"Well Miss Claus, you certainly are a difficult person to track. It seems leaving home may not have been the smartest of moves after all," an icy voice said. His voice went straight through me, like a dagger to the chest. "When I last saw you, you were nothing but a baby and I must admit, I did not think you would be of much help to me. It appears I was wrong, however. You have been more help to me these passing weeks then you will ever know."

I stared at the figure in front of me, my hands trembling at the realisation that everything I had seen, everything I heard, was true. I had fought for so long to deny that it was true, that it was just a series of dreams of min-hallucinations that didn't serve any purpose. As far as I knew, no one had ever experienced something like that before, something so obscure and insane. In all the History books I had read, not one contained an example of someone being able to predict an event before it happened, it was unheard of. Just the idea that it had happened, terrified me.

With my hands dangling at my sides, I flexed them to try and quell the shaking sensation that had started to take over my entire body. Seeing him in a dream was one thing, seeing him in person was a whole other matter. My chest felt like it was freezing up from the inside out, my bones and muscles started to stiffen but I didn't know if that was my imagination or if it was actually happening. Nothing about the situation was normal, not from the first moment I had seen that cage, I had heard that voice. Jack Frost wasn't supposed to get out.

He certainly wasn't supposed to be standing in front of me in a school classroom.

"Y-You're supposed to be imprisoned," I said, struggling to swallow past the lump that had built up in my throat. There was little to be said in response to his comment, I didn't know what it meant, and I had no intention of finding out.

"Supposed to be, yes. You of all people should know that I have been planning my escape for some time. I know it was you who was watching us, you have been for a while now. Do not think you can escape my notice that easily, Mackenzie?"

"Kenz? What's going on?"

In the excitement and terrifying events that had unfolded, I had completely forgotten about Niska and Joel, both of whom were standing beside me. In truth, I didn't know they could see him. Taking a glance around the classroom, I started to notice that the reason no one else had noticed Jack was because they couldn't. Each and every person in that room was frozen solid. Their skin had turned a dark shade of ice blue, light danced off them causing an almost crystallised effect to form. They were frozen in the position they had been when the window busted open. Some were mid-movement, others were watching the window.

To add to the confusion, besides me, neither Niska nor Joel had frozen. They were both looking at me with wide-eyed horror. Occasionally, I would see their eyes flit between me and Jack as if trying to figure out how it all fitted together. One thing was for sure, in my mind anyway, Niska and Joel knew something they weren't supposed to. Something about me.

"I, erm, it's complicated," I stuttered out, my eyes fixing on Jack to make sure he didn't do anything he wasn't supposed to.

"Yes, complicated is the word I would use, though I must confess that I did not think you would be the one to expose your family secret. From what I have seen, I expected it to be your brother seeing as he does not seem capable of keeping secrets. Perhaps your father was wrong to let you leave so soon."

"How did you escape?" I asked, my voice sounding better, firmer then it had in the past. For some reason, having my two friends beside me -as cliché as it sounds- helped. I knew I wasn't facing him alone and for that I was grateful.

"Where is the fun in telling you? Were it that easy I would have revealed my plan to you long ago knowing there was nothing you could have done about it. Especially after you attempted to tell your father about me, but he refused to believe. This, however, is far more fun."

"I thought it was just villains in films monologued, didn' think it was a real thing," Joel said, not grasping the extent of the situation.

"Your friend has a point, mocking is enjoyable, but I am here for a reason. Your classmates are already in a state of, shall we say, frozen horror? For you, however, I have a little something else up my sleeve. I was told to never play with my food, but simply catching you isn't enough. Let's play a game, Mackenzie"

With a quick glance towards Joel and Niska I knew that this was only going to end one way. Badly. I heard the phrase 'don't play with your food' countless times when I was a child, but I had never heard anyone use it to describe people. Unless they were insane, which I suppose was and always will be the right way to describe Jack. There something about his tone, an extra layer of meanness atop of the icy tone that lead me to believe this was just a game to him, a sick form of entertainment after spending so many years imprisoned for something he didn't think was wrong. Papa had been one to send him away, to lock him up. It seemed only right that he came after me in retaliation, seeing as he would never have been able to simply waltz into the North Pole without any repercussions.

An unnerving grin broke out on Jacks' face, exposing his teeth. They were inhumanly pointy, like those of a shark only much more threatening. His eyes glistened with anticipation as he flexed his fingers and cracked his knuckles. There was something sinister in his actions, made worse by the look on his face. He was enjoying being in control a little too much for my liking. All I could do was hope I could distract him long enough for Papa to find out he had escaped and send him back. I didn't know how long that was going to be, but I hoped I had enough material to distract him.

"Ready? Go!" Jack yelled, cackling afterwards.

