Frozen Rebirth: I Will Outlive You All

Before the Storm

"Please open the door. I am freezing to death." Logan Carter pressed his bleeding forehead against the frosted steel.

​He stood shivering violently on the mansion porch. The brutal polar storm had buried the city for months. In this apocalyptic white hell, being locked outside was a guaranteed death sentence.

​Just an hour ago, Logan and his brother Mason had ventured into the subzero blizzard to scavenge for food.

​Mason had barely sneezed. Yet Madison Bennett, the woman who adopted Logan fifteen years ago, treated her biological son like a fragile victim.

​The moment they returned, she forcibly stripped Logan of his thick survival jacket and gave it to Mason. Then she locked Logan outside in the raging storm.

​The heavy door finally clicked open. A wave of heavenly, fireplace heated air washed over Logan's numb face.

​Madison stood in the doorway. She wore a wool sweater. Her face was twisted in absolute fury.

​"Stop banging on the glass, Logan," Madison hissed. "You are disturbing your brother."

​"I brought the supplies back," Logan wheezed. His teeth cracked together. "Give me back my coat. My skin is turning black."

​"Mason is traumatized!" Madison shouted. She pointed deeply into the warm living room.

​Mason was lounging on the plush designer sofa. He was wrapped tightly in Logan's heavy jacket, casually eating a bowl of hot beef stew.

​"You are the older sibling," Madison spat. Her eyes held zero sympathy for the boy turning blue on her porch. "You are supposed to endure hardship for this family. Stop acting so incredibly selfish."

​"Mom, I will die out here," Logan begged. He reached weakly for the warm doorframe.

​Madison slapped his hand away. She planted her heavy boot squarely on his chest and shoved him backward.

​Logan let out a breathless whimper. He collapsed down the frozen steps and tumbled into a deep snowdrift.

​"Just let him throw his tantrum, Mom," Mason called out from the sofa. He did not even look up from his soup. "A few hours in the cold will teach him some respect."

​Mason smiled faintly. "Tomorrow morning, he will still be my good older brother."

​"Learn your place, Logan," Madison sneered.

​She slammed the heavy steel door shut. The deadbolt locked with a loud click.

​Logan lay completely paralyzed in the snow.

​He stared through the large living room window. Inside, Madison was gently tucking a second warm blanket around Mason.

​I was just a loyal dog, Logan thought. A bitter tear froze solid on his cheek. I spent fifteen years begging for a family that never saw me as human.

​As the ice froze his lungs completely, a singular, violent thought burned in his mind.

​If I get another chance, I will watch you all freeze.

​Logan gasped loudly. He shot upward in bed.

​He grabbed at his throat. There was no suffocating ice. His fingers brushed against warm skin and soft cotton sheets.

​He blinked blankly. He was in his own bedroom, inside the Bennett family mansion.

​"Have I been reborn?"

​He snatched his phone from the bedside table. November twelfth. Exactly half a month before the global temperature plummeted and the ice age swallowed the earth.

​A hollow laugh escaped his chest. He was really back.

​The memories of his past life played out like a horror film.

​Now, he still has fifteen days. Fifteen days to liquidate his assets, hoard supplies, and build an impenetrable fortress.

​His chest tightened as he looked around the lavish room. The Bennett family.

​They had adopted him at age five when Madison thought she was infertile. For a brief period, he was loved. Then medical science gave them a miracle, and Mason was born.

​Overnight, Logan became a discarded spare part. To ease their conscience toward their biological son, they made the decision to treat Logan with cold cruelty for the rest of his life.

​Logan was just a child then. He simply thought he had done something wrong. He craved their love.

​So, time and again, he sacrificed everything, pleading for a scrap of their affection. Only to be thrown outside to freeze to death.

​Never again.

​A sharp rap on his door shattered his thoughts.

​"Logan," Madison's voice was muffled through the oak wood. "Come out to the living room. You need to know something."

​He recognized that sweet tone immediately. It was the exact voice she used right before she demanded a sacrifice.

​"I will be right down," Logan replied, his voice terrifyingly calm.

​He opened the door and walked down the staircase. He found them in the sprawling living room, surrounded by useless luxury.

​Mason sat on the velvet sofa, but he was not alone. Sienna Clarke, the girl Logan had been dating for two years, was tucked comfortably into Mason's side.

​Mason had his arm draped casually over her shoulders, his fingers playing with the ends of her dark hair.

​Logan stopped at the bottom of the stairs. His expression remained entirely neutral.

​Madison stood near the fireplace, sipping a cup of espresso. She offered a tight patronizing smile.

​"Have a seat, Logan. We need to have a mature conversation."

​Logan remained standing. "Speak."

​Madison frowned slightly at his bluntness but waved a dismissive hand. "Mason's recent girlfriend was simply unacceptable. She was too loud. He broke it off with her last night."

​She paused, her eyes gleaming with malice. "However, he mentioned that he always thought Sienna was quite lovely. A very fitting match for the Bennett family image."

​"Is that so?" Logan asked quietly.

​Sienna looked down, pretending to be shy, but Logan easily caught the gleam of ambition in her eyes. Mason smirked, tightening his grip on her.

​"Yes," Madison continued. "Mason wants to be with Sienna. She has agreed. They are a much better fit."

​She took another sip of espresso. "You would not mind, right?"

​"I mean, we just clicked last night," Mason chimed in. "You were always too busy with your little projects anyway. Sienna needs someone with real standing."

​"I am so sorry, Logan," Sienna added, her voice dripping with fake sympathy. "We did not mean to hurt you. Love just happens."

​In his previous life, this exact moment had broken him. He had begged Sienna to explain. He had pleaded with Madison to intervene. He had yelled at Mason like a raving lunatic.

​They had reveled in his despair, using his outburst to justify casting him further out of the family circle. They expected the same desperate performance today.

​Mason was practically leaning forward, eager for the drama. Sienna had a perfectly rehearsed speech ready.

​Logan looked at the three of them. He saw the designer clothes, the smug entitlement, the utter lack of humanity. They were dead weight.

​A slow chilling smile spread across Logan's face.

​"Mind?" Logan asked. His voice was incredibly soft. "Not at all."

​A stunned silence fell over the room. Mason dropped his arm from Sienna.

​"You do not mind?" Madison stammered, lowering her espresso cup in confusion. "You are just going to accept this?"

​"Why would I not?" Logan let out a short laugh. "She is all yours, Mason. Consider her used goods."

​He looked right at Sienna. "Actually, this timing is perfect. It saves me a very tedious conversation."

​"Excuse me?" Sienna gasped, her face flushing with sudden anger. "Used goods?"

​"Watch your mouth, Logan!" Mason snapped, standing up from the sofa. "You are just pretending to be tough because you are embarrassed!"

​"I am not embarrassed," Logan said. He shoved his hands into his pockets. "I am relieved."

​Logan met Madison's eyes. The coldness in his gaze made the older woman take an involuntary step back.

​"Since we are rearranging the family dynamics this morning," Logan continued, his voice crisp and unwavering. "We can also terminate my adoption relationship with the Bennett family right now."

​Madison dropped her espresso cup. It shattered against the marble floor. "What did you just say?"

​"You heard me perfectly," Logan said. "I am done playing the backup son. I am done with this family. I want my name off the registry."