Screams. All I hear are screams.

I wake up in cold sweat. I shake my head, trying to get those screams out of my head. I find out that the screams are real though, and they’re coming from downstairs! I pick up the hockey stick from the side of my bed and slowly walk down the stairs. Our house is big, but there are only two inhabitants: me and my older sister. I reach the final step and I rush against a wall. I put my ear against it and hear screams coming from the other side, coupled with grunts and threats. I look down and see two shadows which are both getting bigger. I ready my hockey stick and count to three before crossing over to the other side and blindly smack my stick onto something hard. I hear a grunt and the teen curses. I look at him to see who it is but he’s wearing a black mask and he’s just an inch shorter than me. He’s been putting on some cologne because he smells really good… Or maybe that’s just my sister. I have barely enough time to see him pulling back his arm and landing a quick but solid punch which sends me falling to the floor with the darkness creeping around my eyes telling me to go unconscious. I try to fight it, but the cold darkness gets the best of me and I fall asleep with my sisters screams still filling my head.


I wake up once again in cold sweat, but this time in the middle of our living room. A broken hockey stick is lying beside me. Our living room is a mess, with lampshades and curtains strewn all over the floor. I slowly start to stand up with my whole body aching, especially my face. I limp towards the bathroom to wash up, and as soon as I see my face in the mirror I gasp. Blood is slowly coming out from my forehead, in which I quickly wash and cover with a bandage. Today is Sunday, so I have a good rest day from school. I don’t think that I would need to go to school tomorrow either because it’s a snow day.

After washing, I move out of the bathroom and head for the kitchen where there is no food when there is usually food.

“Laira! Where’s the food?” I ask. After a few minutes there’s no response. Then, as if amnesia took a visit to my brain and then left, it hit me: Laira was kidnapped. I feel my eyes snap open from sleepiness and I start to run to every room in the house, some rooms which I have not even been to yet because I just simply did not want to. I open every door and check every room in hopes of finding her, to no avail. I end up with my head leaning against the wall. Tears start to stream from my eyes, but I keep them back. I can’t believe that my older sister’s gone. I couldn’t save her, even with a hockey stick!I feel like a parent now, losing a child. I never knew that it would hurt like this.


After hours of sobbing and weeping, I start to get off my bed and change my clothes. Sitting around does not change anything. I put on my purple fur jacket since it’ll be really cold and some white cargo pants with high-cut Adidas shoes. I look at the room one more time, trying not to move anything because every single part of this might be crucial to an investigation. Curtains are strewn almost everywhere and even our TV has fallen with a huge spider-web crack in it. The faint scent of blood fills the air but is almost neutralized by my sister’s cologne. I sigh, and then start to head out for the Police Station. I open the door, and start trudging through snow. The air is so chilly that every time I exhale, I can see my breath.

I end up in the police station minutes later. The police station is not really that far from our home. I enter, and approach the front desk.

“Good morning, sir, I’m Amitiel Vincent and I have come to report a crime.” I say.

“Ah, Amitiel. You’re talking about the recent attack of the ‘Ice Dragon’ right?” The policeman puts imaginary quotation marks on the “Ice Dragon.”

“Uh, yes sir but, how did you know?” I ask him.

“Well, a neighbour heard the screams and called for us. The Ice Dragon is very elusive. We haven’t even tracked down his IP address let alone his identity. He’s very dangerous because he has already murdered at least eight people all ranging from eighteen years old to twenty-five.” He says, shaking his head. I never knew about the Ice Dragon murdering eight people already.

“It has been reported that the way he kills his victims is by slowly freezing them to death by an intense sub-zero storage room. The victim has probably 3 days before they freeze to death. All victims have been encountered standing in front of our station with at least one limb being cut off by the result of frostbite. Other than that, we have no idea where or how or who he is.” He says. He picks up the phone and orders something to someone in the other line. I never knew that about the Ice Dragon either.

“An investigation team has been sent to your house. It’s best you go back there so you can aid in there investigation.” The policeman says.

“Okay, thanks.” I say, in a somewhat frail voice. I’ve never been known as somebody who’s strong, but now is definitely not the time for weakness.

I get to the house quite quickly because I didn’t realize that I was walking quite frantically. I see several police tapes and police cars surrounding the house. With snow on my shoes and with the cold embrace of winter freezing me to death, I run inside the house. Inside, several police officers and men wearing long trench coats cover the scene.

One policeman blocks me off. “Sorry, kid. We can’t let you in.” He says.

“No need. I live here. I was sent to help investigate?” I ask, rather reluctantly. I never noticed, but the smell of fresh blood already fills the air.

“Oh yes. Sorry. Please come in.” He escorts me to my living room and tells me what not to touch. He then sends me over to a female wearing a white sleeveless shirt and a blue skirt and when she turns around; I see her brownish-black hair only reaches until her chin. She removes her glasses and introduces herself as Kezy Sparia. I’m a head taller than she is, making me question her age. Before minding my mannerisms, I blurt out, “How old are you?”

“I’m only 16. I don’t know how I got into here either, but I’m pretty sure you don’t care.” She scoffs, and then guides me to where she needs help with. She informs me with the current information they have.

