Read Online Whatever After #6: Cold as Ice by Sarah Mlynowski - Free Book Online

“You guys are the worst escape artists ever. You’re never going to come get me. GARJ is short for ‘GARBAGE.’ ”
    I bend back down. Gerda bends down. Jonah slides off of Gerda, and then Ralph, and he picks up the blanket. Then Jonah gets back on Gerda. Gerda gets back on me.
    “Ready? I’m going to stand up again,” I say.
    “Ready!” they all cheer.
    I straighten my legs. Carefully. Slowly. “I’m up!”
    “My turn,” Gerda says and then straightens her legs. “Done.”
    I feel her wobble, but I hold tight to her feet. “Stand, Jonah, stand!” I call.
    He stands. “I can reach the window!” he calls down.
    “Wahoo!” we all cheer.
    “What’s out there?” I ask. Gerda’s sneakers start to grate against my shoulders. I tremble and hold tighter to the wall.
    “I can’t tell,” Jonah says. “It’s too dark out. But I think it’s just the ground.”
    “That makes sense since we’re in the basement,” Gerda says.
    “What are you waiting for?” Ralph asks. “I’m not getting any younger. Open the window!”
    Jonah coughs. “Um …”
    “What?”
    “It doesn’t open,” he says. “I think it is locked.”
    “Well, unlock it!” Ralph orders.
    “I don’t see a lock. Maybe it’s just stuck.”
    “Break it,” Gerda orders.
    “With what?” Jonah asks.
    “Your elbow! Smash it open! A little bruise never hurt anyone!” Ralph stomps an impatient hoof.
    “No!” I call out. “You’ll cut your elbow! Jonah, do not smash that window with your elbow! I do not approve of that idea! At all! Are you listening to me, Jonah?”
    “I’m listening, Abby. But what do you want me to do?”
    “Is there a pole or something we can use?”
    “Why would there be a pole?”
    “I don’t know! Something!”
    “There are the water cups from dinner,” Gerda says. “We can use the cup to smash the window.”
    “But then all the glass is going to rain down on us,” I say. “We’ll be covered in glass.”
    “I have delicate skin!” Ralph yells. “You cannot cover me in glass! I will bleed!”
    “I think if I angle the cup correctly, it will go outside,” Jonah says. “We’ll have to be careful when we climb out, but we should be okay. I’m coming down to get the cup.”
    He crouches down. Gerda crouches down. I crouch down.
    “I’m not sure about this plan,” I say nervously.
    “It’s the only plan we have,” Jonah says.
    He gets the cup and climbs back up. He goes on Gerda, Gerda goes on me, same old same old.
    “Ready?” Gerda says.
    I am not happy about this plan. It has disaster written all over it. “Everyone close their eyes just in case!” I cry. I brace myself for falling glass. I can’t help but think of the broken mirror in the original Snow Queen story. This isn’t the same thing, right?
    Jonah starts counting. “One! Two! Thr — Oh! Look at that!”
    “What?” Gerda, Ralph, and I ask at the same time.
    “Maybe this is the lock?” I hear a loud click. “Yes! I thought it was decoration! Hold on.” Jonah opens the window and a gush of cold, fresh air blows through the room.
    “Ah,” Ralph says. “That feels good.”
    “I’m going through,” Jonah says.
    “Careful!” I call out again.
    He shimmies through the window. “Pass up the blanket!” he calls.
    I bend down very carefully, pick the blanket off Ralph’s back, and pass it back up. When Jonah gets the blanket, he holds it down to Gerda and heaves her up and out through the window.
    “I’m next,” I say.
    “No kidding,” Ralph mutters. Then he looks up at me with moon-sized eyes that squeeze my heart. “You won’t forget about me?”
    “I won’t! I promise! JARG forever!” The blanket comes down and I grab hold. “We’ll come get you in five minutes.”
    Gerda and Jonah yank me up and toward the darkness.

A s I crawl through the window, I enjoy the rush of icy air against my cheeks. “We did it!” I whisper, climbing to my feet.
    With the full moon and the stars, it’s lighter