Ghostpherein: A Shifting of Lives

Chapter One

Sadie

The inky depths behind my eyelids became brighter in slow increments, glowing with a warm red hue. Unpleasant sensations began to creep back into my limbs.

It's cold. Way too damn cold!

My ears began to tune into sounds again, and I thought I could hear something like wind rushing through trees or ocean waves crashing along a shore. It took me a minute to comprehend that I could and should open my eyes. I was becoming steadily colder as I lay there and the newly awakened nerves in my body were screaming at my thalamus that the low temperature was painful.

It took some willpower to lift my eyelids, but even when I did, I couldn't register what I was seeing. The only thing filling my vision was unadulterated white. When the lightbulb in my sluggish brain finally flickered on, I realized I was lying face down in hard, compacted snow. Though I could breathe, the claustrophobic feeling caused me to panic. I hurriedly forced strength into my arms and torso, raising my body to a sitting position. My mind started working again when I could see more than just the snow.

Ah. Now I see why I'm slowly turning into a popsicle. This is too cold to be heaven. Where's Toto? I don't think I'm in Kansas anymore.

A frozen landscape stretched out before me. I appeared to be high on a mountain. Miles downhill, I could see a smattering of evergreens that became denser the farther I looked. Uphill, in closer proximity, the clean snow gradually gave way to ground augmented by towering boulders and sheer cliffs.

Fuck! Why couldn't it be Kansas?

Normally, I wouldn't dream of visiting such a place without a full backpack of gear, an ATV, and heaps of exceptionally thick clothes. But here I was. I looked down at my body in the vain hope of seeing myself swaddled in layers of down stuffing. Instead, what I saw was an unfamiliar home for my soul. The body moved in accordance with my thoughts but, to my dismay, was nearly naked. My only covering was a blood-stained blanket made from a long-dead brown animal.

I don't know what the fuck is happening, but I suppose I should be grateful I don't look like Swiss cheese covered in ketchup.

There wasn't time to examine my new skin because the sharp pain in my fingers and toes was blaring a warning siren.

Come on, Sadie girl. You've got to move.

I forced strength into my legs, stood up, and surveyed my immediate surroundings for anything useful, only to be disappointed. No bag, no winter-appropriate clothes, no food, no fire.

You have got to be kidding me! If I'm not dead already, I will be soon.

A morbid part of me toyed with the idea of simply waiting around for death to find me for the second time, but the pain was already exceeding our first meeting. Pain, it would seem, was an excellent motivator for me to get my ass in gear. Downhill was the cover of evergreens, but I might freeze solid before I could reach it. Uphill were lots of ragged boulders and cliffs, but a few dark places looked like they might be alcoves or caves. There was less flora, but it was closer. I couldn't ponder over my options much longer. The wind was biting at my new skin and my unfamiliarly colored hair was whipping like a banshee.

Decision made, I tucked my hands into my armpits to keep them warm and started ambling my way uphill. I was lucky to spot a few dry branches scattered along the way and picked them up. It didn't take long to get out of the snow and onto rocky ground, but it was long enough that I couldn't tell if the pain was me icing over or burning at the stake. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I understood. When the pain stops, death will embrace me again. So, for the moment, I desperately clung to all sensations with gritted teeth. The shivering became so severe I could hardly maintain my balance, but I shuffled on.