So some people say that there was a reference to the character Luke from Telltale's The Walking Dead series at the start of episode 7, when Lukas talked about 'ice lakes'. And considering how they both have the same voice actor, similar personalities, and nearly the same name, I just thought, 'How great would it be if there was a MCSM version of that ice lake scene from The Walking Dead.' So here we are.

And as a little note, I really do apologize in advance about this story. It may just be the trashiest thing I have written to date, as you will probably see if you choose to read beyond the first chapter.

Please R&R!

They'd been in this world for two days now.

It hadn't been so bad at first. A thick layer of snow had broken their fall as they walked through another portal - a white one - after their last 'fun' adventure in a green portal. If Jesse had to trek through another witch-infested swamp, it would be too soon.

Their immediate reaction was to wrap their arms around themselves as an Arctic gust blew into their faces. Thick snow clouds covered the sky and filtered the last rays of sunlight. The snow came up to their waists and shimmered like diamonds, crunching whenever they made a movement. They had come in the middle of a snow flurry, and while it was light, it soon dusted their heads and shoulders.

After pulling themselves out and fashioning some makeshift snowshoes, everyone agreed that their best plan was to travel through the darkening wasteland until they stumbled across civilization.

They had walked all night with their weapons drawn, squinting into the darkness for any monsters. But other than the occasional spider, there was no sign of life anywhere. That alone was unnerving.

It took an eternity for morning to come, but then Jesse wasn't sure whether it was an improvement. It was like someone had covered the world with glowstone lamps, as daylight bounced off the snowy plains. At least in the dark, they didn't have to worry about being blinded, and could march with the hope that they would find a town or people. But in that dazzling light, it was clear that they would find nothing but miles and miles of ice and snow.

That was their first hint that finding the exit portal wouldn't be a breeze.

It was with heavy hearts that they continued, stopping only to eat and take hour-long naps.

During one of these breaks beside a small frozen pond, Jesse and Petra had gone off to scout ahead. A few minutes later, they found a snow covered signpost pointing to a cluster of mountains. Underneath it all was a single word, carved into the damp, rotted wood. Home, 50 miles.

To say that they were ecstatic was an understatement.

Upon returning to the pond, they discovered some of the creatures that inhabited this world. Adorable, tiny penguins.

There must have been a colony nearby, because when they arrived masses of black and white birds surrounded them. The noise was spectacularly loud as the birds cried and cackled to them and each other. It was an effort not to trample on any of them as they waddled underfoot, staring at them with beady eyes and flapping their wings when they got too close.

Ivor stood in the middle of them, stranded with a single fish in his hands. "No, this is mine! You can't have it!" he yelled at them, holding the prized item above his head as penguins flocked towards him.

Lukas was having an easier time, sitting on a rock with his book and quill in hand while baby penguins snuggled huddled around his feet. The adults must have decided that he wasn't a threat to leave their chicks with him. He didn't seem to mind it, though, focusing his attention sketching the balls of grey fluff.

Petra, on the other hand, did mind it. In fact, she seemed particularly unimpressed by the scene.

Since then, they had been walking non-stop, heading in the direction of the mountains and coming across more signposts pointing in the same direction. Jesse had lost count of how many times someone had asked for a break, only to be slammed down by Petra. At this point, it wasn't clear who was the actual leader: her or Petra. And to think, she once believed that dealing with an angry Lukas at Soren's fortress was bad.

But that was the least of her concerns as they pressed on into the biting cold. Halfway up the mountains, the wind suddenly picked up and started whipping the fallen snow all around them. A thick blanket of snow clouds covered the sky and blocked out the sunlight. The mountains soon disappeared behind tons of falling snow, and it quickly became impossible know what direction they were heading.

Jesse kept her head down as the wind blew into her face, throwing dozens of snowflakes into her eyes and hair. Her numb feet crunched through the freshly fallen snow, leaving a trail of footprints for the others to follow. Every once in a while, she would cast a glance over her shoulder to check up on how the others were doing.

