[ WP ] You suddenly find your doors and windows wo n't open . You log in to Reddit and find the most upvoted thread with over a million comments and just two hours old `` Help , my door is stuck , any tips to get it open ? ''

Ice crystals had formed overnight on my bed stand. My laptop was open beside me, and it too was crystallized- covered in jewels of ice and with frost on the screen, which was odd because it was still on and quite warm. The CPU fan hummed softly, and through the frost I could see the Reddit tab open in the browser. The furnace was on in the basement -I could hear it- and there was warm air blowing from a vent on the floor. I sat up in bed, shaking ice off of my comforter. I was surrounded by winter, mind you it was August, and even the cat, Kiki, took notice. She looked comfortable but a little perplexed, and licked at an icicle hanging from the back of a chair. I got up and put my feet on the floor expecting a sting of cold, but the oak floorboards felt almost warm, as if my Grandfather had hewn them this morning. All the furniture in the living room was dusted with ice, and icicles hung from rafters. This was absolutely incredible, and I in no way believed it. 
 
 I've always had extremely vivid dreams, and this was likely no different. Though, usually the moment I became lucid I would pop awake- but I remained here, in my frozen home. I did not wake up. I went to the door and tried to open it. It appeared frozen shut. The knob was cold- maybe the first thing that I had touched which seemed so, and it would not budge. I went next the windows which all proved the same. 
 After a few other tries at escape, I picked up my phone and swiped left to dial my brother, who lived across town. He did n't pick up. I tried a few friends- no one picked up. I dialed 911 which rang and rang. `` What the fuck?'' I said aloud. 
 
 Then, noticing the wifi symbol in the top-left corner of my phone's screen, realized I still had an internet connection. I rushed back to my bedroom and sat down at the laptop. I had to brush away the frost to see the screen fully, and went straight to Google. My first news search yielded nothing. No results out of the ordinary. Back to Reddit. 
 
 To my amazement, at the top of the front page, was a link which read: `` Is anyone else stuck inside today?'' I clicked- and saw thousands and thousands of comments, all to the same effect. Nobody could get in touch with anyone except on Reddit. Even people in the hottest climates on Earth described ice and even snow in their homes, though they were sweltering hot just as they usually were this time of year. 
 `` This ice does n't melt'' said one man in the Australian outback, who lived in his camper van and he too was trapped. 
 
 I sent messages to a few Redditors I knew, to check in with them, and they all shared the same experience. One of these was my neighbor. We practically shared a wall, and I'd learned he was a Redditor a few months before, while we were in line at Pat's Sandwiches. We decided to see if we could hear each other shouting or banging on anything. Two hours later, we both checked back in to confess that our voices were growing hoarse and we'd heard nothing. 
 
 I found myself crumpled in a corner, sobbing. My hot tears steamed in this strange and not at all cold air. I begged the silence for an explanation as to what was happening. None came. I looked down at my phone and noticed a new comment- someone made a Disney joke. 
 
 `` Well, guys'' he said. `` I guess we should just Let it Go.'' I brightened a little. At least I still had Reddit. 

