer. Summer was starting to think that she would never skate again, and it was really making her depressed- skating was here favorite thing to do- but when she got Daisy, she practically forgot about it.

Daisy was a flower turning winter to spring.

When Summer was finished cleaning the windows, she headed out to the skatepark down the street.

“Hey, Justin! Ready to hit the halfpipe?” Summer asked her boyfriend who was sitting there leaning against a wall at Vans Off the Wall Skatepark. She pulled on her knee pads and strapped down her helmet over her shoulder-length dirty blonde hair.  

Justin was a short-tempered 17-year-old boy with the brightest red hair you have ever seen. He was made fun of and coveted by his friends for having red hair such as his. It was almost a pure red/orange color and it flashed in the sun like a gold medallion.

His eyes were emerald green and they were deep and kind.

His skin was tanned from hours of being in the sun.(Probably skating)

The sun was shining brightly on that summer weekend in Huntington Beach, California, and everyone was having a good time.

A cold wind blew and dark black clouds quickly formed over them. The clouds blocked out the sun and everyone started panicking. Summer and Justin heard a man down the street crying that it was Judgement Day. Another was shouting that the aliens had come to abduct the human race. Nobody knew what was happening and they all were hysterical over the strange occurrence.

Summer opened her eyes abruptly, and she was surprised to find herself in a small white room with no windows, doors, or vents. She had no idea how she had got there.

There was a faint scream down the hall and Summer jumped at the sound. Shivers ran down her spine when she realized that the scream came from a person and she may very well be next.

“Justin!! JUSTIN!!!! Help!” She screamed.

“Shhhhh… I’m right her Summer. Stay quiet. It’s our best chance for survival,” Justin was in a room right next to her’s, “We’ll get out of here, don't worry.”

Right then there was a high pitched hiss and a door opened to both of their rooms. They walked out to an amazing sight-The Ice Palace- the one they both read about as little kids.

“Wow…” Summer took a few steps to get a better look.

The sight she saw blew her mind. She always loved reading about The Ice Palace in her 3rd grade books, but she never thought she would actually see it, let alone, that it was even real.

“Do you see this Justin?” Summer looked at Justin with pure, childish joy, “You remember reading about this, right? It was my favorite book!”

“Yeah, it’s amazing!” Justin replied walking closer to Summer and putting his arm around her waist.

~

In the real world there was still lots of commotion from the strange storm. It had passed just as quickly as it had appeared, and everyone was so confused.

The Weather Task Force came down to Huntington Beach to investigate the strange cloud formation which, to their surprise, was already gone.

“Authorities are still trying to determine the cause of this strange storm, but until then, we recommend staying in-doors.” The reporter stated on live tv. Summer’s parents were sitting in the living room looking at each other and then back at the tv.

RINNNNG! RINNNNNNNNNNGGG!! Your call has been disconnected.

“She’s not answering,” Summer’s mom looked at her husband panicked, “Could they be right?”

“I don’t know. It’s very possible. Stay here. I’m gonna go to the office and find the papers that John showed me.” Mr. Woods, Summer’s dad, left the room to go upstairs to his office.

Mr. Woods rummaged through his work papers for a few moments when he realized that John, his work buddy, had taken the papers home with him. He called him immediately.

“Hello? John, I need those papers you were showing me yesterday… WHAT?! They aren’t anywhere to be found. I’m sure of it…. OH MY GOD!! You know who was at my house yesterday? Lewis Green. I’m gonna kill that boy!... Ok, got to go. Bye.” And with that Mr. Woods hung up and stormed down the spiral staircase of the Woods residence.

“Please follow me.” A smaller man, about Summer’s height, led Summer and Justin down a wide hallway and up some ice stairs.

“Where do you think he’s taking us?” Summer asked Justin.

“I don’t know. Best we follow and not make a scene.” Justin told her grabbing her by the hand.

At the end of another hallway were two ornate glass (well, so they thought) doors. The guard knocked twice and walked through the door motioning the two to follow.

When they stepped inside, all they could see was ice all around them. At one side of the room there was a small ice sculpture of a snowy owl. On the other side sat a tall chair- a chair big enough to seat a giant. Summer started panicking when she heard footsteps from behind the chair.

The hidden figure came into the light. Summer fell out laughing at sight. There standing in front of her was a small girl- about 11-years-old. She looked at Summer’s pitiful figure on the ground and stared her right in the eyes. Summer, not aware of the fact that this girl wasn’t any ordinary girl, just stared right back at her.

Within moments Summer froze to pure ice. Justin, just realizing this wasn’t any normal girl fled in fear but was stopped by the guard and pinned against the icy door. Justin froze by contact with the wall and he too was pure ice.

~

Wind blew fiercely back in California. Mayhem began to break out again, and clouds covered the sky. It began snowing- blizzard like conditions- and people turned to pure ice on the streets.

Anyone who was outside was destined to die. There was no escape.

No one knew the secret of this strange weather. No one except for Mr. and Mrs. Woods, John Caly, and Lewis Green. They would be next to die under the hand of Lumi.