Petra was by far the best equipped of them all. Her helmet shielded her head from the biting cold and most of the snow, not to mention that she was the only person besides Jesse who had an enchanted weapon. Lukas came next, but his thin layer of armour was more suited to the rainstorms back in their own world.

And then there was Ivor.

Every time Jesse had looked back, he was shivering three times as more than anyone else. The snow stuck to every inch of his body, his robes billowing behind him in the wind. It was worrying that she had mistaken him for a walking snowman several times now – not that they had seen any walking snow monsters so far.

"Maybe we should find shelter for the night," Jesse called over the roaring wind. The snow clouds blotted out any sign of the sky, making it impossible to discern whether it was day or night. She, for one, didn't want to wander aimlessly in a place like this.

Ivor and Lukas looked particularly relieved at her suggestion as their breaths fogged up in front of their faces. "A fine suggestion," Ivor rubbed his shoulders while his teeth chattered furiously. "I recommend that we build an igloo and review our current–"

Suddenly, Petra threw her hands in the air and yelled loudly. "You think this storm is going to let up anytime soon? We've got no food, no dry wood for a fire and you want to build a shelter anyway?"

"And you would have us to keep going?"

Petra started to tremble - not from the cold, but with anger. She stormed Jesse, leaving a trail of deep footprints in her wake. "We're wasting time and energy standing around like this. You guys can go build your fancy igloo and spend the rest of the storm doing absolutely nothing. And when you finally come to your senses, I'll be up ahead. Finding the exit portal."

Within seconds she was gone, vanishing into the billowing white cloud.

Jesse groaned into her hands - she hated it when Petra was like this, taking her frustration out on everyone and making impulsive decisions without considering the welfare of the group. While she may be the best fighter of the group, she was definitely not the most patient.

Her brain ran through her options, arguing and debating with every idea she had. On one hand, she wanted to stop for the others sake. They could dig a shelter in the snow and resume the search for Petra once the blizzard had passed. But the voice she called reason said that they needed to regroup as quickly as possible to increase their chances of survival. In a shelter, they would have no way of knowing where Petra was and if she was in danger. She could fall down a crevice or collapse from exhaustion, and they would be in the dark about it.

It came down to two options: go after Petra while exposing herself, Lukas and Ivor to the elements, or put their safety first and leave Petra to fend for herself.

And even then, it didn't feel like she had a choice about what to do.

"Come on," she started following the trail of footprints. "We need to catch up with her before she gets herself killed."

"But-"

"I'm sorry, Ivor, but the blizzard is already covering her tracks. The moment they're gone, we're all done for." She hated herself for saying that, especially as she spotted Ivor and Lukas exchange the same unhappy expression, but she forced herself to keep going.

They continued on in silence, keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of Petra's footprints. Jesse had to shield her eyes from the snow as the wind pummeled into her body. The snow packed against her armour and seeped through. It melted against her skin, thoroughly soaking her clothes, while drops trickled down her legs and into her boots. With every step she took, her socks squelched against her skin, sending shivers up her spine.

After a while, the snowfall eased up and their visibility returned to normal. Sunlight poured through the retreating clouds and lit up the path ahead: a short stretch of snow that led into a forest of pine trees. But there was no sign of Petra anywhere.

"Do either of you see Petra?" Jesse called over her shoulder. She thought she heard Lukas' voice, but the howling wind drowned out whatever he said. "What did you say?" she yelled, turning around to her friends.

Lukas walked alongside Ivor, hovering over his shoulder as they hobbled along. Lukas cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted back, "I said, no we can't!"

Moments later, Ivor waved him away with an angry glare. "Don't yell near my ear!" he snapped, hunching his shoulders and wrapping his arms around himself.

Jesse put her hands on her hips and cursed under her breath. Where had Petra gone off to? And more importantly, how had she put so much distance between them? Petra may be a little hot-tempered, but even she wouldn't go running off into a blizzard on her own. In the worst case scenario, she would have scouted ahead, wait for them to catch up, then continue. Petra was all about keeping the group together, no matter their differences. She wouldn't have just abandoned them.

Jesse waited for Ivor and Lukas to catch up before resuming their conversation. "Maybe we passed her?" she shrugged.

