The cold air is what stirs me from my sleep. My eyes are heavy but a chill against my chest is making me uncomfortable and I force myself to wake up. The first thing I see is the old bedside table that I purchased from the second-hand store the other day. It looks exactly the same but somehow different. The dark, scarred, mahogany wood is just how it was when I went to sleep last night but there is something new about it that I can't seem to place. I don't ponder this for long though as an icy wind sweeps in from my open window and I pull my blanket up closer to my chest. City sounds from the street below hum quietly in the early dawn and I push myself up from where I had been laying. I feel a little disoriented because while I am still in my room, everything is covered in a layer of snow and ice and it looks as though it has been ransacked.
My closet door is wide open and hanging on by a single hinge. Even through the darkness, I can tell that my clothes have been torn off their hangers and ripped out of their drawers. My books litter the floor, their pages scattered about them like pools of blood and everything that could possibly be broken is smashed to bits. I find myself half-hoping that whoever destroyed my bedroom found what they were looking for but I immediately snap the thought back up. It's not like I have anything particularly valuable nor am I even overly fond of any of my possessions but if someone truly was looking for something of mine, I can't help but feeling suddenly attached to it.
A tickle in my chest makes me cough on impulse and I am surprised when it turns into a hacking fit. Even though it must literally be freezing in my room, I feel hot and suffocated. I continue to cough as I look around my dark bedroom. Everything seems so surreal that I can't decide if I'm dreaming or if I have simply gone crazy. Pulling my blankets back, I gingerly place one foot on the icy floor of my room. The cold instantly burns my flesh but I pay it no heed.
Slowly, so that I do not slip, I start to make my way over to the opened window but a sudden flash of light stops me short. Turning towards the corner next to my bed, I realize that it is coming from the bedside table. The drawer that I could not open yesterday is emitting a bright, blue glow and I have to raise my arm to try and protect my eyes as I near it. For a split second I think I hear a voice but the blue light suddenly flashes even brighter than before and everything else is drowned out.
With a shaking hand, I slowly grip the handle and am surprised when it easily glides open. A ball of spinning light about the size of a basketball seems to be the source of the light. Having thrown all rational thought to the wind minutes before, I reach towards the strange item and find that it is not only warm to the touch but it immediately stops flashing so brightly and drops to a dim glow.
As it seems to be a solid object, or at least, I am able to touch it, I lift it out of the compartment and bring it close to my face. I have no idea what it could be but I am glad that it seems fairly light as I suddenly feel extremely weak and dizzy. Another coughing fit sneaks up on me but I bite my tongue to try and force myself to stop when I think I hear a voice again. I can't make out what its saying but I do think I catch the word 'window'. Cradling the ball of light in a single arm and keeping it close to my chest, I slowly continue to make my way towards the window.
I am greeted by a rush of freezing wind that slams against me and howls through my bedroom, making an even greater mess out the ruins which I had awoken to. Stepping closer to the window, I realize that the city lights that I was expecting are strangely missing but the fire escape is still where I left it. Climbing over the ledge, I carefully place one foot onto the rusty metal platform and I am semi-grateful that my bare feet have gone numb. 'Go farther.'
This time the voice is as clear as day but I still have no idea where it could be coming from. Tentatively, I take another step out onto the fire escape, relishing in the crisp, cold air. I vaguely wonder if I have caught a fever as my insides seem to be burning but with the cold wind rushing all around me, it isn't uncomfortable in the least. I place my free hand on the metal railing, trying to get a better look at why the world outside my room is just complete and utter darkness but after only a moment of touching it, the railing melts away beneath my hand into a beautiful golden dust that floats down towards the black abyss below.
'Farther.' I hear the voice once more. Further elaboration is not needed as there is only one place left for me to go. I clutch the ball of light closer to me. The thoughts in my head are loud and frightening but at the same time, I can feel myself becoming almost giddy with excitement. Only one step…
'Farther!' The voice roars and I step forwards.
As I fall, a million thoughts are racing through my head and I am only vaguely aware of the ball of light slipping from my hands and flashing so brightly that it lights up the seemingly endless darkness all around me. Another frantic moment of falling into nothingness passes and all of a sudden something catches me and I am no longer falling but encased in the brilliant, blue light that has somehow managed to become both warm and cool at the same time. I think I see a golden mane or maybe that was golden feathers only they aren't really golden; just bright. Brighter than anything I have ever seen before. And then everything truly does turn to nothingness.