Snowflake: Frozen Child

IT has been a year since the slightly visible snow in Jhay's country occurred. It never stopped snowing and the root was never yet extracted. No clues nor traces why the phenomenon has been happening, it was just there.

"Are you not coming inside?" Damian asked Jhay who was currently sitting outside their shelter. The studies and observations were still under progress like the way they used to be.

"In five minutes" Jhay answered before she looked back at the night sky painted with colorful green lights. A year has passed yet everything felt unmoved for Jhay. She has waited for all her life. She believed that Haji would return someday. Damian sighed and decided to get inside, leaving the girl he only cared for in that cold place. Jhay thought, "Hey Haji, how long will you keep me waiting?"

Jhay hugged herself and curled herself like a ball and never did she thought she could be numb enough. The night was freezingly cold yet staring at the night sky made Jhay's heart felt warm.

"I can still wait a little longer, Ji"

*

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*

A LOUD alarm woke everyone in the facility as Damian hurriedly knocked on Jhay's door.

"Jhay, you gotta check this out! Hurry!" Damian said abruptly with a little bit panicking sign from his voice. Blinking, Jhay got up and instantly wore her thick coat. Her skin felt the coldness became worse.

"What is it?" Jhay asked Damian as the guy brought her to the headquarters.

"LAUNCH THE SATELLITES" John commanded the people in charge for the planned tasks.

"But sir..." one of the operator protested but was cut off by John's authoritative command.

"FOLLOW MY ORDER, IF YOU WANT TO SAVE YOUR COUNTRIES. YOUR COOPERATION IS HIGHLY NEEDED, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN" John said clear and crystal.

"Yes sir!" the operators said in unison, they manually operated the systems through the computers and distributing the signals towards the countries all over the world.

"Father, what is going on?" Jhay asked as she looked at the screens in front of her turned one by one into one big screen with a digital timer counting down to zero.

"The world is at stake, Jhay." John said with his hand holding the headphone and receiving another important call.

"Sir, 23 affirmative responses from different countries received!" one of the operators said while waiting for John's next command.

"Launch them now" John commanded. The digital clock started counting down.

*SFPHIL001 PREPARING FOR LAUNCH IN 3...2...1...*

*SFJPAN002 PREPARING FOR LAUNCH IN 3...2...1...*

The systems declared unitedly as the rockets from different countries launched.

"Sir, another 30 affirmative responses received!" Another declaration was said by one of the operators.

"REPEAT THE SAME OPERATION" John responded responsibly.

"Dad, answer me" Jhay said as calm as she could. She had no idea what has been happening.

"Jhay, I got a mission for you." John stated seriously as if he was speaking to a soldier and not to his daughter. Jhay answered him with a stare on the eyes.

"Your knowledge and information helped out a lot. Now, all you have to do is go back home. Look after Pherein for me. And no matter what happens, STAY OUT OF THE SNOW" John stated strictly.

"But why?" Jhay asked.

John breathed out a mass of air before speaking, "The snowflakes were causing the unstoppable epidemic that has been happening in tropical countries."

"Everyone who got exposed too much from the snow started having seizures and convulsions. After 24 hours, the subject would start scratching his skins, particularly the hands. It was far different from OCD* because the subject would start digging his own flesh, their nails would never be enough and they would start using their teeth." John explained.

[*Note: OCD-(Obsessive- Compulsive Disorder) a mental illness that involves repeating actions or thinking about certain things too much.]

"It was as if they were devouring their own flesh" Damian confirmed.

"What's in the snow that made the causes contagious?" Jhay asked, she wanted to know so she could help.

"No one knows, no one could conduct observations. The thin snows that succeeded to land on the ground or any nonliving things became normal load of snows." Damian added.

"And those flakes which directly penetrated through the human skin caused the subject to have the same symptoms." John added.

"What you two need to do right now is to go back there. Damian, your parents were already at our house. I entrusted my family's safety to you, young man." John said as he placed a hand on Damian's shoulder.

"Wait..." Jhay interrupted

"...what happened to that call?" she asked.

John frowned with Jhay's off-topic question.

"What call?"

"That call from Haji. You said to me a year ago that you received a call from space relating about this phenomenon. Have you forgotten already?" Jhay asked in disbelief, hopes started to shatter slowly in her heart. John made a guilty and sad reaction as he said, "I'm sorry honey"

"What?..." Jhay asked confused "...why are you sorry?"

"I lied" John stated which made Jhay stumbled a step backwards.

"What do you mean you lied?"

"There was never a call." John said.

"The facility never received any messages from space that says about making snow. I only used Haji's name as an excuse for you to help us. I knew you would never offer a hand nor even care for other people's problem. But we needed you, we needed your knowledge. That's why, I'm sorry. We don't have any idea where Haji is, none whether he is still alive or not." John said.

"How could you do this to me, father?" Jhay asked in disbelief. John did nothing but sighed and bowed his head. But with the current situation, the world is at stake. Specialists like John didn't have enough time to waste.

"You need to go back to the Philippines. I only needed you to do three things. Don't get exposed to the snow. Protect everyone. And, please live." John said with a guilty face.

"Sir! you need to see this" one of the operator said as he handed the hi-tech iPod to John. John click the play icon displayed in the screen and the clip played.