"Possible, but unlikely," Ivor panted. He hid his hands in his arm sleeves and shook off the snow collecting on his beard. "If that were the case, she would have caught up to us by now." He looked over Jesse's shoulder, frowning at the forest behind her. "We should head into those trees. They'll offer better protection from the wind."

He walked past them without another word, making slow progress through the knee high snow. Jesse saw Lukas watching him with narrowed eyes. "What's wrong?" she asked. If she had learnt anything from their time together, he had a tendency of making that face whenever he was worried. The last time she saw that suspicious expression was when Petra had Wither sickness.

Lukas opened his mouth as if to say something, but quickly closed it. "It's nothing." He shook his head and brushed past her.

It wasn't difficult for Jesse to catch up with him and grab his shoulder, pulling him around to face her. "No, it's not. Tell me what you're thinking." He kept his eyes pinned on the ground, refusing to give an answer. "Lukas, you have an eye for spotting trouble before any of us, even when it's right in front of us. If you think there's something wrong with Ivor, you need to tell me."

"Who said it was about Ivor?"

"Who else could it be?" The look he gave her was unsettling. It was like everything inside her, her thoughts, feelings, and fears had been laid out for everyone to see. She bit her cheek and fiddled her fingers. "It...is about Ivor, right?"

Something akin to surprise, and mild shame, flashed across his face. "No, it's not...I mean it is, but." He followed Ivor, moving at a pace slow enough for Jesse to walk beside him. Even then, it was difficult to keep up with his long strides. Jesse silently cursed whoever thought making her short would be funny. Was it too much to ask to be a little bit taller?

Lukas remained oblivious to her internal misery. "I'm not a hundred percent sure," he said, glancing her way, "but I think Ivor's hiding something. Just like Petra did before."

"You think it's something serious like her Wither sickness?"

"I don't know. Now yet, anyway."

They went on in silence, keeping a watchful eye on Ivor as they made their way up the snowy bank and into the trees. Ivor had been right about one thing - the swooping pine trees did offer protection from the wind and a considerable amount of snowfall.

Once they had passed through the first cluster of trees, Jesse decided to bring the remnants of their group to a halt. "Alright guys, let's stop here for a bit."

Ivor, once again, was overjoyed with the proposal. He propped himself against one of the thick tree trunks and removed the pressure on his feet. As he sighed in relief, a large pile of snow dislodged itself from the leaves and splatted onto his face.

Seeing him return to his usual grumpy self, brushing the snow off his face, eased Jesse's concern for his wellbeing. Just a bit.

"Okay, let's sum up what we know so far." Jesse stretched her numb, tingling fingers, and started counting on them. "We know that there's some kind of cabin nearby. There haven't been any sign posts since we halfway up the mountain, though."

Lukas piped in from another tree, trying to wipe the ice from his goggle lenses. "But considering how there haven't been any other routes up this mountain, I think it's safe to say that we're on the right track."

"So that brings us to Petra." They all nodded grimly, casting a shadow over their moods. Jesse looked where the forest became denser, the trees packing in closer together and the sunlight poking through the branches. "I've got two ideas. Neither is good."

"Let's hear them."

"One, we wait for Petra in case we did pass her in the blizzard, and then continue on as a group. The problem with that is how we don't have any food, Potions of Healing or dry wood with us. And I'm not sure that cutting down one of these trees would be worth the effort. The wood is probably wet anyway, so we'd just be wasting our energy."

"Not to mention that we may not have overtaken Petra, so by waiting here we would just put more distance between us and her."

Jesse murmured in agreement. "Then there's option two: go through the forest and hope that we find either Petra or the cabin."

They stared at each other, waiting for someone to speak. Jesse certainly didn't want to be the one to decide what they did - it was bad enough that these were the only plans she could come up with. It seemed Lukas and Ivor had the same idea.

The wind rustled through the trees, causing more snow to fall off the branches. They splattered around the three of them, leaving small craters in the untouched while blanket beneath them.

