Stay still
The sound of the cracking was deafening. It resonated throughout the entire lake and seemed to not want to stop. The friends looked at each other with eyes as wide as saucers. One of them slid his foot on the surface to see under the thin layer of snow but suddenly stopped as if he himself was frozen. He kept his hands as still as possible and slowly whispered, “Guys, everyone, stop. I think we have a problem.”
Mike gasped too, as he realized what was happening. The ice was no longer smooth and transparent – it was now riddled with countless cracks. No one had realized that the weight of the group combined with the multiple impacts could cause such a catastrophe. And now they were in danger, with the ice threatening to swallow them all.