The Cold

“PICKUP THE PHONE ALREADY, ASSHOLE! YOU CAN’T JUST KEEP BAILING ON US, AND EXPECT US TO TAKE YOU SERIOUSLY!!!!” Charlie screamed into his phone. After hanging up, he threw it into the passenger’s seat, and let out an exasperated sigh. It was the fourth time his brother, Will, had bailed on set plans in the past month. After several moments of annoyed rumination, he picked up the phone and dialed their mother.

“Can you believe he didn’t show up again? Actually, of fucking course you can believe it. I would honestly be surprised if he had shown up!” Charlie vented. He stared at the delicate snowflakes which fluttered on to his windshield, and were swept away by the plodding wipers.

“Don’t be so hard on him. He has been struggling recently with depress-”

“The only thing that prick has been struggling with is being a lazy piece of shit! He never returns my calls, and when he does he can never commit to anything! On the rare occasion that I do get him to commit, he ends up fucking bailing! Mom, I’ve tried to do everything in my power to get him motivated, but nothing works! He’s incorrigible!”

“He just needs love and support. He’ll be okay I promise.”

“Fuck that! Do you know how much money I’ve lent him over these past few months? And he can’t even be bothered to answer my calls? I haven’t even seen the fucker in what, three weeks? A month?”

“It has been hard on all of us since your father passed. We just need to be here for him so–”

“You don’t think I know that? You don’t think I wish I could sit inside all day, and mope? Of course I have to be the responsible one! And you know what? I’m sick of it. I’m going over to his house right now to give him a piece of my mind. Do you know how much harder it was moving Austin into his house without Will there? Actions have consequences, and I’m going to show him that.”

“Charlie, please don’t. It’s only going to start a stupid fight. You know how he is.”

“One sec, I’m getting a text. Maybe it’s Mr. NoCall NoShow. I’ll have to call you back later.”

Charlie pulled over to the side of the road, and checked his phone.

1 New Message From Will

“Bastard…” Charlie muttered as he opened the message.

“Hey. SOrry I coulndt make it. Got busy. Made a mess. Will talk Later”

“… Hey sorry I missed your call, you know what to do at the sound of the beep.”

After the third time that his brother had declined his call, Charlie became incensed. He ignored the furious sounds of car horns blaring as he peeled out of the parking spot. The tires of the Audi screeched as he swung a violent U-turn, and tore down the road towards his lost brother.

---

Charlie pulled into the dilapidated apartment complex that his brother called home. He angrily slammed the door to his car, and began shuffling through the snow. There was a pack of homeless people huddled together for warmth inside of the main stairwell.

“Spare any change for a vet?” asked a legless man in a green army jacket.

“Sorry, my charity has reached a limit,” Charlie muttered as he briskly passed the man. Just as he was about to knock on the door, he received a text from Will.

Hey. Will met u later @ Austin’s. Don’t come over. I’m not home.

Moments after Charlie sent a reply to the cryptic text, he could hear the faint ringing sound of an incoming text from inside the apartment. He cupped his hands over his eyes, and peered through the front window. He could barely discern a faint silhouette just beyond the blue glow of a cell phone.

“IT IS ONE THING FOR YOU TO IGNORE ME, BUT ARE YOU REALLY JUST GOING TO FUCKING LIE TO ME LIKE THIS?” Charlie screamed through the door.

He twisted the doorknob only to find it locked.

“MOTHERFUCKER, I PAY FOR THIS APARTMENT, AND YOU THINK THAT YOU CAN JUST LOCK ME OUT!?!” he yelled.

First, Charlie lifted up the mat which read: Go Away. A gift which their mother had ironically given William at his moving in party as an attempt to appeal to his morose sense of humor. The key which was normally underneath the mat was missing, but luckily Charlie had a contingency plan for when his brother was predictably aloof. He felt along the top of the door frame until his hand made contact with an icy, brass key

“Once I get in there, you’re going to regret this!”

The rickety door flew open, and slammed against a wall. The nauseating odor of mildew and rot filled his nostrils. The apartment was shrouded in absolute darkness.

“What the fuck are you doing, man? I know you’re in here!” Charlie hollered. After receiving no response, he fumbled around in the darkness towards the light switch on the far wall. Suddenly, he lost balance as his foot struck a pile of beer cans, empty takeout boxes, and soiled pornography.

“You know, I’ve never given you shit about your weird prefernce for buying porn in an age where that shit is free and easier to access than dirt, but at least don’t be a fucking pig about it!” Charlie yelled into the darkness.

The faint blue glow of Will’s high powered gaming computer seeped through the cracks of the bedroom door at the end of the hall. Charlie stood up, flicked on the light switch, and walked towards it. However, something caught Charlie’s eye. Sitting on a table in the hallway was a picture of the brothers standing arm-in-arm with each other as children. He paused outside of the door, and suddenly felt a wave of guilt and sadness wash over him.

“Hey, man can I come in?” he asked.

A shuffling could be heard from inside the room, but there was no response.

“Look I’m sorry I don’t mean to be busting up in here like a home invader. I know that we aren’t the same person, and I can’t just expect you to recover as fast as I did from dad’s death. This shit just fucking sucks. And if I’m completely honest, I haven’t really recovered either. I feel as if the survival of the family is on my shoulders and… I’m not… handling it well. I just love you and mom to pieces. You’re all I have left, and it hurts me more to see y’all in pain. I know that I have been coming across as passive aggressive, overbearing, and generally a jackass. I just hope you know that it comes from a place of love. It doesn’t matter how long it takes for you to get better. I’m here for you. Whatever you need, whenever you need it. I love you.” Charlie said softly through the door.