Ivor was the first to give in, but not before he rolled his eyes at Jesse and Lukas' silence. "I think we should continue onwards. It's too risky to assume that we overtook Petra. She knows about the cabin. If I had stormed off life that, I wouldn't waste time trying to regroup. Hopefully, she would think the same thing and head to the cabin."

Lukas crossed his arms and shook his head. "And if she doesn't?"

"Do you want us to stay out here and freeze?"

Jesse shot a disapproving glare at Ivor before addressing Lukas. "Do you have another idea?" she asked politely. They were already down by one person. Jesse didn't want to lose another.

"I'm just saying that we've been walking non-stop since yesterday. If we keep overexerting ourselves like this, we'll start dropping like flies." Lukas gazed up at the trees towering over them. They stretched their branches in all directions, casting a green shadow over the sky. "We're protected from the wind in here. If there's another blizzard, the chances are that the trees will take the brunt of it. We should build an igloo before the snow turns to ice. That way we can make sure no one's injured."

Ivor scoffed at him. "No one is injured!" He did a little twirl to prove his point, waving his arms in the air as he did so. "See? Perfectly fine. And so is Jesse, right?" He waited for Jesse to back him up, putting his hands on his hips.

But instead of nodding along, she narrowed her eyes and inspected his face. Ivor seemed uncomfortable by this and fidgeted under her scrutinizing gaze. Was it her imagination, or did he look paler than usual? She could understand why his hands were tucked away in his sleeves, but she would have thought that he'd have asked for some extra clothes by now. A scarf, some gloves, anything! But other than the occasional snarky comment, he had said nothing. Not to mention that some parts of his face were redder than others, like his nose and the tips of his ears. Somehow, she found it hard to believe that he was fine.

"Are you okay, Ivor? You seem very-"

A roar echoed through the trees, cutting her off before she could continue. They looked at the trees and then at each other. "I'm not the only one who heard that, right?" Jesse said.

Ivor and Lukas appeared at her side. They were probably as unsettled by that noise as she was. "What was that?" Lukas breathed.

Ivor frowned at the trees. "It would seem that there are monsters in this world after all."

"That sounded pretty close. Maybe we should go after all."

Whatever roared did so again, but this time, instead of silence, it was followed by another sound.

Jesse turned in the direction of the noises. "That was different." Something about this made her stomach turn.

"And familiar," Lukas added.

She listened to the voices carefully as they rang through the trees. The first undoubtedly belonged to a monster. The second, she realized, did sound familiar. Then it hit her.

When the second voice yelled a high-pitched battle cry, Jesse was already running in the direction it came from with her sword drawn. "Petra, you idiot!"

She barely felt the snow crunching under her feet as she pushed her legs to move faster. The voices were getting louder. Whatever Petra was fighting it didn't sound too happy.

A branch suddenly appeared in front of her and slapped her across the face before she could react. She caught herself just before her momentum could send her flying onto the ground, and wiped the snow away from her eyes. She could hear Petra screaming ahead and the sound of metal meeting flesh. The monster belted an earth-shattering cry, enough to disturb a flock of birds resting in the trees.

Several low branches blocked her path with a wall of pine leaves. Jesse was about to throw herself through them when something rustled through them, causing the leaves to shake and ripple like a pool of water. A moment later, Petra broke through, running at full speed with her attention focused over her shoulder. Jesse was so surprised to see her that she couldn't get out of the way in time.

They slammed into each other; the sheer force of the impact was like a punch to the stomach, and easily knocked her off her feet. The two of them flew backwards and onto the ground, Jesse taking the brunt of the landing with Petra lying on top of her.

Petra scrambled to her feet, staring at Jesse as if she were a ghost. "Jesse?" The initial surprise of their reunion quickly faded. Petra grabbed Jesse's arm and dragged her to her feet. "I am so sorry," she blurted out, tugging her away from the wall of leaves. "I shouldn't have stormed off like that. It was stupid of me and completely uncalled for!"

While Jesse was relieved to see her in once piece, she couldn't help but wince at Petra's firm grip. "I'm sorry too," she said, before wrenching her arm free, "but that really hurts."

