A sharp wind gusts over me and small goose bumps blanket every inch of my skin. I am suddenly aware of the hard surface I am laying on, and I open my eyes. The only thing I can see is emptiness, all white and cold. Taking a deep breath in, the sharp frigid air stings my nose. I slowly raise my body up so I am in a sitting position. I look at what I am sitting on and my heart rate increases. All around me is a layer of hard, frozen ice. Another wave of goose bumps comes over me and I pull my thin jacket around me. I remember learning about hypothermia in school, how you get warm and comfortable and sleepy. As soon as you close your eyes, the cold envelops you and takes your life. I refuse to let the cold take me.

My teeth knock together as I try to carefully get up without slipping. I manage to get on both feet and hold my arms out for balance. The only thing I can hear is the whipping of the wind all around me and my heart beating in my ears. I have no idea where I am, or why and I try not to freak out. Unsuccessfully, my hands start to shake and I get the familiar anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach. But this feeling is more concentrated and fierce than what I’m used to. I start to breathe more heavily as I face the facts. I’ve woken up in a winter wonderland with no one around me and I have no idea where I am or why I’m here. I’ll probably die, oh god I’m going to die. My breathing becomes shallow and I lose my balance on the ice, slipping and falling down.


I hug my legs to myself and put my head between them, breathing in and out slowly. I can’t believe I’m having a panic attack in the middle of the freaking Arctic when I should be figuring out how to survive. I wait a few more minutes until I’m calmed down and stand back up on shaky legs. Something seems different, and I look around to figure out what it is. There’s still ice for miles on end unfortunately, but the sharp wind that had been hitting me with full force has stopped. An eerie silence creeps along the ice, filling my ears with a black cold silence. I make my way across the ice, slowly at first, making sure I don’t trip.

It is easy to walk on the ice, and it feels like the tile floor in my house. The fact that it’s not slippery as ice should be naturally, nags at me as I continue walking. I also realize that I’m not cold anymore, just as my bare feet come in contact with a warm and gritty surface. I look down and I am standing in brown dirt that reminds me of my parent’s back yard. I look behind me, not understanding how the environment can go from ice to dirt, and gasp. The harsh winter backdrop is gone and in its place are tall pine trees, stretching up until I can hardly see the tops. Birds flit and sing between the branches and I watch as a squirrel scampers up a tree.

I release a breath I didn’t know I had been holding as I see the sun and feel its warmth. I realize that I didn’t think I’d ever get out the horror land of ice and cold. I hold my still trembling hands out and the sun’s rays illuminate them. The warmth coming from the sun slowly disappears and the forest seems to go darker. I look up and the sun is behind a cloud and then it gradually dips down lower, as if I was watching the sunset in fast forward. The blue sky turns from blue to pink and purple and orange until the sky darkens and it is now nighttime. I can’t seem to take my eyes away as stars start to flicker on in the inky dark sky and illuminate the sky.

There seems to be a dull glow from the sky in front of me but I can only see the light through the gaps made by the trees and I walk forward through the dirt trying to find the source. Losing track of time, I walk until I come to a clearing where the trees and the earth end and the sky rises up in all of its glory, stars twinkling and there’s the source of the light. The moon, usually hung high in the sky, so little and far away, hiding its secrets, is in front of me. It fills up half the sky and I can see every crevice, every hole, and I can’t stop looking. My eyes search the artwork in front of me and I am in total awe. I forget that I am in a strange place with an ever-changing environment and that I don’t know how I got there or how to get out. I forget the anxiety that has wrapped itself around my stomach and my heart. My face is white with the glow of the moon hanging in the sky, looking so close that I could touch it.
“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” A voice comes from the trees behind me, starling out me of my trance.
I whip around toward the source of the trees and I see a girl stepping out of the shadows of the trees into the moonlight. Her brown hair is cut choppily, like she cut it hastily without a mirror. Dressed in a loose fitting black T-shirt, jeans, and beat up black combat boots, she looks at me with bright grey eyes. Her face is pale and she has dark bags under her eyes like she hasn’t slept in days. I take a step back, wary of her presence.
“Careful, or you’ll fall off the edge. And trust me, the man in the moon won’t catch you.” Her voice was soft but strong, carrying over to me through the space between us.
A million questions come to mind and I ask them carefully. “W-who are you? Where am I and how did I get here? I don’t understand…”
She takes another step towards me and I ignore the instinct to take another step back. Not wanting to take my eyes off of her, I quickly glance behind me where the land stops at an abrupt edge and a void into nothingness remains. I turned back to look at the strange girl and she was right in front of me. I yelp and trip, falling on my back. Her face appears in my vision and offers me a calloused hand. I take it, and she helps me stand up. I study her as she starts to speak.
“My name is Zara and I cannot tell you where you are, only that you will be leaving soon and you will never come back. The darkness is coming and it is not a forgiving thing. It will leave no one unscathed and will swallow everything in its path. But do not worry about the darkness because you have a lucky soul. You will have no memory of this.”
I was about to ask her what the hell she was talking about when she steps forward, bumping into me. I almost lose my balance, but I regain it.
“What are you doing?” I ask, trying to get out her way as she looks past me, over the edge. I stare into her eyes until she meets my gaze.
She opens her mouth, as if about to say something, but instead a shriek comes tearing out. It creates a gust of wind, cutting through my clothes and skin to the bone. My teeth tremble at the strength of the scream and all I can hear is the sound of it in my head, surrounding me. All of a sudden a dark force sweeps me off my feet and I fly back off of the edge. My hands claw at the air as my body is thrown into darkness, until all I can hear is the blood pumping in my ears and the sound of my own screaming. I think that I am going to fall forever, screaming until my voice leaves me and all that is left is heavy blackness everywhere. I close my eyes, hoping to hit the ground soon enough and let my body get smashed to pieces. I open them one last time and I feel the darkness rushing up to me and I hit the ground. Everything goes black and I am gone.
And then I wake up.