It was dark. Not the dark of your bedroom where the shadows reach out to grab you. Neither is it the dark of a slumbering town, where every corner is a new surprise. This was the terrible dark, were not a speck of light was too be seen. Where the shadows are everywhere and there is no escape.
'Where am I?" It asked itself. It pondered on what happened before this terrible darkness.
'Who am I?' It asked, fear evident in its voice.
It had no clue to how much time it spent, wandering in the dark. The floor underneath him was solid and cold, the surface slippery. Like ice.
It could not see even its own hands in the dark, and it scared it.
It touched it head first. Familiar cheekbones and face, and with hair that fell a bit below the ears.
It's torso was a thin T-shirt, and it was wearing loose fitting pants. It's hands and feet were bare and unusually not cold. Something was nagging in its head that it should be.
'A boy.' He thought to himself, musing at his new discovery.
For the first time -besides his own voice- he heard a sound. The sound of the wind blowing through trees.
"Let me out!" He screamed, daring to hope that someone would come save him from this scary darkness.
The floor that seem like ice became very slippery. The boy lost his footage and fell to his hands and knees.
There it was again, that sound.
"Let me out!" He screamed again. He began to pound on the floor that seem like ice.
The distant sound of cracking. Like thunder.
Again hit the floor that seem like ice.
Again that sound.
Lights speck began to shine through his vision. The pounding sped up to a furious pace.
The darkness let out a large crack, and the first thing he saw was the moon.
Opening his eyes, he let the scary darkness slip away.
The sky, he thought that at least that what's its called, was a dark blue with the hint of the dawn beginning to creep in.
The moon was smiling down at him, and that gave him some peace. It was a comforting thought to have any light.
Trees were crowding in on the edge of his vision. With a groan, he lifted himself up to a half sitting position.
His white (white!) t-shirt was crumpled and the sweatpants were a lime green. As truth he did have a head full of hair. White, he marveled when a white lock of it fell in front of his eyes.
The ground beneath him was indeed ice and when he looked closely, he could see snowflakes falling gently.
The question still remained in his head. Who was he? Where was he,
For the first time, he noticed a blue book bag to his left. There was a water bottle in one of the pockets and a sleeping bag tied to the front.
He grabbed at the zipper with shaking hands and opened the bag.
The top was a silver book. Reaching down he grabbed the book, running his fingers over the surface like brail. Pulling the book out he took in the cover.
The book was a chapter book. The cover was more of a whitish grey than a silver but it still held a magical feeling.
On the cover in gold lettering was the word 'Guardians of childhood'
Deciding to look through it later he put it aside and dig through the bag again. On the bottom was a neatly folded up clothes.
Pulling out, he decided he quite liked the new outfit. It was a plain blue hoodie and brown tight pants that would probably be too small on him pants. Shoes or socks were still no where in sight.
Not wanting to change right there and then, he looked in the near empty bag. Something glinted in the corner of his eyes.
"Ah ha!" He chuckled to himself. Because he totally wasn't talking to himself.
It was a small card attached to some kind of a clip. Most of it seemed to be covered in a white substance that hid most of the lettering
One side was covered with numbers, that quickly stopped his interest. Numbers seem kind of boring really.
With a little giddy feeling he flipped the card.
"What-" He half yelled, dropping the card and scrambling for purchase against the slick surface.
Once he gathered his courage- and his wits mind you- he slowly crawled toward the card again.
There were three things he noticed first.
One, was that it had a picture.
Two, that it said a name.
Three, it was from the sanitarium.
In bold black letters the word 'Jack' was typed. Underneath in a different font was the words 'Psych patient, High security sanitarium department'.
"Jack, huh?" He said to himself. That name seem to suit him. Personally, he liked it, But what about the surname?
The picture did not look like him. The boy skin was tanner, and he had brown hair instead of white with dark brown eyes.