Petra recoiled back a few inches, blinked at her, then grabbed her other arm. She pulled Jesse along, sprinting back the way Jesse had come. "Wait, hold on! What's going on?" Petra wouldn't give her an answer and whipped her head around like a madwoman, gazing at the trees with a panicked expression.

"Where's Ivor and Lukas?" I thought they were with you!"

"They were! They must have fallen behind when I was trying to - oh wait, there they are."

Between two tree trunks, Lukas ran towards them with Ivor on his heels. They both slowed down as they spotted them. "Petra!" Lukas said, clearly relieved to see her. "There you are!"

Ivor stopped next to him and hunched his shoulders with his hands on his knees. He was panting heavily, and regardless of whether he was breathless or not, he didn't look very good.

Petra showed no signs of stopping, though. It was like she hadn't even noticed that they were in front of her. Jesse had to stop and tug her arm back, just to keep Petra from barreling into them.

Petra whirled around and pulled her forward. There was nothing gentle about the action, as Petra dug her heels into the snow and lurched backwards. Jesse accidently bit her tongue as her arm screamed in pain.

"What are you doing?" Petra shouted. "Come on!"

"Not until you explain what the heck is going on!"

"There's no time for that. We need to move, now!"

Jesse toppled forwards and landed face-first into the snow. That didn't seem to stop Petra, who continued to pull her along, even thought that meant dragging her through the snow.

After a few seconds of being pulled forward, she suddenly came to a stop. When Jesse looked up, Lukas had his hands on Petra's shoulders and stared into her eyes. "Slow down there, Petra. Jesse can't move if you keep pulling her like that."

Jesse glared up from an imprint of her face in the snow. She could feel several clumps stuck to her face, almost like a white, fluffy beard. "And while we're doing that," she huffed, as she brushed her beard off, "can you please tell us what we're running from?"

Petra opened her mouth to protest, but instead of words, a massive roar came out. One that was far too wild and brutish to belong to her voice. The blood drained from her face as released Jesse's arm and stared over her. Lukas' eyes had widened to the size of saucers. "Ho-ly crap," he gasped, freezing where he stood.

Jesse rolled onto her back and sat up. Petra had definitely been fighting a monster, if whatever she was looking at was any indication.

Or, to be more specific, monsters. Neither one looked very happy to see them.

Jesse darted her eyes from Petra to the two giant balls of fluff and rage. They glared back at her with red eyes, slowly walking over to them with snarling teeth. Petra pulled her to her feet while pointing her sword at the monsters. She shrugged sheepishly at Jesse with a silent apology in her eyes.

"What did you do?!" Jesse hissed as she pulled her own sword out. Nope, they weren't particularly happy about that. They roared loudly, speeding up their approach.

"So, uh, you want the long version or the short version?"

"What do you think!"

"Short version it is then," Petra grumbled under her breath. "Turns out these guys really don't like it when you get too close to them, which I may or may not have done."

"Did that blizzard make you blind or something! How on earth could you have missed two giant blue monsters made entirely out of muscle?"

"It's not as if I was trying to walk headfirst into them!"

Jesse stared at her with wide eyes. "You did what now," she deadpanned.

As Petra opened her mouth to defend herself, they both suddenly heard someone stumbling behind them. "Whoa, Ivor? Ivor!" Jesse turned around in time to see Lukas catch the old man just as he tripped on his own feet. Lukas looked up at the yetis and slowly helped Ivor to shuffle back.

"Are you alright?" Jesse asked, hoping that Petra was keeping an eye on the yetis for her.

Ivor shook his head and tried to wriggle out of Lukas' firm grip. "I'm fine, I'm fine!" The moment he found his feet again he started to wave Lukas off. "Now let me go, blondie!"

Lukas suddenly gasped and loosened his hold on Ivor's shoulder. "Your hands…" he murmured, staring unabashedly with his jaw slackened.

Ivor tried to hide his hands in his sleeves but it was too late – Jesse had gotten a long look at the problem. It would have been impossible for any of them to have seen in the blizzard unless they had been close enough and knew what to look for. But there wasn't any falling snow to hinder their vision anymore, nor to conceal Ivor's red and puffy fingertips.