Jack stretched his hand out in front of him, the grin spreading across his face as a small, blue light started to form in the palm of his hand. Everything Papa had told me about Jack was true so far, which meant his powers were just as dangerous to me as they were to Niska and Joel. Several seconds later, Jack pulled his arm back slightly before thrusting forward, a ball of ice shooting from his palm towards us. I grabbed Niska and Joel's arms and pulled them to the floor, watching as the ice ball hit the wall behind us and exploding, showing the ground with ice shards.

"Don't let them hit you!" I told Niska and Joel.

"Why?" Joel asked.

"They're pure ice. It'll freeze you from the inside out. You two need to get out of here, I can hold him off for as long as I need to. Hopefully, it won't be too long."

"Come on, Mackenzie! It isn't fun if you don't play along!" Jack taunted us. He had an unlimited amount of power at his disposal, power that was stronger than before. If I was going to distract him, we needed to leave the room, take the game to the school itself.

"What about you?" Niska asked.

"They're less dangerous to me then they are to you, at least that's the theory. When I say go, we run for the door. He'll come after me and leave you two alone so make sure you come back here, shut the door and lock it. Don't let anyone in."

"We're not going to let you battle him on your own, no way. You said it yourself, it's only a theory. We're part of this now, we have been for a while so don't think you can get rid of us that easily."

"We should go. It's eerie in films when the villain goes quiet, this is no exception." Joel said.

"Okay. You'll know when to go."

The three of us waited next to the table, our heads just hidden by it. I kept an eye on the ground, watching it frost over as Jack took several small steps towards us. He was taking his time, dragging out the fight because he thought it was fun, as though it was a game. Jack took enjoyment in watching people panic, the way the screamed when they saw him, ran away the moment he showed his face. It was his sick form of entertainment and it was why Papa had locked him up in the first place. Not only was he revealing himself to people who shouldn't have known of his existence, but he was also scaring them beyond the belief. Jack was dangerous.

When Jack's footsteps stopped, and his feet were right next to the table we were ducked under, I grabbed the leg of the desk. Crossing my fingers, I used all my strength to fling the desk upwards and into Jack's face, heaving the wood collide with his icy skin. Whilst he was disorientated, I grabbed Niska and Joel and the three of us ran from the classroom and through the corridors. I knew we only had a short amount of time to get away before he had come to his senses, but I had no idea where we were going. The plan was to avoid him at all costs, distract him long enough for Papa to realise what had happened and imprison him for a second time. That was just a theory, there was no guarantee it would work.

Joel, realising the extent of the situation, led us through the science corridor, up the stairs and towards the English department at the top end of the school. We stopped outside the English pod to catch our breaths, noting how each and every classroom was frozen shut so there was no way for us to hide in them. Every door was covered in a thick sheet of ice, the people inside frozen solid whilst those who had been caught in the corridor were frozen in place, their skin an eerie shade of icy blue. Jack's Magic had affected everyone in the school and he had only set foot in one classroom.

His Magic was out of control.

"What do we do now?" Niska asked, breathing deeply in an attempt to calm herself.

"Honestly? I have no idea. You two keep an eye out for Jack, I'm going to try and get through to my Grandparents, they'll know what to do," I said.

"You know, when I thought of Jack Frost I thought of the animated version, not a crazy lunatic shooting ice balls at us."

"Yeah, well, kids films always get it wrong. They want it to be child-friendly, if there is one thing Jack isn't, it's child-friendly."

Whilst Joel and Niska kept a look at up and down the corridor, I pulled my phone from my back pocket and tried the home number, keeping my fingers crossed either Granny and Grandpa were home. I pressed the call button and waited, and waited, and waited. The dialling tone was all I heard on the other side for a full two minutes before I got the robotic voice asking me to a leave a message. Most people would find this completely normal seeing as normal people have things to do during the day, but most of the time they would tell me if they were out and with the storm it just didn't seem likely. I tried twice more, but still no luck.

Something wasn't right, and I knew my day was about to go from bad to worse. If that was even possible.

"No luck. Somethings wrong," I said, shoving my phone back in my pocket.

"Whatever it is, we can figure it out in a minute, we need to move," Joel said, turning to face me.

"Why? I can't see him?" I said.

"The ice on the ground's getting thicker. When he was in the classroom, the ice behind him was stronger then. Wherever he is, is where the ice is thicker. My guess is we only have a few minutes if that before he's here."

"Where do we go, Indiana Jones?" Niska asked. It was nice of her to try and make light of the situation, but in all honesty, it wasn't working. The jokes could wait until after we'd dealt with him.

"Through photography, down the back stairs to the art rooms then back to the classroom. With luck, we can lock the door and buy us some time."

"You're devious."

