Into the Game

Chapter 4

She had her bag, and she was ready to go. She pried open the icy handle, and as the door opened, a blast of cold air, rushed into her face, almost knocking her back. She paused a moment then began her decent. Placing her hand on the first bar, it practically burned, it was so cold. She noted that there was actual ice building up on the edges of the rungs. It was longer then it looked, and it only got colder the farther down she went. She tried to focus on other things. Where they weren't covered in ice, the rungs of the ladder were a dark, muddled, silver color. She was sure they had been shiny at some point, but who knows how long ago that was. They creaked with every step she took down, though they hadn't broken yet. In the small amount of light provided from the cabin she could see her breath in front of her as she breathed out, and when she inhaled, she almost choked it was so cold. That was when she noted the noise. Something above her was crashing and banging, like when someone tried to open a door.

She gasped. The wolves! They were trying to get into the cabin! She was in a blind panic, and on the next step she had no focus, and her toe barely touched the rung as she began to fall.

The fall enveloped her in cold air, thanks to the combination of the cold and the speed at which she was falling. She screamed, even knowing that there wasn't going to be anyone there to save her.

Elizabeth landed to nothing but freezing cold and white.

"I'm dead," she thought, unsure whether it was just a thought or she was actually saying it. "I'm dead. I'm dead and I'm..."

She broke off. This wasn't right. She was cold. She was extremely cold. Heaven wouldn't be cold. Then again, maybe she hadn't aced life... No, no, no, hell wouldn't be blindingly white, would it? Then something occurred to her. And she sat up. Aside from being able to see, it wasn't much of an improvement.

Snow. It was snow. A whole lot of snow. She looked up, hoping to see where she fell from, but all she could see was a dreary gray sky.

"But how..." She said, although she knew it was hopeless to ask.

She took a brief inventory. Fingers, toes, arms, legs. All found on various places on the scale from cold to numb, but there nonetheless. She looked around, and off in the distance she noted a light. It was small and dim, but to her it was the northern star, guiding her to happiness. She stood, and sank in the snow all the way down to her knees. This was not going to work. She turned around, and noticed a few crates.

Considering the two possible ways this could end she began trudging over towards them. Luckily, all of them were empty except for one, which held some tennis racket looking things. She had seen this on television before. They're snow shoes. They had a note on them.

Nothing's fun when you have to sit around waiting.

She sat on one of the crates and put them on, then began towards the flickering light. It was cold, and everything hurt but eventually she made it to the source of the light, which turned out to be another cabin, but this time it was the size of a small bathroom. Opening the door however, she was pleased to find it warm. She sat down in the empty room and began her meager dinner.

She took her time, since her fingers were still numb. As she finished her meal and got used to the temperature she didn't find the little shack as comforting. It was just an empty, wooden room. That's when it began to get cold again. She figured something outside could adjust it, it probably just didn't recognize that she was in there.

So she got up and strapped on her snow shoes. She was about to open the door when she noticed it. A note. That couldn't be good. It just couldn't.

Her hands shaking, she reached for the note and brought it to where she could read it.

Oh, I hope you're comfy in here! It's getting a little chilly isn't it?

It was. It was seemingly getting colder. She reached for the door handle when it occurred to her that could only mean one thing. She tried the door. It was locked. From outside. She shook the door but of course that did nothing. She was locked in a room that was falling in temperature. She banged her fists on the door as the temperature continued to drop.

She tried shaking the shack. Even running into a wall in attempt of knocking it over. It was hopeless. She curled up in a corner, it was far below body temperature now. She was shivering. Then all at once, she wasn't anymore. She was hardly even cold. Just rather tired really.

Groggily, she stood up, and moving slowly she went to a little knot in the wall and looked out. It was like a piece of artwork. Half of the world was gray, and the other half was white. It was almost beautiful.

She didn't know why, but she giggled at the cold air that blew into her eye. She wasn't cold at all anymore! She was very comfortable as she stood and twirled around to what must have been the prettiest song she ever heard.

She looked around at the strange people suddenly surrounding her. You could see right through them but she didn't mind, because they looked happy and were dancing with her. So she just smiled and twirled with her invisible partner until she got tired. Then there were no dancers, just a very comfortable looking bed. So she skipped over to it and laid down, smiling as she drifted off hearing a pretty laughter and that pretty song.

She had no dreams that night. Just pitch black.