"What's wrong with your hands!" Jesse exclaimed loudly. The skin around his knuckles, finger joints and the tops of his nails were waxy and shined in the sunlight. The affected areas had swollen twice their original size, and Jesse could spot what looked like a blister on several of his fingers.

Ivor looked like a deer caught in the headlights, switching his gaze from Jesse, Lukas, and the yetis. "It's nothing!" he protested, "My hands are perfectly fine!"

"No, they're not," Lukas said firmly before cursing under his breath. "I knew it was a bad idea to walk in that blizzard."

Jesse slowly walked around a tree in her way and looked back at the yetis. "Lukas, what's wrong?"

"It's frostbite."

She felt her heart drop into her stomach. Images of blackened fingers and amputated stubs flashed across her mind. Frostbite. Shit, shit, shit!

"Ivor why didn't you say anything!?"

"I don't need to tell you anything, blondie! I've dealt with far worse than a little bit of frostbite."

Lukas groaned in frustration, massaging his temples with his own freezing hands. "Are you feeling any numbness anywhere else on your body?"

"What about your feet," Jesse piped in. "You've been falling behind since yesterday. It's because they hurt, isn't it?"

"No! I told you that I'm fine."

"You're not!" Jesse and Lukas yelled in unison.

Petra whirled on the both of them. "Would you three keep it down? I'm trying to focus here–"

Suddenly, one of the yetis took a running start at her, wrapping its blue claws around her waist and hoisting her into the air. Petra screamed as its grip around her tightened, desperately hitting her sword against its wrists to make it let go.

"Let go of her!" Jesse shouted, sprinting towards the yeti and preparing for an attack. The monster roared and threw Petra into her, knocking both of them down in a tangled heap at their friends' feet.

Ivor pulled Jesse to her feet, grabbing her by the armpits and wrapping his arms around her shoulders. It gave her another chance to look at his frostbitten fingers. "We need to treat that before it gets any worse!" She said, picking up her sword as they took several more steps back together.

"But where?" Petra cried in a fearful tone. "We're in the middle of nowhere!"

"The cabin must be nearby. We just have to keep running until we find it, or the yetis get bored of chasing us."

"And how exactly are we going to do that without a map?"

"I'll tell you if you'd just let me explain!"

One of the yetis growled at them and took a step closer. Jesse gave Ivor a gentle shove, coaxing him to keep moving back.

"The sun was shining on our backs when we went to get you. That means West is behind us. All the signposts were pointing North, so-"

Petra caught onto her reasoning and finished the sentence for her. "North must be to the left."

"Exactly. We just keep running in that direction and hopefully we'll find the cabin."

"You're forgetting about the tons of muscle in front of us," Lukas warned. "What happens if they keep chasing us. Even if we find the cabin, they'll probably smash it to the ground if we head inside."

Jesse looked over Petra and tried to see through the cluster of trees. "Ivor, can you still run?" she asked. "We don't want to make it worse."

After a moment's hesitation, Ivor softened his expression. "I'll manage." He said reluctantly.

Jesse tightened her grip on her sword handle. "Petra, take Ivor and head through the woods. Keep running until you see the cabin. Lukas and I will cover you."

Petra nodded and grabbed Ivor by the shoulder. "Anything else?"

"We'll give you a thirty-second head start at best. If all else fails, just keep running."

"Alright. We'll see you at the cabin." Petra turned to leave but stopped at the last second. "Jesse, about earlier…"

"Cabin, Petra. We'll talk later – you can count on it."

Jesse didn't dare to take her eyes off the two yetis as they edged closer for another attack. She heard the snow crunching beneath Ivor and Petra's feet as they ran through the pine trees. "Do you still have your sword, Lukas?"

He drew it out of its sheath with a grin. "You bet."

Under her breath, she started counting down from thirty. The monsters stopped metres away from them, burning their eyes into them. They knew what they were planning. Jesse hoped that they didn't have a plan of their own. 25…24…23… "So what's the plan, Jesse?"

