Disclaimer: Believe me, I do not have any rights to the Chronicles of Narnia. I'd be using this space to gloat if I did.

Chapter One: The Call

It had been flurrying with a vengeance since noon, as it should five days before Christmas, bringing the guarantee of a school delay or cancellation to the six teenagers who were imprisoned by the storm in an otherwise empty house. Eleven harsh chimes echoed from the grandfather clock in the foyer, drawing a shiver from some of their spines as they cocooned themselves in winter clothing by the front door.

From her perch on the wooden staircase, Caitlin, the oldest of the group, tugged impatiently at the strings of her furry ushanka-hat as she watched her friends bundle themselves up in gloves and parkas. "Are we all sure that we can get home in this?" she asked, blonde eyebrows furrowed in concern.

Just in front of her, the Uncompromised Driver of the Century, also known as Jake, leaned forward and brushed a curtain away from its frosted window to gauge the intensity of the storm. He shrugged apathetically and turned back to the group of girls. "Looks fine to me. And it's not like it's going to be getting any better, so we're best off just leaving now."

The knots of worry twisting in Caitlin's stomach were not soothed in the slightest by Jake's blasé response. Sure, Jake could drive home in this storm backwards and doing the cha-cha at the same time, but he was a different story. The opposite end of the experience spectrum consisted of Maegan, who was troubled enough driving under a sunny sky on a deserted freeway; adding a wintery mix to the equation and the meandering roads of backwoods North Carolina could only spell a car wreck and higher insurance payments. And these suspicions weren't even taking parental issues into account.

Sensing her friend's uneasiness, Cynthia, the house's sole occupant, spoke up from across the room. "Seriously, if any of you don't think you could drive it, then I'm completely cool with any of you guys sleeping here." She shared the same reservations about sending her friends into a quasi-blizzard, but she shouldered her way past the doubt as she pulled the blanket around her shoulders a bit tighter.

Robyn shook her head, wrapping a scarf around her neck as she spoke. "I think we'll all be fine, with the phone tree thing and everything." Her face was abruptly buried beneath bright pink fleece as Brooke agreed with a confident "Yeah, we'll be fine." Even Maegan nodded along, saying brightly "I can always have one of you guys come pick me up if I get lost!"

Maegan's little remark sparked a second of laughter into the group, and as all six of them gave hugs and said quick goodbyes Caitlin felt her worry fade to nothing. Jake set out first, letting in a surge of frozen air as he slammed the door shut with a last "Bye, guys!"

Caitlin, keys in hand, heaved her worn, leathery purse over her shoulder and grabbed the door handle, lightly adding a "Be safe, you guys." She embraced Cynthia warmly and gave a big smile to the other four as she pulled the heavy door closed behind her. The cold hit her face like a solid wall, making her eyes squint and her nose redden. Beneath the gloves she'd put on, her fingers still felt the shock of the cold as all of the blood in her body retreated towards her heart, and seconds later, her toes and legs followed suit.

Ahead of her, Jake was running to his car, laughing at her exclaimed "Oh my God, it's COLD!!" He got to his car in a flash, waving goodbye to her as he plopped into the driver's seat. Caitlin waved back, laughing after hearing his jubilant hilarity.

She quickly found her car along the street, her path lit by Jake's brake lights as he gunned it down Cyn's road. Seeing that the green sedan was only slightly iced-over, Caitlin did a mental jump for joy before she jabbed the keys into the driver's-side lock and wrenched open the door. With a loud whoosh, she landed in the driver's seat and dragged the door closed against the wind.

The keys were in the ignition, the car started, and the defogger blasting in mere seconds. Feeling rushed back to Caitlin's face and hands with sharp tingles as she tugged off her gloves to grasp the gear shift. Her phone was tucked under one of her knees so that she'd feel it vibrating if someone was calling, and as she pulled her foot off the clutch she glimpsed two shadows that ended up being Brooke and Robyn making a break for Brooke's car. Caitlin flashed her high-beams at them in yet another farewell before she hit the gas and sent her tired old sedan into second gear.

Cynthia's road was barely distinguishable through the dusty flurries that met Caitlin's windshield, but she managed to do alright as she made it around the first blind curve of many. In moments, she couldn't see Jake's car in front of her or Brooke's headlights behind her as all three drivers set different paces for themselves. Worry clouded Caitlin's mind as she shook her head in dismay; Jake always drove way too fast, regardless of the weather conditions.

After a minute or two, Caitlin was easing the sedan onto Flowes Store Road, a winding road if there ever was one. Surrounded by shadowed countryside, Caitlin tried to avoid imagining menacing shapes in the silhouettes of trees and bushes but still felt the need to lock the doors, just in case.

In case of what? She thought to herself. In case bears decide to quit hibernating and attack the nearest moving green Honda?