Only the soft hum of Will’s gaming computer could be heard on the other side of the door.

“I’m going to come in, okay?” Charlie said as he twisted the door handle.

As he peeked through the door, he saw his brother in his most natural state; hunched at his desk with his back turned to the door, playing video games. Large headphones could barely be made out in the shaggy forest of his curly blond locks.

“So much for a cute, brother bonding moment, huh?” Charlie chuckled to himself. He picked up a nearby stress ball, and chucked it at his brother’s head.

“Hey, asshole!” Charlie yelled before leaving the room. As he made his way into the kitchen, he flicked on every available light until the apartment was fully illuminated. The flourescent light of the refrigerator showered him in a lifeless glow as he raided it for beer.

“Hey, I thought you said you would ‘never drink natty light’? Damn, I knew times were tough, but I didn’t know it was that tough!” Charlie exclaimed. He cracked open the beer, and took a sip. Upon checking his phone, he realized that he had inadvertently left it on silent. The screen read:

12 Missed Calls from Mom

10 Voicemails

“Yo, dude! Mom is tripping about something!” Charlie yelled to his brother. He pressed on the first voicemail, and put the phone to his ear. The phone erupted into crackling static as his mother’s plaintive wails filled the room.

“AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT HAPPENED AGAIN!!!!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOO NO NO NO MY BABY BOY MY BABY BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HE’S DEAD!!!!!!!! WILLIAM IS DEAD!!!!  I CAN’T TAKE IT!!!!!!!!!! NO, NO, NO NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! THEY FOUND HIM IN THE RIVER!!!!!!!!! THEY SAY HE JUMPED IN THE RIVER!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT CAN’T BE!!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOO NOT AGAIN!!!!!!!”

Before he could make any sense of the message, he heard the shuffling of feet behind him. He whipped around to see a tiny figure standing in the doorway. A gaunt man stood before him. Standing no more than four feet, the short man’s face was covered in sores and blisters, and he was wearing a dirty, disheveled, blond wig that was identical to his brother’s natural hair. The man had a manic, snaggle-toothed grin and a cocked head. The sharp points of his ears and nose gave him an elf-like appearance. His glassy eyes seemed to look past Charlie and through the window at the falling snow.

“I told you not to come. I didn’t want you to come,” The man sneered. “I just want to be warm. Warm!”

“Who the fuck are you?!? What did you do with my brother?” Charlie screamed.

“Me? I did nothing. Your brother left on his own. He was kind. Every night I was outside here, in the cold stairwell… Oh, the cold… I huddled with those disgusting, flea riddled savages. I barely survived! Oh, how I hate them… I hate the cold… AHHH the cold!!!” he said.

The pale, waifish man shuddered as listlessly stared off into the distance.

“But your brother! Your brother was kind. He always gave money when he could… He was KIND! But the cold got him… the lonely cold… There were never any visitors… Just the cold.  When he left this place for the last time he gave me his wallet. He said he had no use for it anymore. I don’t think he knew that I knew where he kept the spare key…”

“What in the fuck?!” Charlie exlaimed. “You little gremlin, he never wanted you to be in here! How the fuck did you… When did he leave?!”

“I’m sorry!” the man pleaded. He pulled one of Will’s credit cards from his pocket, and stared at it affectionately as he held it with both hands.

“The cards bring the food. The cards keep away the cold,” he said. The little man stopped looking at the card, and began staring into Charlie’s eyes with a look of desperation.

“I needed you to make the cards work. I didn’t want to be cold! I’m sorry. I can’t be cold again. I’ll never return to the cold,” the little man sobbed.

“WHEN DID HE LEAVE!?!” Charlie repeated.

“Three weeks ago…” the man muttered.

“SO FOR THREE WEEKS YOU PRETENDED TO BE MY FUCKING BROTHER?!? You need to get the fuck out of here NOW!! I’m calling the fucking cops you degenerate little shit!” Charlie screamed. As he pulled out his phone, the little man became rabid. He jumped on Charlie, and began frantically clawing and biting at his neck.

“NOOOOO, NOT THE COLD!! I’LL NEVER GO BACK TO THE COLD!! I WANT TO BE WARM!! I WANT TO BE WARM!!” The little man screeched.

They tumbled around the apartment causing a flurry of beer cans and takeout boxes to be knocked around. As they grappled, the small man’s wig began to slide off his head. Underneath was a short, thick shock of snow white hair.

“NOOOOO, NOT THE COLDDDDD!” the little man screamed.

Charlie was able to regain focus after the initial attack. He grabbed the small man by the head and threw him against a wall. The drywall cracked as the troll’s head slammed against it, and his body dropped to the ground with a thick thud. The small, inert body almost looked like a doll as it splayed out haphazardly on the ground.

Charlie sat down on a chair in the living room, and breathed a sigh of relief. He felt hot blood begin to trickle down the side of his head. The blood was sticky as he rubbed it in his fingers. He looked back and forth between his bloody hands, and the motionless little man. Charlie silently walked into the kitchen to clean his wounds.

As he washed his hands, he heard the floor creak behind him.

---

The coroner pulled a white sheet over Will’s pale, bloated body.

“Thank you, ma’am,” The coroner sighed. “I’m terribly sorry for your loss.”

“I still haven’t heard from my boy Charlie in hours! He is all I have left! Oh, no no no…” she quietly sobbed.

Then her phone vibrated.

1 New Message from Charlie

“hi Mmom. At WIll’s housse he iss good. dont come over. Made a mess.”