"Try and keep them back until the thirty seconds are up. If they look like they're about to attack, give me a signal and we'll run together."

Lukas glanced at the yeti on the right. It's snarl almost looked like a sinister grin, as it sharpened its claws together. "Maybe it's just me, but they already look ready to attack."

"I hear you."

12…11…10…

Suddenly, the left yeti bent down into a running position with its claws at the ready. "Run Lukas!" Jesse cried, twirling around and sprinting into the woods with Lukas at her side. As the yetis roared, birds flew from the trees and cawed into the sky. She didn't need to look behind her to know that they were right on her tail.

"Ivor! Petra! Run!" She screamed into the trees, hoping that her voice would carry far enough for them to hear.

Tree trunks surrounded them, blocking their every path and boxing them in. Jesse had to scramble in between them, while trying to stay out of the yetis' grasp. Thankfully, the snow wasn't particularly thick under the trees, making it easier to sprint. Lukas had disappeared from her side but she could still hear him pant behind her.

They kept running, further and further through the forest until the trees started to thin out. Jesse refused to look behind her in case she saw one of the yetis. She didn't trust herself not to freeze up in fear, or to stumble and trip while she looked. And yet the yetis did a good job of tempting her, roaring and snarling over her shoulder.

When she finally broke through the last trees, a sudden surge of light blinded her. Without the thick branches over her head, the sunlight shone all around her. "Stupid sun," she muttered, shielding her eyes from the attack.

The noises behind her had faded slightly - she had some time before she needed to run for her life again. When her eyes adjusted to the light, she brought her hands down to her side.

She quickly spotted their next problem.

The cabin was there, right in front of her. It was a large one too: an oak staircase ran up to a generous front balcony on either side, leading to a large set of glass double doors. Two pine trees had been planted on either side of the two-story lodge and the exquisite building was the kind that would feature on holiday postcards.

It wasn't the cabin that was the problem, but rather the large frozen lake that stood between the building and Jesse.

Petra and Ivor were already halfway across the lake, having put at least 13 feet between them as they carefully tread across the ice. Jesse gently put her foot down onto the frozen lake, testing how stable the ice was. The response she got wasn't comforting – the ice gave a collective groan the moment she applied the smallest bit of pressure. The ice was so clear that she could see the and she could see the water sloshing around underneath it. There must be underwater currents. The long sheet stretching across the lake couldn't have been any more than a few inches thick. If this was what happened when she stepped on the edge of the lake, how thin would the ice be in the centre?

Good questions, but ones that she didn't have time for. The sound of falling trees behind her spurred her feet into action. She placed her other foot in front of the other, making sure that she wasn't going to slip before repeating the action again. With every small step she took, she could feel the ice dip ever so slightly. The pattern she fell into was surprisingly comforting – left foot, don't slip, right foot, don't slip. She balled her hands into fists to try and suppress the shaking every time the ice made a noise. Easy does it, she told herself. Slow and steady.

Suddenly, Lukas burst through the trees and halted at the sight of the ice lake. "Come on Lukas!" she called to him. "You just got to take it slow."

Before he could even but a foot down, the yetis stumbled into the daylight. They glared at Lukas as he pointed his sword at them. One dashed towards him, swiping a clawed hand at his head. He quickly stepped aside and slashed his sword at the yeti's hand. It belted out a cry of agony, cradling its wounded hand by the ice.

Jesse spotted the second yeti prepare for its own attack while Lukas' back was turned. "Lukas, behind you!" Her warning was in vain. Lukas wasn't quick enough to avoid the giant hands that enveloped him, yelping as the yeti dug its claws into his armour. It glowered at him, eyes blazing, and hurled him across the lake.

"Lukas!" He flew over her head and touched down on the centre of the lake. His body bounced off the ice, spinning and skidding several feet away from her.

The same yeti moved its attention to her and started running across the ice towards her. Jesse quickly resumed her step-shuffle, trying to focus her attention on the ice rather than the thundering footsteps behind her. For a moment, she could have sworn that she heard Petra screaming for them, fear tingeing the edge of her voice, but everything in her brain had been kicked into overdrive that she couldn't make sense of anything anymore. There was only one thing that she knew to be true – she needed to get off the ice.

