It was an icy winters day. It was a Sunday so school was out, leaving a young boy to his own devices.

He was stood to the side of a long stretch of ice, spread along the pavement. It was his latest creation - it was amazing what a single bucket of water could accomplish.

He ran towards the centre of the ice, being careful to take the sliver devoid of ice on the side furthest from the road. It was a safety precaution existing for his use alone.

At the centre of the stretch of ice, there was an alleyway leading off between the buildings. The perfect spot for advanced reconnaissance.

A few minutes later, a young man dressed in a suit walked towards the ice. He was walking quickly, trying to make it back to work after his lunch break. A rookie mistake.

He put one foot on the ice and started sliding. One second, three seconds, five seconds; he didn’t stop. Realising his predicament, he fumbled around trying to regain his footing only to lose his balance and fall flat on his face. He slid towards the end of the ice, coming to a stop at the iceless part at the end of the pavement.

A few measly seconds of silence followed before the boy burst into laughter. The man got up quickly and started taking long, quick strides towards his destination - as if nothing had happened.

Next in line was a young woman. She had an expensive fur coat, pitch-black high heels and a white handbag strung over her shoulder. She came to the ice, stopped, took one step to the left and continued walking as if nothing had happened.

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He was angered by this - who was she to take away him of entertainment? Unlucky for her, he had a backup plan.

Putting his hand into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of marbles. It was a plan of his he wanted to test for a while. Could marbles be an acceptable substitute for ice?

Sticking a single hand out from his position, he rolled the marbles towards his target. He watched the smug look on her face quickly dissolve into terror as she lost her balance. Plummeting towards the ground, she fumbled to put her hands out in front of her. However, her handbag prevented such futile efforts.

She let out a high-pitched squeal before smashing her face onto the concrete. She got up, embarrassed, and walked quickly away from the scene.

Amusing as it was - marbles just couldn’t beat ice.

A third victim walked towards the ice a few minutes later. It was a woman pushing a dark-blue pram in front of her, walking quickly as if she had somewhere to be. Taking a step onto the ice, she started sliding.

Sliding forwards, terror contorted her face as she realised the situation she was in. If the pram falls, the baby would not be fine.

Trying to stop sliding, she dug her heels into the ice. She pulled back to reduce speed as much as possible, only to slip and lose grip of the pram.

She plummeted towards the ground and smashed the back of her head into the ice. The pram rolled on with altered trajectory, heading straight for the road.

Realising the danger of the situation, the boy sprinted towards the pram, grabbed the handle and pulled back with all his might. The pram rolled towards the wall and stopped with a soft thud. The baby was safe… but he wasn’t.

It all happened in a moment. Sliding helplessly towards the road as he failed to slow himself down. Toppling over as the end of the pavement removed his footing. The screech of a van as it attempted to stop. The cries of the people around him as they realised the situation. The sharp pain that flooded throughout his body.

And then… everything went black.