When All Hope Seems Lost

Chapter 1: Being Cold Sucks

It was freezing outside. Literally. Three inches of snow and it was still coming down with no sign of stopping, by tomorrow morning, there was supposed to be more than six on the ground. School was already cancelled, which is something that almost never happens, so I could stay up later than usual.

I was sitting in my dormer with a blanket, music, and my sketch book with the blinds open so I could watch the snow fall. When I draw, I get into it and block almost everything out except for the music. As I was finishing up an eye, something flew past my window—which caught my attention. I squinted out my window to try and figure out what that something was when another something hit my window. I jumped in my seat with a yelp and then saw the unmistakable splat of a snow ball. Who could've thrown it? My neighborhood was a quiet one with no rouge pranksters. Then another hit it in almost the same exact spot.

Wow, nice aim. I thought as I leaned against my widow with my hands cupped around my eyes. I couldn't see anything for a moment then a little figure passed by the beam of light from the window in the front yard.

"What in the world...?" I said as I squinted through the window and blowing snow. Then another snow ball flew up towards my window, but fell to the roof a few feet short of it. I stared out the window, trying to find this little person again and gasped when it suddenly collapsed right in the beam of light; moments later it was swarmed by three other little figures. One of the three turned away from the fallen one and started waving its arms in the air, wanting my attention. Well, it got it. From what I could tell, they looked like little kids without coats; but something was off about them, they didn't seem to move right. I continued to stare at the waving kid until I clicked back to reality. Those kids would freeze if they didn't get inside sometime soon! I glanced hastily around and then help up a finger and nodded, meaning that I was coming.

I jumped out of my dormer seat, fumbled with getting my boots on, grabbed all of the blankets from my bed, and ran downstairs. I fumbled with the stubborn handle of the front door and yanked it open; a blast of bone chilling air flew through the door, catching the attention of both Mom and Dad. They asked me something, but I didn't hear them, I was too focused on getting those kids inside. Without closing the door, I jumped into the snow, the flakes and biting wind burning on my face as I trudged out to the four freezing children.

When I got to them, they were all huddled around the one laying in the snow, watching me with worried, concerned, and fear filled eyes. I still couldn't really get a good look at them, but they didn't seem to be human at all.

"Please miss, please help us." One of them begged as he walked up to me and put a cold hand on my arm. The little boy was about elbow height to and shaking like a leaf.

"Here." I handed him a blanket and he took it gratefully, wrapping it around his shoulders and neck, burying his face in it. I knelt next to the unconscious one in the snow, looking at the two others who were almost lying on top of him (they all looked like they were boys.) I could see their wide eyes and shivering bodies I only had two more blankets, so I gave them the biggest one and they wrapped up in it faster than the blink of an eye. I reached down and touched the one on the ground and gasped when I felt how cold he was.

"He's ice cold! Oh God—" I frantically touched his forehead and cheeks, but was slightly relieved when I felt his pulse in his neck and that he was still breathing. "How long have you been out here?" I asked one of the two in the big blanket.

"I-I don't know. B-but it's been a long t-time." The taller of the two stuttered.

"We need to get you four in right now." I said quickly as I flung the blanket over my shoulder and reached into the snow and pulled the poor boy from it and wrapped him up in the blanket. As I cradled him, I noticed that his back was really hard and round—as if he was wearing a plastic shell. I was cold too, but that didn't matter. These boys were going to die if they didn't get warm soon.