She had just passed Lukas' dazed form when a loud crack echoed across the lake. Behind her, the yeti howled as the ice underneath its right foot suddenly collapsed under its weight. It quickly took several steps back away from the growing hole as even more ice around it started to break away, floating in the freezing water. It looked around for another route, but the ice was far too thin for it to walk on. Jesse watched it tilt its head to the sky and bellowed its rage, before lumbering back the way it came.

She breathed a sigh of relief and looked back at Lukas. He lay spread out over the ice on his stomach, groaning softly. "You alright?" She bent her knees as she tried to distribute her weight more evenly.

He lifted his head to her, wheezing small clouds of condensation. "Yeah, just…need to catch my breath." He didn't sound very hurt, just winded from his rough landing.

She looked at the other end of the lake, where Ivor had just stepped off the last inches of ice before collapsing into the snow on his knees. Petra had stopped where she stood, watching Jesse and Lukas and waiting for them to give her the all-clear. "Let's keep moving," Jesse said to him. "If Ivor could get across safely then so can we."

He nodded at her, propping himself onto his hands and knees and shuffling across the ice. Jesse turned her back on him – her first mistake – and continued her own journey, as did Petra when she saw them moving again.

Jesse distracted herself from the clouding ice with thoughts of the cabin. One that size should have a fireplace. That should be priority one: strip themselves of their soaked clothes and find some dry blankets. They'd need to help Ivor out of his robes too. She didn't know much about frostbite, but she was pretty sure that they should keep him from moving around too much. Maybe Ivor would know what to do. He did say that he had been through worse situations, and if Soren had told the truth then he would have been to the Ice Plains Spikes biome too. If not, then they'd just fill him with potions until he got better.

That was her second mistake – she wasn't paying enough attention to the others.

The unmistakable crack grabbed her attention. It was loud, much louder than before. She slowly looked down at her feet, expecting to see the fractured cracks dancing around her toes. But there was nothing; the ice was a bit clouded from supporting her weight but was otherwise fine.

"Uh…Jesse?" Lukas said behind her.

She closed her eyes and exhaled through her nose. Despite the reassuring words from a tiny voice in her head about Lukas being fine, she knew what would be waiting for her when she turned around.

Inhaling deeply, she tried to smooth the panic she knew was written all over her face, clenching her fists so hard that they drew blood underneath her gloves. She turned around, some small part of her still hoping that everything was fine.

But it wasn't. It was the furthest thing from it.

Ten feet away from her Lukas was frozen in mid-crawl, staring down at the hand-sized fracture by his knee as it lazily crept up his body to his palms. She could see, and hear, his ragged breaths as he slowly lifted his eyes up to hers.

In that moment of fear neither uttered a word, communicating their unspoken conversation through their eyes.

"What's going on?" Petra yelled across the lake.

As Jesse took a tentative step towards Lukas, she suddenly heard a large crack beneath her. Lukas whipped his hand out while looking at her foot. "Don't!" He shouted, fear lacing his usually calm voice. "No one come any closer!"

Jesse dropped her eyes to survey the damage. Two large cracks emerged from either side of her foot, splintering into several smaller branches. Thankfully, they weren't as keen to move any further than a few centimeters from her heels. Unlike those around Lukas. The ice must be thicker where she was.

She tightened her lips, furrowing her brows, and tried to give him a reassuring smile. Lukas shook his head. "No, Jesse don't! It's too thin to support both of us."

"Are you sure?" she breathed, keeping an eye on the ice beneath her too.

"Yeah. It–it's okay, I can make it." His facial expression said otherwise.

"Lukas…"

"Don't take another step, alright. I've got this."

They should never have gone through that portal, Jesse thought to herself as the ice creaked and groaned, much louder than before. The cracks spread even more, spider-webbing around Lukas' whole body. She could see his Adam's apple bob as he gulped silently. He leant forward, wincing as the ice splintered, and reached his right hand out. "I just…I just need to be careful–"

And then the ice broke.