A Long Freeze
The brutal cold in South Texas refused to ease up
‘‘Be careful!’’ Javier shouted concernedly to his co-worker, Cortez.
Cortez regained his footing after his right foot got away from him in the snow. Javier and Cortez were walking in 1 foot of snow in heavy black boots near a parking lot in South Texas. Both men wore a large brown coat with caramel fur inside their hoods, paired with black work pants.
Javier and Cortez had discovered several frozen bodies in the area earlier and got them out of the cold. They continued their search to make sure there weren’t any more bodies in the area.
‘‘We’ll search around for a few more minutes and then call it quits.’’ Said Javier.
‘‘Whew, good, because, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, it’s cold out here.’’ Said Cortez
‘‘Yeah, man, this cold is brutal. South Texas has never been through a cold like this before.’’ Said Javier.
‘‘How did this Arctic Blast get down here anyway?’’ Asked Cortez.
‘‘Don’t know, but the Arctic Ocean can have its weather back.’’ Said Javier.
Cortez nodded as the men kept looking for bodies. They took slow steps to make sure the ice didn’t make them lose their balance. The snowflakes above kept coming down in South Texas — creating a winter wonderland that had never been seen before in the area.
Javier and Cortez kept admiring the snow while showing caution about the potential danger it posed. Cortez saw something above. He couldn’t tell if it was an animal or a human being that had snuck ahead. As he walked closer to the scene, it became clear that it was a human trapped in the cold.
Cortez saw a man with a white complexion trapped inside a good block of blue ice.
‘‘Javier, we got another one!’’
Javier and Cortez ran to the man who was trapped in the ice.
‘‘Yeah, we got to get him out of here — and quick!’’
Both men ran to their green truck in the parking lot. Cortez felt relieved to be getting some warm air again. Javier quickly turned on the green truck and drove to the frozen man. Cortez was frustrated that he had to go out into the brutal cold again — but knew it wouldn’t last long.
Javier and Cortez grabbed their large gloves before returning outside again.
‘‘Okay, let’s see if we can roll the guy on the back of the truck.’’ Said Javier.
They both picked a side of the frozen man before seeing if they could roll him on the truck. The plan worked. They eased him onto the truck with little opposition — besides feeling the icy cold on their gloves.
‘‘Alright, let’s get him out of here.’’ Said Javier.
Javier cut on the truck again and put it in reverse before putting it into the driving position. He got them on the main road and drove as carefully as possible. They saw a few vehicles above them with their lights on. Javier drove them slowly for six minutes before arriving at their destination.
They arrived at a crusty warehouse building.
‘‘Alright, let’s get him off the truck.’’ Said Javier.
‘‘Let’s do it, Senor.’’ Said Cortez.
Both men headed to the back of the truck, grabbed their cold gloves, and slowly eased the frozen man out of the ice and towards the entrance doors.
Cortez opened the doors while holding on to the frozen man and his icy exterior. Javier pushed the man inside the warehouse. The heat inside gave the men a feeling of relief. Javier and Cortez put the frozen beside the other humans who were also frozen into blocks of ice.
Men, women, and teens were thawing outside their ice prison. Some were almost free from the ice while others had a ways to go before the heat released them.
The frozen man, Charles Derek, was happy to be indoors after being in the agonizing cold for about an hour and thirty minutes. He was baffled; others felt the cruelty of the arctic cold that had reigned over South Texas since 3 a.m.
AN HOUR LATER
15 people were completely thawed out of their ice containers. They were overwhelmed with joy and gave encouraging words to those still stuck in their prisons, like Charles Derek.
Charles had made great progress since Javier and Cortez found him outside an hour ago. But he still couldn’t move half of his body.
He could see and feel the solid ice slowly becoming liquid, which excited him because he wouldn’t have to suffer too much longer.
THIRTY-FIVE MINUTES LATER
Charles’s entire body was almost free from the ice. He was waiting on his feet to finish thawing. He wiggled and wiggled, but the remainder of the ice wasn’t having it. Frustration began to take over his mood. Charles was antsy to be free.
He wiggled his feet again. They felt more looser than usual. He wiggled them again and felt the same loose feeling around his feet. He heard a sound come around them. He wiggled his feet again, only to fall on hard, grey ground.
Charles couldn’t believe it. He was finally free from the block of ice that quickly formed when he went outside in the harsh cold weather earlier in the day. A mistake he and many others inside the warehouse regret making.
Charles used his hands to feel his entire body to ensure his freedom was real. Once reality set in for him, he fell on his knees and started thanking the Lord.
‘‘Thank you. Thank you for setting me free.’’ Charles said softly.
After a minute of thanking the Lord, Charles walked towards the people who were still frozen inside their icy cubes. He looked at them with a smile.
‘‘You’ll be free eventually. Just hang on a little longer.’’
Charles then saw Javier and Cortez in a small break room and wanted to share his gratitude with them. The two were watching the news on the unbearable snowy weather that had landed in South Texas.
‘‘If you’re outdoors, please return inside your homes, apartments, or a building with heat in it. Unless you’re a professional or have the right equipment, please stay inside until this arctic cold passes by in two days.’’ Said a reporter, Jim Gones.
Jim Gones, with his wavy grey hair and black and white suit on, pointed to the South Texas weather map.
‘‘This weather is bad, Señor.’’ Said a worried Cortez.
‘‘Si, it is. I hope we don’t have to hear about more people freezing out in the cold, but here, who knows.’’ Javier responded.
‘‘Thank you both for finding me outside in this dreadful climate,’’ Charles said outside the breakroom door.
Javier and Cortez jumped at the surprising presence of Charles. They both quickly tried to regain their cool composure in front of him.
‘‘Yeah, you’re welcome. Just be careful out there and don’t stay outside any longer than five minutes. This 15-degree weather won’t allow us to move much in it.’’ Javier said.
‘‘You got it. You two be careful and keep up the good work!’’ Charles said before walking off.
Javier and Cortez wanted to respond to Charles, but held on to their words once Charles quickly took off. Charles walked towards the exit doors nearby and passed numerous people, who were still thawing from their cubes.
He approached the doors before realizing he didn’t have his green 2021 Nissan Riser to ride home with. Charles wondered how he was going to get home without his ride. Taking a bus was out of the question. He thought like Winnie the Pooh, trying to figure out a way back to his small apartment.
‘‘You need a ride?’’ Asked Javier, who was a couple of feet behind Charles.
‘‘Yeah, I need one.’’
‘‘Cortez and I got you. We have ten more minutes before we drop the next wave of people back to their homes.’’
‘‘Oh, thank you. You two are lifesavers. Can we clone you two and make millions?’’
‘‘Nah, one Cortez is enough.’’
Charles and Javier laughed and continued their conversation in a room of frozen and non-frozen people.
Thanks for reading!