Blizzard

Chapter 1- Trapped

The shrill screeching of rubber tires echoed into the cold, damp night. Snowfall blinded the windshield, almost as if it was a veil shrouding a bride's face on her special day. However, this day was anything but special; it was as far from it as it could possibly be. Dahyun scrunched her nose, burning rubber and smoke filling her scents, as she slowed the car to a sudden stop, burying the burning tires in the thick snow that covered the ground as far as the eye could see. Snow twinkled around her, resting in her dark black hair, making the strands glisten as though they were sparkling. The only light reflected on the shiny white snow was from the moon, bright and beautiful, yet not nearly bright enough to comfort the girl, who had as of now opened the hood of the stammering car, little hums slowly giving up as the car shut down.

The hood slammed shut, and Dahyun heaved a sigh, slumping against the car. She shut her eyes tight, panic rising in the form of heaps of heartbeats, fast and anxious, but she kept her composure. Her cheeks burned a bright, fiery red, and her nose numbed, frost beginning to bite on all her body. She opened her eyes suddenly, ignoring the stinging pain caused by the wind, and took a long, hard look at her surroundings. There were the beginnings of a blizzard, and she knew she'd have to figure out something, or else she guessed that she'd die there. The car's heat would soon wear off, and she'd be left lonely and defenseless to the frigid temperatures of the winter's breath. She was surrounded by trees, trees and more trees; it was safe to say that she was, in fact, in the middle of nowhere, with no shelter, food, or water. Just a wrecked car and a half-empty bag of Cheetos in the backseat.

When she was about to give up, and accept her fate, she noticed a yellow light in the distance, not far away from her car, though the trek seemed still a fair, painful walk. She decided it was her best bet, as it appeared to be a cabin, dark pine wood walls barely visible glowing a dim yellow from the lights.

She trudged through the snow, the snow melting into her socks and nipping at her toes, but she couldn't feel it very well, the numbness taking its affect all too soon. The winds had picked up, whirling large chunks of snow her way, wind splintering into her face and making her whole body set on fire. The parts that weren't numb, anyway.

The trees seemed to clear to make way for the cabin, and as Dahyun approached closer and closer, she began to notice just how huge this cabin was. There were no cars in the worn cobblestone driveway, and there were old, dusty lanterns littered with spiderwebs around the lawn and covering the frostbitten windows, though the cabin itself looked abandoned—untouched, in reality. The lanterns were dim and glowed a nasty orange, nearly something out of a horror movie, and Dahyun shivered for the umpteenth time, deciding setting camp in a horror shack would be much more preferred than freezing to death.

She slowed her hasty steps to a slow pace, brushing her fingers over the dark, dusty door, bringing her hand slowly down to the brass doorknob. The rust scratched against her frozen hand excruciatingly, eliciting a low scream of pain from Dahyun. She snatched her hand away from the knob, as if it had been burnt, and stared at it. Her hands were pale, nearly turning blue, though a pink tint quickly rushed over them. Luckily, there were no open cuts left, so she pulled her jacket sleeve over her hand and tried the knob again.

The door creaked open slowly, letting out a piercing shriek as the cobwebs fell along the frame, parting off the door. Dahyun felt her eyes adjust to the newly found lighting, her nose picking up the faint scent of old books and rotting wood. Her gaze wandered around the place, and it seemed she was in the living room, judging by the worn velvet couch, however there was also a peculiar sight. Even though most everything was covered in a sheen of dust, the couch laid perfectly laden with expensive, deep red velvet; it appeared smooth and clean, perhaps clean enough to eat off of. There was a small, boxy television resting on a brick fireplace, ashes covering the burnt wood, however the whole house seemed to omit a certain warmness that Dahyun would indulge in over the cold blizzard outside. Another strange thing she noticed, was that there was a bowl of food resting on a dark-oak, fancy carved table which sat in front of the couch.