FROSTBITE by David Warren

wall and shimmied myself up and stumbled over to Stephanie, who still trying to spray the worm, even though the hairspray can was now empty.
     
    “It’s okay,” I said, lowering her hands down. “It’s okay Stephanie.”
     
    She turned and looked at me and laid her head on my shoulder, sobbing. “I guess it was a good thing I had my purse with me,” she managed to say.
     
     I turned and saw that Kevin and Brad were standing by the bathroom door, a look of both horror and amazement on their young faces. “You boys okay?” They nodded.
     
    I hugged the young girl as best I could. “You did well, Stephanie.”
     
    “Is it…dead?” she squeaked.
     
    “Quite,” I answered, looking down at the smoldering cadaver at my feet. I then heard the noise of a motor and, turning, I saw Ted drive by in his orange Volkswagen. He never even slowed down to see if we were alright or needed help as he drove by. I aided Stephanie into a nearby booth. “Rest here for a minute.”
     
    “Is that it?” Brad asked, walking over to me. “Was there only two?”
     
    “Well,” I replied. “I honestly don’t know. Ted obviously didn’t have any trouble running away.”
     
    “He left us,” Kevin croaked.
     
    “I know,” I said, looking over at the young boy. Then turning back to Brad I said, “There’s only one way to find out.” I reached down and plucked my good old butcher knife off the ground. Taking a long look at the three young people left in my care, I turned and started toward the front door.
     

Chapter Fourteen
     
    It took considerable effort, but I was finally able to open the door. It was still snowing, but the wind had died down considerably and the sunlight helped make things clearer. I looked around me in all directions. There were dozens upon dozens of snow mounds, ranging in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Any one of them could have been white death in disguise.
     
    I hesitantly took one step outside. I remembered just yesterday how silly I felt of being afraid of the snow. Now, it seemed like the most natural feeling in the world. My breathing came hard to me as I left the diner completely. I held the butcher knife up, ready to plunge it down in a second if I had to.
     
    I walked slowly along the deeply buried sidewalk; stopping when I reached what I thought would be my car. It was hard to tell if it was in fact my vehicle, due to the large amount of acumination that smothered it during the night. Taking a quick look around, I took my hand and brushed the passenger’s side door. A large amount of snow fell off and hit the ground. I held my breath. Although it was an extremely trivial noise, it might have sounded like an earthquake to our slithering friends.
     
    After a full minute of not moving, I dusted off some more. I could see the dark blue color of my Honda. If I could clear off the windshield then I could gather up the kids and get to safety, wherever that would be. The first stop, I assumed, would be the police station and hope that Sheriff Jones was there. I started yanking snow off the windshield of my car.
     
    It appeared that we had received closer to two feet of snow throughout the night. I expected the county workers were already starting to plow the streets if they were able to get their trucks out of the garages on the outskirts of town. . Instinctively I turned and saw Stephanie and the Connor boys staring at me from within Lovell’s.
     
    It was then that I heard the noise. I stopped shoveling the snow and listened keenly. It sounded like an ugly roar and I was one hundred percent sure that in a moment, an army of the creatures would be on me, tearing my flesh to bits. I closed my eyes and awaited my end. It didn’t arrive, however.
     
    After opening my eyes again and straining my ears, I could now tell that it was a car engine, slowly coming toward me. After another moment, I spotted a green and tan police cruiser and my heart jumped a beat. I suddenly had another sharp