"Okay, let's go. The longer we're here, the easier it is for him to catch up with us," I said. Seconds later and ice ball whizzed by my head, smashed into the wall and shattered onto the ground next to me. "Too late."

Grabbing Niska's arm, I pushed Joel forward so he could lead the way since I had never been through the photography department and had little to no idea where I was going. With the ice behind us growing thicker and the temperature dropping at an alarming rate, Joel led us through the maze of corridors and down a set of stairs that led to the art rooms, a set of stairs I didn't even know existed. The school was a lot bigger when you're trying to run away from a psychotic iceman who can kill you with nothing but a ball from the palm of his hand. For once, I was glad the school had a complicated layout.

The three of us ran through the art rooms, almost knocking over several very small year sevens who had the joy of having an art room for a tutor room. Honestly, running from Jack Frost was difficult enough, having to avoid knocking frozen people over at the same time just added to the difficulty. Meeting Jack on an open field would be easier than a school. A field, however, meant you couldn't hide from him, not even behind a tree. Despite the complications that were being thrown up whilst we meandered through the corridors and back to our original room, locking the door behind us.

After the table incident, Jack had apparently gone to town with his ice magic and had turned the room into a miniature North Pole. Icicles hung from the windows, desks, chairs and even some of the people. Snow had started to settle on the ground an ice was snaking its way up the walls and onto the ceiling. To me, it looked as though you could knock into one of the students and they would fall to the ground and shatter like statues. The table I had pushed into Jack's face lay in pieces on the floor at the front of the room, a dent marking its place in the wall. The room was a mess and we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into with Jack. Locking ourselves in a classroom wasn't going to be the easiest solution but it bought us enough time to figure out what we were going to do to beat him.

Three teenagers against a man with ice Magic was a sure spell for disaster. Not even my Magic was enough to defeat him.

"What's the plan? Please tell me you have a plan," Niska said, placing her hands on her thighs to catch her breath. We hadn't moved that quickly but running down a set of stairs really knocked the wind out of us.

"I did have a plan, but that plan has been thrown out the window. Granny didn't answer the home phone or her mobile and neither did Grandpa. I can try Mama, but I don't know if she'll get it, if Granny isn't answering I doubt she will."

"It can't hurt to try, right?"

"Right."

I set Joel and Niska the task of using the chairs and tables that weren't frozen to the ground to block the door so we had an extra level of protection for when Jack found us, and he would eventually find us. Whilst they did that, I dug my phone out of my pocket and tried the number Mama had programmed into the Bubble the moment she found out I had a phone. She wanted to be able to contact me whenever she could and thought the phone number might have been a better way for me to talk to her. I had yet to try it since Granny filled her in on everything during their nightly talks on the Bubble. I didn't know if it was going to work, but it was worth a shot.

Pulling up the number, I pressed the call button and waited, hearing the repetitive beeping in my ear, a tone that sounded as though it was mocking me though I knew it wasn't true. I was about to give up, decide we were on our own when the dial tone stopped, and a slight static sound came through the phone. Someone had picked up.

"Mama?" I asked, my voice sounding frantic, it was a tone I didn't recognise before and frankly, it scared me.

"Kenz, don't talk, just listen. We know about Jack. He's more powerful than ever and has trapped us here, you Aunt, Granny and Grandpa are here as well. Your father is working on a way to free us, but it may take some time. We need you to distract him, do whatever you can but don't get hit by his ice blasts. Do you understand me?" Mama's voice was calm, but she spoke in a rushed tone. It was reassuring to know they were working on helping but I didn't like our odds.

"Yeah, Mama. How do we distract him? It's almost impossible."

"You'll find a way. Remember the pendant, Kenzie. We'll be there as soon as we can, I promise."

Before I could even respond, I was met with the been that signalled the end of the call. I shoved the phone back in my pocket and tried to process what Mama had said. She had said Jack had managed to trap them in the North Pole, but I didn't even think that was possible seeing as it was a place, not just a room. Besides, as far as I knew he had to have gone to the North Pole to be able to trap them like that. He wouldn't even make it past the barrier. The North Pole can only be found if a person has been invited to it, Jack hadn't been invited. It just went to show that Jack was more powerful than before.

"What did she say?" Joel asked.

"They're working on it. Jack trapped my parents, my aunt and grandparents back home and until they can free themselves, we're on our own. We need to distract him for the time being."

"Anythin' else?"

"Mama said to remember the pendant, whatever that meant." Instinctively, I reached into my shirt and pulled the pendant out by the chain, watching it swing back and forth hypnotically. I didn't know what Mama had meant seeing as I couldn't even open the necklace. I had no idea how much help it would be against Jack.

"It meant somethin' which is better than nothin', at least right now. Is there nothin' you can do about him seein' as you ain't exactly normal and I don't mean that in a harsh way, but it's true."

