Frozen Water ~ Dreamnotfound

1

Dream felt around the cold ground, unable to see in front of him. The cold air swirled violently around his lackluster shelter, whipping his hair around in the air. As snow and ice fell heavily from the sky, the sun no longer visible, his hand finally swiped over a smooth sheet of hard plastic.

Sighing a breath of relief, he picked up the dirt and snow covered mask, clipping the damp straps and securing it to his face. He crawled on all fours in the dark, trying to stay low enough so the brunt of the wind was above him, and slowly he navigated his way through the mountain.

His brain was laced with exhaustion, but he managed to keep his breaths short and deep, to maximize his lung capacity in the cold. He could feel painful shocks of frost through his damp gloves, but he continued on through the sludge, his vision full of white.

Suddenly, he felt his hand slip and there was no ground in front of him to balance himself on. He had reached an overhang, disguised in snow, but it was too late as he madly flung his arms around in an attempt to grab onto something.

As he fell into a free fall, he gasped and tried to take in as many breaths as possible, scared that those might be his last, but the ground came faster than expected and he landed in a pile of snow and ice. Upon impact, the wind was knocked out of him and he felt small shards of ice stab into his legs through the denim he was wearing.

Shit. He thought and forced himself up to his hands and knees, and then his feet. In the midst of his fall, his backpack had slid off of his shoulder and he blinked through white mist in an attempt to locate it.

Once he laid eyes on it, he groaned. It was pulled open, it's contents strewn all throughout the snowy bank, and he grumbled to himself as he picked up everything he could salvage. Fortunately, he'd only lost a few power bars and a couple of shirts. Everything else was still there.

Still shaken from his fall, Dream wobbled over to the side of the cliff, leaning against the smooth stone, and used it as a guide down the new found path. Although, he discovered shortly, it wasn't new. He could make out a faint trail of footprints in the snow. They were fresh too. Dream could tell by the fact that they were still visible, not yet covered up by the swirling storm. 

Weary of who could be down this stretch of the mountain pass, Dream unsheathed his knife, and held it to his side, using his free hand to balance himself against the wall. An hour passed and he felt as though he'd made little to no progress on his journey to find the owner of the footprints. As snow continued to fall, the footprints slowly began to disappear in the fresh coat of white.

He had run out of water two days ago, and the effects were hitting him full force. Dream tried his best to push the exhaustion out of his mind, but he could feel himself slowly falling, further and further into darkness. He needed something to drink. He would do anything for just a sip of fresh water.

Struggling to maintain his breathe, he shoveled a handful of snow into his mouth and winced at the burning pain on his cheeks. It wasn't enough. This couldn't be enough.

Maybe I could... no. Dream eyed his knife, but pushed the thought out of his mind. Consuming iron wasn't good, and Dream was running low on first aid supplies. Causing an injury to himself, just for a sip of something liquid would be stupid.

His thoughts continued to spiral, however, and he found himself stumbling to the ground. He hadn't heard any sounds of life in weeks, and the snow covered most of any sound besides the harsh wind. He hadn't seen another human for even longer.

Dream trudged on, crawling on his hands and knees, moving painfully slow, one hand in front of the other. Just as he'd begun to fade, he caught a glimpse of something in the distance. If he wasn't mistaken, it looked like the sun.

No, he hadn't seen the sun in months. It was a light, though. As he got closer, the light revealed itself to be a torch, slowly burning, its smoke floating pitifully up into the ice cold wind. A loud burst of wind snuffed it out and Dream wanted to cry. The light was gone.

He collapsed on his stomach, reaching his arms out further as an attempt to continue on, but he was so tired. As he laid down, he could feel the warmth begin to grow, starting at his fingertips, but moving slowly up his hands and arms.

With a sigh of relief, the light had returned. It was directly overhead now, flashing and blinking in a parade of colors. Taking a breath, Dream admired its painful beauty. It grew nearer and brighter and all he wanted to do was touch it.

He outstretched his hand, accepting the light to the tips of his fingers. It was warm and fuzzy. It grew warmer. Tingles crept through his body as he laid in the warm snow, his breaths now more shallow and farther apart. It grew warmer.

Hot. It burned. Help. I'm dying.

The heat was too hot. He pulled his puffer coat off and yanked his shirt over his head in a mad rush to cool off. It burned through his body, sending shocks down his spine, the light flashing in an explosion of neon colors, getting closer and closer to him. Stay away. Dream screamed in his head. It's not my time...

This is a shorter chapter but I promise the rest will be a little bit longer. Please make sure to vote!! I'm so excited to see where this book goes.