There was a definite sign of a struggle, seeing by the curtains and furniture being turned over. They also uncovered a bloody knife in one of the curtains. Damn, the thought of my sister being stabbed fills me with rage, but I have to keep calm if I want to use my mind in this case.

Kezy sends me to a nearby drawer case full of plates and knives. She asks me to open it.

“Why? It’s just China, isn’t it?”” I ask. I’m not in the mood to find the key for it.

“No. You know that a knife was found right?” She points to one of the knives, “As you can see there probably used to be five knives here, because of the five inlets but now there’s only three.” She says. She explains that the latest forensic technology can help trace where the other knife is. I sigh with agreement after a long explanation.

“Alright. Stand back.” I tell her. At first she relents, but when I raise my elbow, preparing to strike the glass, she stands back. I deliver a sharp blow and pull back in time, avoiding getting pricked by the glass shards. “You’re welcome.” I say, gesturing to the chinaware.

“Jerk.” She says as she takes a cybernetic looking stick from her pocket and examines the knife case. Technology has come a really long way in 2021. Of course, there are cons in where the tech would fall into the wrong hands and they’ll use it to their advantage.

After a few scans, she tells me to follow her and I do. The trail leads us to my room, where the knife is under the bed, also bloody. Kezy scans it and she tells me that there’s no fingerprints on it, which could mean that it was used by the Ice Dragon because we all know good murderers never leave their fingerprints.

So judging from where the knife ended up, it’s safe to assume that the murderer left through the window. I look outside the window and almost immediately spot handprints. I grab the stick from Kezy and scan that area to the left of the window, right beside the water canal. Blood.

“Hey Kezy! Look here.” I say. She walks over and scans again. She just shakes her head though.

“That’s your sister’s blood. Epic fail.” She smirks, and then walks away. How can she say that in the middle of an important investigation? Damn, I want to punch her so bad.

After hours of looking around, trying to find more clues to no avail, I hear ringing from my phone. I rush up to my room and find that the call is from my friend Ian Ivaram. He thinks of me as his best friend, but lately I don’t like going with friends. I answer the call.

“Hey man? How ya’ doing?” He asks. Ian has always been optimistic, and whenever I say something negative about him, he neglects it, saying that “I’m only making him stronger.” He’s always been known for his different sayings in life. I explain to him about the current investigation and that my sister is missing.

“Ouch. Well, you now what they say: ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!’” He says. I manage to mumble “Yeah, but what kills my sister doesn’t…” but I don’t think he heard it.

“Anyway, you up for some McDonalds tonight? It’s a snow day and they give free Hot Fudge if its snow days.” He says. I want to decline, but with the current pressure about my sister missing and that I have only about three days to find the murderer, I think I need a break. Besides, maybe he can help on the investigation too.

I quietly get my clothes to change into and go to the bathroom. After washing, I brush my teeth, and notice that my face looks sleepier than usual. My face loos pretty weird if it has a bandage, and my hair is all messed up since I woke up earlier. I look pretty cool with my dishevelled hair, but I don’t want that to get in my way. I try brushing it to one side, but it just pops back, no matter how many times I try. I’m tempted to use some hair wax, but I’ve never liked it and now I feel pretty bad for my sister buying me some.

I put on a black shirt and my favourite purple fur coat on top with white cargo pants to reflect off the sunlight, if it ever becomes hot. I don’t change my shoes though, because I only have one pair of shoes. I always give way for my sister to buy her fashion commodities so that she can be pleased, but sometimes she can be a real carp.

I get my cell and connect my black headphones, and then get ready to leave. I get blocked by Kezy at the last moment.

“Where are you going?” She asks, frowning.

“What do you care? I’m just going to meet a friend for some…” I hesitate. “Evidence sharing.” I say. Smooth one, Amitiel.

“What? Really? Then I’m coming too. Any evidence is needed for this case.” She says, and from the attitude of this girl, she looks like the type that stays with a decision.

I sigh. “Fine, but don’t bring any police.” I say.

“Fine.” She agrees. She tells me to wait for her because she needs to ready up. She asks to use the bathroom and I grant her permission. After several minutes, she emerges from the bathroom and tells me that she’s ready. I sigh, I never really liked having a lot of companions, and they always say that three’s a crowd.
I ferry the closest taxi and get in, ordering the taxi driver to get to the closest McDonalds. My village is secluded and outside the city, so it’s hard to find a McDonalds in there. Fortunately, the closest McDonald is really close, so I only have to pay a small amount. Once we arrive at the popular fast-food restaurant, I pay the taxi driver and walk into the McDonalds, Kezy following close behind. I spot Ian, so I walk to him.

“Hey Amitiel and---“ He has his mouth agape. “You didn’t tell me you had a girlfriend!” He says. I don’t react simply because I don’t care, but Kezy is as red as something that’s red, most probably a beet or something.

“ShutupyoustupidjerkIdon’tevenknowyouyetandIhateyou!” She says, amazingly, in flurry of words.

I find my mouth and Ian’s agape. I have no idea how to respond to that.