"It was taken in Ohio, Florida from two days ago, sir. What do we do now?" the operator said. The cases were happening all around the world.

The video playing was a pregnant woman scratching her arms inside the delivery room. Her wounds were already bleeding on her arms. She looked like it was her time to deliver her baby soon. No one was able to stop her because the nurses and staffs inside the room were all panicking from the flickering lights. The woman started screaming as the color of her brown irises scattered throughout her pupils. Later on, her eyes turned to black and her skin turned to gray. Her teeth started growing rapidly that it scratched her lips. The woman started scratching her belly and her nails were digging on her flesh.

"Oh my god" Jhay gasped as she saw how the woman did not hesitate to eat her own belly as she died in the video. Another video was played on the screen.

"This one is from our country, the Philippines" the guy from before said as John and Jhay watched the video with their minds filled with questions.

A man in the video was holding a knife. Sitting normally, the man secretly started using the knife to scratch his knee. Infected people never get contented with just simply scratching their skin, they ended up doing alternative solutions which led them to danger. And the worst, death.

"Sir, the disease was incurable. The only option the world has agreed is to eliminate all the infected ones." Damian reported as he suddenly entered the room.

"And Jhay, this is no time looking for Haji. As I've told you before, things never turn out the way as you wanted it to be." Damian added.

"So, my whole life was a lie after all" Jhay said as she chuckled. She felt like she just lost her mind in an instant together with her heart.

"And now that I am no longer useful, you decided to throw me away. You're sending me back to my country because I am no longer needed. And the only thing I could do right now is to hide and do nothing but to stay with them. At least Damian, you're coming with me, right?" Jhay said with a tired face. She was deadly tired, psychologically.

"I go wherever you go. I am your protector after all" Damian said transparently. That never made Jhay felt happy nor secured. She just wanted to go home, throw all her hopes away and hide.

*

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*

BREAKING News: The Philippine Army declared a state of emergency. Everyone is strictly prohibited to go outside their shelters. Lock your doors and windows. Never let anyone invades your house. Food and water will be delivered to your door weekly until this outbreak will be stopped. If an SIS* (*Snowflake Infected Subject) attacks you, you are advised to never get scratched with their nails. The best option you could do is to avoid or run away from them. If you are trapped with them, you have to destroy their brains.

Jhay was currently watching the news with Pherein, Angela and Damian's mother around her, Damian was drinking beer near the window.

"What were you thinking?" Jhay asked Damian as she stood next to him. Damian's father was attacked by an SIS and he was not able to meet him again.

"I'll be joining the forces. I'll exterminate all of them" Damian said angrily.

"You can't be serious, Damian. Look, I understand that you are blaming yourself for not being able to save your father. But think about all those SIS, they were just victims of the phenomenon. You can't kill innocent lives." Jhay said.

"What do you know? You're just telling me this because you know what? You don't really care about anyone. You don't care about your family because you believed that they were not real. You believed that your whole life was a lie, am I not right?" Damian hissed. The moment Jhay and Damian arrived from the North Pole, Damian's father attempted to attack Pherein and the other ladies. Jhay's mind was too occupied with thoughts about Haji not coming back. She didn't even realize she almost lost Pherein.

"Are you telling me I'm inhuman?" Jhay asked in disbelief.

"Are you?" Damian said sarcastically.

"From the time that we rode on the helicopter, all you ever said was Haji! Haji! People around were dying and all you could ever think was a dead perso-" Damian's head tilted towards his side as Jhay slapped him hard in the face.

"Haji's not dead. How could you give up on him?" Jhay asked, tears rolling down her cheek.

"Why? Do you still think that he is somewhere out there? With the world's current situation, do you still believe he will come back?" Damian was broken too. He suffered more than Jhay. He longed for his brother, his best friend. But everyone needed acceptance and defeat against life.

"Please don't join the forces" Jhay demanded. Damian chuckled as he patted Jhay's head. He went outside the house and Jhay began to panic when she saw an armored vehicle in front of their house.

"You're going to leave me too?" Jhay asked, panic reflected in her eyes as she recognized the car.

"It's not like I'm going out there to die" Damian said and put on his protective black coat he was holding earlier.

"If you'll do this, you'll lose me." Jhay threatened Damian.

Damian responded, "Before I got the chance to have you, I already lost you" he wanted to add, "Because Haji got you" but he just smiled instead.

"Take care of the ladies" Damian said as he entered directly into the car with two armed man assisted him.

"Miss, please return inside your house" the man said strictly to Jhay. Jhay sighed with a heavy heart and returned inside the house. The engine started and Jhay stopped at the doorstep. As she remembered everything that Damian said, she finally decided to let go of her false hopes.

"There's no more reason for me to hold on. No one is willing to stay by my side. I didn't notice that I was too numb." Jhay said to herself.

Jhay finally understood why Damian left. He could no longer bear being invisible in Jhay's eyes. No matter what he do, he would never be seen.

"I wish I could stay the way I used to be. The part where all I could only feel was coldness" Jhay thought. And one thing that crossed across her mind where her wished would be fulfilled.

"Let me make use of this brain then. That way I will feel at ease." Jhay said to herself as she went outside the house. She wished she had done that idea before.