Joshua Rodriguez watched the sun set from his window, tracing its graceful descent below the horizon. His mother had warned him that it was dangerous to be out at night, but he didn't care. Casually, he slipped on his coat and shoes and stepped outside into the cool air. The cracked asphalt right outside his door invited him to travel further away from his house, a small mobile home in desperate need of repair. Atalka was famous for its luxury and beauty. That's because people focused on what was inside the gate.

Not the people on the outside, forgotten.

There were legends that the monsters that dwelled within the gate preyed on the outside at night. But Josh had no way of knowing whether or not that was true since the deaths were never suspicious. All the authorities had to do was blame the victims themselves. Overdose or shooting. Case closed.

Josh looked down at his phone and realized that he had a missed call from his girlfriend, Aaliyah. He dialed her number immediately.

"Hey babe," said Aaliyah. As soon as he heard her voice, Josh couldn't resist a small smile. Aaliyah had that effect on him.

"Hey Liyah," said Josh. "I'm headed to Monty's. You want to come?"

Montgomery Tate owned a small bar down the road and never checked ID's. He had been best friends with Josh's older brother, who was still stationed somewhere in the Middle East. Josh hadn't paid for a meal there in ages, and the treatment was extended to Aaliyah when they started dating. Aaliyah had always been well-loved anyway. In Josh's eyes, there wasn't a better person on the planet. Aaliyah was destined to get a scholarship and leave everyone else in the dust. That included Josh. He knew that, but he loved her all the same.

"I can't right now," said Aaliyah. "I'm on babysitting duty."

"Are they asleep?" Josh asked.

"Yeah, but I can't leave them alone, you know that," said Aaliyah. "Monsters and everything. You should be careful."

"Have you ever seen these monsters?" Josh asked skeptically. Usually, he was a bit more cautious, but he decided to ignore the rumors for the night. Right now, he wanted to be with his girlfriend, and some folk tales weren't getting in his way. "It's just a story that our parents used to keep us in line."

"I'm not so sure," said Aaliyah quietly. Her voice was almost drowned out by a car that drove down the road Josh was walking on. The car sped off, its headlights completely swallowed by the darkness.

In the distance, Joshua could see Monty's, but his eyes were drawn to a shivering woman in the middle of the road. "Hey, babe, I gotta go," said Josh. His voice sounded uneasy, alerting Aaliyah.

"Is everything okay?" Aaliyah asked.

"Yeah," Josh replied passively, only increasing Aaliyah's panic. "Love you, Liyah."

"What's going on?" Aaliyah asked, still concerned. "Don't you dare hang up on me."

Josh didn't hang up, but his phone dropped out of his hand when the woman's face came into view. She was hauntingly beautiful, and her eyes begged him to come closer, to help her somehow. Josh didn't care that each step he took towards her made him colder and colder. He only cared about the mysterious woman shrouded in white and snow.

She was begging him to save her. He was the only one who could help. Her life relied on him.

Burdened with this knowledge, Josh rushed forward to the woman, and realized that her face was young. She had long black hair that flew in the winds that swirled around her. She was pale too, so pale that she nearly glowed in the night. Her pink lips were the only color on her face. And her eyes. Her eyes were a dark black, and Josh couldn't tell if she had irises at all. Her long pale gown was nearly slipping off her body. The cold was going to kill her, one way or another.

Joshua took off his coat and handed it to the cold woman. Long spindly fingers gripped the coat tightly and pulled it away with unexpected strength. The coat was flung onto the street apathetically. The wind suddenly got chillier, enveloping Josh. He began to shiver, his lips turning blue. The wind pushed him closer and closer to the cold woman. She held her arms open, ready to welcome him into her embrace of death.

"Josh? What's going on?" Aaliyah's muffled voice demanded. Josh's phone laid useless on the asphalt. Joshua Rodriguez was a couple yards away, his body eerily still and ice cold. "Josh?" Aaliyah called, panic beginning to rise in her chest. "You better not be messing with me."

Officer Hansen got a call about a body on the side of the road, and was the first to arrive on the scene with his partner, Officer McNamara. He walked closer to inspect it. It was a kid, around 17 years of age, his body frozen solid. No heartbeat, no breathing. A couple yards away was a cracked cell phone. "What does this look like to you?" Officer Hansen asked his partner.

"Looks like the cause of death was hypothermia," said Officer McNamara. "Doesn't look natural to me, though."

He was right. Something about this scene was off. That could only mean one thing. Officer Hansen stomped on the discarded phone, disabling it forever. "Call them." He instructed Officer McNamara.

"I don't want to call them," McNamara complained. "Those people scare me."

"Well, someone has to do it!" said Officer Hansen. "And it's not gonna be me. Those people scare me too."

"Rock, paper, scissors?" McNamara suggested.

It was a tempting offer, but Officer Hansen gave a sympathetic glance at the kid, frozen on the ground. Poor kid.

"You know what, I'll call them." Hansen decided. With a shaking hand, he began to dial the number that would contact someone within the gate. The line rang twice before emitting a loud tone. Officer Hansen cursed under his breath and hung up. "It didn't go through." He announced.

"I think it did, honey." a voice interrupted. A figure dramatically stepped into the streetlight.

"You're not Mrs. Pearce," said Officer McNamara, his voice shaking with nerves. He had always found the people that lived within the gate unnerving and seeing them up close didn't help.

"No, I'm Makaya. Mrs. Pearce sent me." Makaya smiled, and suddenly everyone's fears melted away. She looked down at the kid, frowning. "Is this what you called me about?"

"He's dead," said Officer Hansen. "Was it one of the monsters?"

"I've always found the term 'monster' to be a little annoying, what about you?" Makaya asked. "It's too broad, I think. Anyone can be a monster if you think about it." Makaya knelt down to look at the body. She hummed a quiet tune to herself before standing up. "What do you know?" she asked the officers, crossing her arms.

"So it was?" Officer McNamara asked. "It was one of the monsters?"

"That's just an old wives' tale," said Makaya, shaking her head. "What was the cause of death?"

"Hypothermia," said Officer Hansen. "We'll need to get someone to confirm it, but-"

"May I?" Makaya interrupted, holding out her hand. She glanced at Officer Hansen's holster.

"Oh," said Officer Hansen. "Right." He handed the gun over without a second thought.

Makaya pointed the gun at the victim's body and didn't even flinch when the shot reverberated through the night. "I don't know about you, honey, but I think that the cause of death was something else."

The two officers didn't move, paralyzed by wonder and fear.

"Let me know if the pathologist finds anything interesting. I'm more than happy to make some arrangements if need be." Makaya placed the gun in Officer Hansen's hand. "Thanks for the help, boys. And be sure to call if you find another."

Makaya strutted into the darkness, continuing to hum her strange song. When she traveled out of earshot, her spell faded away, and the night became quiet again.

Officer McNamara blinked, disoriented. He looked down at the victim and quickly took out his walkie-talkie. "This is McNamara. I'm by Monty's. Requesting backup. We've got a gunshot victim here."

A/N: So stuff's about to get real. Our first attack! That was some debut from the cold woman. On a real note, thank you to everyone who has been reading and commenting. It means the world! Also, RIP Josh you will be missed :(

QOTD: If you saw the cold woman in real life, what would you do?