The Halloween Accident

Liam Vereb

Ms. Asuncion

English 9 Honors, Block 2

1 October 2015

The Halloween Accident

It was a cold, dark Halloween night when a young boy named Thomas was walking home from soccer practice. Thick chunks of snow fell all around him, limiting his field of vision to only a couple of feet. The wind punched at Thomas' sides knocking him left and right, but he had to continue for he was on his own. 

            Thomas soon came to a fork in the road where he had to make a choice. He could either go left and get home faster, but he would have to cross a frozen lake and he could risk falling in. Or he could go right and walk along a path but he would get home later. To avoid getting caught out in the ever worsening snow storm, he decided on the left and take the risk. 

Thomas soon reached the frozen lake. He set the lantern down and reached into his backpack and pulled out a ruler. He remembered coming hunting here with his father a few years ago. His father was a very good hunter and had won many trophies in competitions. "8 inches thick," Thomas said to himself. He pulled an ice thickness chart that his father gave him out of his backpack. "8 inch thick ice can hold 80 pounds." Thomas, weighing 90 pounds, knew that he was 10 pounds over the maximum recommended weight to put on the ice. "It's only 10 pounds, it's not going to make that much difference,” he gathered his belongings and pressed on. 

He could hear the ice creaking like an old door opening for the first time as he slowly tip toed his way across the frozen lake. The sound of snow pelting at the ice was not a comforting one. Then suddenly he heard someone say, "STOP!"

Thomas whirled around but all he could see was a small speck of light coming from the side of the lake.

"Don't move," said the man. Thomas squinted into the distance trying to make out whom this mysterious man was, but it was impossible to see through the frenzy of snow that was falling.

"Who are you?” shouted Thomas but there was no reply. Thomas, being the stubborn boy he was, decided to continue walking across the lake despite the fact that the man trying to warn him said to not move. Before Thomas could take another step he heard a loud crack followed by a splash. The wind had blown a tree down into the water. The ice below his feet began to tremble, the fallen tree had caused the ice to crack and weaken significantly, and that was bad news for Thomas. Thomas looked down and saw a spider web of small cracks spread across the ice under him. "Run, Thomas," said the man, but it was too late. The ice could no longer bear the added weight of Thomas and it split in half.

The sting of the cold water on Thomas's skin felt like a thousand needles jabbing at his skin. He tried to swim to the surface but his backpack was caught on a tree branch from the tree lodged at the bottom of the lake. He reached for his pocketknife but the lack of oxygen was causing him to see spots. He summoned his last ounce of strength and stretched with all his might to free himself. Then everything went black.

Thomas woke up on the side of the bank gasping for air. He tried to get up but he couldn’t feel any of his body. The man came over to Thomas and wrapped him in a thermal blanket.

“What the heck were you thinking walking across a frozen lake during a snow storm?” asked the man. Thomas slowly began to regain feeling in his muscles and eventually was able to sit up. For the first time Thomas could get a glimpse of the man who had saved him from death. Thomas recognized the man; it was Mike, one of his father’s hunting partners.

“The storm seems to be calming down. Let’s see if I can get some reception to call for some help,” said Mike. The frenzy of snow ceased, and Thomas looked at the massive cracks in the frozen lake and realized just how lucky he was to be alive right now. Soon after, he heard the whines of sirens and red flashing lights coming from the rescue trucks. After a long and grueling night Thomas was thankful to finally relax.