It started to snow. Clumps of white snow covered the ground.

I was going for a walk, looking for a place to eat that was still open. I thought that I was going to have to finally resort to the old stereotype and eat Chinese food on Christmas Day.

And then it began to snow.

I looked behind me. No snow. I looked far ahead of me. The ground was devoid of anything resembling snow. It hadn't even been that cold. But now, right where I was standing, it was freezing. It was snowing.

I ran. And when I stopped, I looked behind me and the snow was melting. But then it began to snow where I was standing. So I ran again. And whenever I stopped, it started to snow.

An old joke that my grandfather had told rose unbidden in my mind: I've never seen snow, but I've seen snue. What's snue? I don't know, what's new with you?

What's new with me? Well, apparently, I'm being followed around by the embodiment of entropy and he looks like a little boy and he likes to sing songs and he's fucking around with by making it snow wherever I am. That's what's new.

I came to my apartment building. And outside, standing on the steps, was Claire.

"He's giving you a chance," she said. "He's showing you the signs."

"I don't want to be cold," I said, trying not to shiver.

"You already are," she said. "You are cold and alone. But you don't have to be alone." She held out her hand. "You can be like me. Be like us."

"Us?" I looked around and saw that the street was no longer empty of people. There were kids standing on the corner, standing in a circle. There were five of them, the youngest maybe eight, the oldest fourteen. They looked at me with black eyes.

"We are the Children of the Cold," Claire said. "With his touch, we were born again. We're never alone now. And we never will be. Join us."

It was so tempting. She was beautiful standing there in the snow. I wanted to take her hand. But there was something nagging at me. Nagging at my mind. I said, "Or what?"

Claire pulled back her hand. "He will take you no matter what. I was merely offering the easier solution. The one where you won't have to be alone. If you refuse this, he will take you and you will be alone forever. Alone and cold."

"Why?" I asked.

"It is what he is," Claire said. "No more questions. We need your answer. Will you come with us?"

I hesitated. If what she said was true, this was the better option. But I hated being forced to do anything. Dangle a carrot in front of me and I will turn the other way. Say "Do this or die" and I will refuse.

"No," I said.

Claire frowned. "I'm sorry you said that. I thought we would be together." She nodded her head and the black-eyed children started walking over. Some of them smiled and I saw that their teeth were white and sharp.

Then there was a loud screech and the bright light of headlights blinded me for a second before a voice yelled out my name. "Get it!" I looked behind me and there was a truck, a white truck with what looked like a fire hose in the back. A man was holding onto the fire hose. "Get it!" the voice shouted again.

The black-eyed children ran towards me. The man in the truck bed turned on the fire hose and it knocked them over like bowling pins. I ran towards the truck, but then felt someone grabbing my arm and turned. It was Claire. Her touch was colder than anything I've ever felt before. But then a hand grabbed by shirt collar and pulled me into the truck and Claire had to let go.

I turned to look at the driver and got another shock. It was Professor Holly Sachs. "Sorry I lied to you, kid," she said. "I had to make sure you weren't working with them."

"Them," I said and turned back. As we sped away, I could see Claire looking at me, her eyes as black as coal.