"As much as I wish I could, Jack's Magic is more powerful than mine, I wouldn't stand a chance."

"Can't you try? It'll probably be better to attempt it then do nothin' at all. I don't think we can distract him long enough."

"I'll try. If it doesn't work, we better hope he's like every movie villain and enjoys a good monologue. Otherwise, we'll need to find a way to keep him busy, even if it means running up and down those stairs like idiots.

"Better than nothin'."

"Guys? He's coming," Niska said, backing away from the door and joining us near the back wall of the classroom.

The stack of tables and chairs against the door seemed like it would hold, but it wouldn't. We were using inanimate objects against a man who could freeze people and throw ice from his hand, they didn't stand a chance. Still, we hoped. Niska gripped onto my arm, her fingernails digging through my shirt and into my skin, but I tried not to let her know how painful it was. Only Joel was trying to make light of the situation with his little jokes and side comments, Niska was terrified, and I couldn't blame her. That was why Papa always tried to keep normal people out of Magical affairs, they tended to turn into headless chickens and fear became a problem. I couldn't blame her, though. Jack was a scary being to both see and fight. I just hoped she was able to hold it together when it came down to it.

With the three of us tucked away at the back of the room, we all watched the door, waiting for the moment Jack burst through it to face us and finish playing his little game. I watched as the hinges and surrounding area of the door began to frost over, eventually spreading onto the chairs and tables. It covered the entire area in the blue ice, thicker than anything he had done so far. Suddenly, it stopped. The ice stopped creeping across the walls, it stopped moving and fell still. Unnervingly still.

The room fell quiet, I stood watching the door, my nails pressing against the palm of my hand as I squeezed my fists. The pain was a distraction from what was to come. I didn't take my eyes off the door, not wanting to miss anything Jack might have had planned the moment I looked away. Several minutes after the ice had stopped growing over the door, walls and stationary objects, the chairs and desks flung across the room, smashing into bits when they collided with the wall on the opposite side. The door itself had come away from the hinges and was laying on the floor as though it had just fallen over.

"Well, wasn't that fun? You and your friends are devious, Mackenzie, I can give you that, but you did not think you could escape me, did you? If you did, then I am afraid you were very much mistaken since I am more powerful now then I have ever been before, and I have you to thank for that," Jack said, stepping into the room.

"I didn't do anything!" I said, trying to formulate a plan in my head. I didn't like thinking on the spot and the added pressure of freezing to death wasn't making it any easier.

"You did. In fact, you did more than you know but no matter, you will know soon enough. Due to how much you have helped me over the past few months it only seems fair that you will bear witness to the new generation of Earth, a new ice age from which you shall never recover! Think of it as a gift, dear Mackenzie. Your friends, however, I am afraid I have no use of either of them."

"Leave them alone!" I tried to keep my voice steady, determined, but it didn't happen.

"I will never understand you humans and your love for each other. No matter, I am touched that you look out for them, Mackenzie. Though I highly doubt they would do the same for you." He paused. "Now, enough of this feeble talking, I have a world to rule and I cannot do that standing around here."

"I'm not going to let you do this, Jack. Not now, not ever."

With as much courage as I could muster, I concentrated on my own Magic, feeling the tingling sensation start at my shoulder and travel down my arm. I held my hand out, feeling the power build up in my fingers, feeling it growing stronger and stronger with every passing moment. The tingling continued, but nothing happened. The Magic I had intended to shoot at Jack, the one chance I had to stop him, was failing. Something was blocking my Magic and I didn't know what it was. Jack didn't have the ability to freeze someone else's Magic, it wasn't possible. If it were, he would have done it to Papa rather than risk imprisonment.

Jack looked at me with a raised eyebrow and a slight smirk, as though he was enjoying watching me suffer, which I don't doubt that he did. I tried again, concentrating harder than before but even that did nothing to help. Not even the tingling sensation returned. Something had happened to my Magic, something that would have happened over the course of several weeks, not within a matter of moments. After wondering what Jack had meant for so long, questioning the dreams I had been plagued with, I finally knew whose Magic they were taking, who was having to suffer the loss of something that was part of them.

Me. 

~~~

A/N - I'm going to keep this short, but be prepared for the next chapter! It's about to go down, but will everyone make it out alive? 

I'm trying to pre-write the chapters so I have time to do other things but the schedule will continue and, for extra excitement, I should be able to add an extra chapter! Extending the book from Thirty-Five chapters to Thirty-Six!

Make sure you come back in two weeks time to find out what happens next! Also, don't forget to vote and comment if you enjoyed and add to your reading list so you don't miss an update!

Dedication - This chapter is dedicated to WeirdlySupernatural who made my amazing new profile header! I love it so much!!

First Published - April 12th, 2018