Caitlin gave herself a quick shake to bring her focus back to the road.

Of course, there are always deer on these back roads, too. What would I do if I saw one? Would it be better to just hit it, or maybe to swerve out of the way? Probably to swerve, but then I'd probably 

hit a fence or a house… How would I explain that one? "Sorry about the car Mom and Dad, but I didn't want to hit Bambi!"

The corners of her mouth twitched up into a smile as she thought of the comical scenario, imagining said deer standing up and singing show-tunes like a demented satire of all things Disney. Calmed by her own wild imagination, she resorted to turning the dial for the radio.

Instantly, an overplayed club anthem boomed out of the speakers, making the windows pulse with every innuendo-laced lyric. She didn't really like the lyrics, since they encouraged young, attractive women to wear little to no clothing and then to pop, lock, and drop it for all the men in the club, but she knew every single word, thanks to Jake. It was habitual for The Six, as Caitlin had dubbed their group of friends, to gather at someone's house and dance to embarrassing or improper music, just to enjoy finding their own grooves and moving to rhythms that they liked best. Happiness dissolved any apprehension that had been brewing in the back of her mind as she thought of her friend's dorky dance moves.

The labyrinthine road began to slim and curve more as Caitlin made her way home. The tires were battered and bruised by the people-sized potholes and disintegrating asphalt, and she felt the steering wheel jerk with every rough abrasion. "I hate these damn roads." She said to no one in particular, gripping the leather-covered steering wheel with a little more purpose. Her parents, she knew, would already be upset that she'd tried to drive in the snow, but they'd be livid if she got home sometime after dawn. Agitated, she pushed the gas that much harder.

Up and down hills she went, shaking herself out of any bouts of snow-blindness that distracted her. She'd been driving for a solid, slow half-hour at that point, but felt some pride in herself stir up her stomach. So far, so good, she thought.

She let herself relax into her seat as the heat finally seemed to be thawing her previously-frostbitten extremities, using only her left hand to casually steer the car. These were the moments when Caitlin was most at ease, free to think and remember and let her mind be miles away. A teenager is free and unbridled only behind the wheel of their own car, right? Caitlin was no exception.

The harsh light of another car's high-beams cast a shadow over the nearest hill, so Caitlin flicked hers off courteously as she came to the crest of the hill herself. The little Honda roared up the hill, and Caitlin tapped the brakes minimally in case of the random motorist was a cop, but suddenly a feeling of intense panic gripped all of her insides.

Time was abruptly slower as Caitlin realized that the other car was less than 50 feet away from her, high-beams shrinking her pupils as they assessed that both cars were heading straight for one another. The other motorist seemed to have no awareness that they were in the wrong lane or on a collision course, even as Caitlin smashed her fist onto the horn.

The teenage girl watched as her hands acted independently of her mind, grabbing the wheel and jerking it hard to the right. The other car's brakes squealed at last, but Caitlin was already careening 

off the road to avoid the blow. Her car was caught on the loose gravel that lined the roads, sliding of its own accord when without warning Caitlin felt the car jolt around her, her seatbelt go slack around her shoulders, and her body come loose from the seat. Her eyes were wide in shock and her mouth was open in a soundless scream as she realized the pain she was about to feel.

Her muscles lost their will to brace against an impact with the windshield, and Caitlin fleetingly thought of the fact that animals who know they are about to die relax completely.

Then she hit the water.

Gasping reflexively, she suddenly had water rushing up her nose and burning a path down the back of her throat before she could think a rational word. Her eyes were wide open when she hit the water, making them eyes sting and squint as the contacts in them encountered the murky water. She clawed at the water, propelling herself upwards as soon as she could tell which way was up and soon her fingers tasted air.

She coughed and spluttered as she reached the surface, fervently wiping water away from her eyes. Before she could see where she was, Caitlin was being dragged back into the depths by the weight of her winter clothes as they took in water. There was a swift current around her, pulling her relentlessly towards some unknown end. Strength surged through her as adrenaline seized her body, helping her as she fiercely battled her way back to the top, but she began to realize that it was to no avail. The wet clothes clung to her body like a second skin, made worse by the fact that it was like a second skin made entirely of lead that made her sink like a stone.

The water gained speed and Caitlin was momentarily above its surface as the momentum picked her up like a rag doll, just before it threw her back into the frothing rapids. Some shred of sense made her fingers lethargically search out the buttons of her sodden peacoat, but she had only tugged one loose when a sudden pain lanced up her back.

All the oxygen that she'd fought so hard to keep rushed out of her lungs in a great haze of bubbles, and blackness started to creep into her peripheral vision as pain and numbness enveloped her skin. Shadows swam above her head as she lost all awareness of her surroundings.

a/n: Any criticism is good criticism. Love, Fausta