Even if had yet to catch a glimpse of his eyes, but those brown eyes held secrets. Knowledge.
With a sigh, he slipped the card and clothes back in to the bag. Keeping a firm grip on the book he slid it open.
The pages were velvet and the lettering was silver, and it was beautiful.
He flipped through the pages. Certain things stuck in his mind,
'Santa Clause' a ex-bandit and brings wonder to the world. Also known as North to his friends.
'The Tooth Fairy' a hummingbird and human in one. His thoughts turned to what a ADHD four year on a sugar rush would look like.
'Easter Bunny' "More like Easter kangaroo to me." He snorted. What six foot tall bunny would deliver eggs to children?
'Sandman' Out of all of them, this one seem the most realistic-well besides the sand.
With a sigh he closed the book, shoving it back into the bag. He would read the next chapter later.
He should probably get of the ice, he can't stay here forever and he has yet to find out who he was and why he was here. So with a groan he slowly got to his feet and cracked his tired bones, slipping the bag around his shoulders.
Something clicked.
He whirled around, looking for that source of noise. Glancing down,something caught his eyes.
On his wrist was a white bracelet, more lettering that he hardly took notice of. Only one thing on his mind was the name.
Jack Frost.
The same first name, but with a new last name. He wasn't sure he was ready to call himself Jack.
He slipped the book bag back onto his back and hiked against the ice. The ice felt smooth, but for some odd reason it didn't feel cold.
He felt himself stop at the edge of the lake. Did he really want to do this?
He felt an unknown force push him onward, so he did. He stepped on the dark grass.
It felt so wonderful, he poked the grass growing at the side of the lake with his toe.
"Having fun there?"
He turned around so fast the world morphed in to a ray of colors. He was standing face to face with another boy.
It was the boy on the ID card.
The boy was the same height as him. The features were the same and covered in a bored expression.
He wore a white ragged collar shirt and a brown vest . He also wore brown leggings- like the one he has in his bag. Most of his figure was hidden by a long brown cloak.
"J-Jack?" He stuttered.
"Nope." The not Jack popped the 'p' " I'm your imaginary friend, your name is Jack."
He supposed he was okay with the name Jack. Jack it is then.
"Then who are you?" Jack asked, his shoulders loosening slightly.
"That's for me to know and you to find out." The boy stepped around Jack and kept talking. "But I suppose you could call me Wind, named after an old friend of mine."
Wind paused for a moment. "Well aren't you coming?"
Jack adjusted the bag on his back before hurrying to meet Wind.
"There is a town about a third of a mile north called Burgess. Everything will make sense there." Wind said.
They walked in silence for a bit. Jack has trouble maneuvering the roots hidden in the snow while Wind literally floated by.
He trailed the talking figment of imagination. He knew now would be the best time to think but he couldn't make himself rise out of the whiteness of his mind.
"We're here." Wind announced. Jack snapped out of his thoughts to see they were standing at the edge of a town.
"Whoa," He breathed.
As he walked in to 'Burgess' he took note of his surroundings. No one was around, and most of the windows of the small houses and shops were vacant and had large holes in them.
The roads had empty cars, some even in the middle of the road. He watched a can be blown by the wind.(Not that one!)
And...Their was this weird smell. Almost like copper and it reeked everywhere he turned.
"That's blood." Wind said suddenly. Jack turned around to see him looking at a red stain in the road.
"What is?" Jack asked, even if he had a strong suspicion he knew what it was.
"The smell." Wind said simply, floating down the Maine street like it was the normal thing to do.
Jack gagged slightly.
A blur darted in front of them.
"Follow it!" Wind screamed at him, already chasing it down.
Jack raced after him. He had yet to really run and his steps were wobbly. But he ran anyhow. He ran as fast as his legs could run and his lungs burned for air. His side was in pain but he still followed the brown blur in front of him.
When he raised his foot to take the next step, his foot hit the top of an invisible stair. The next step refused to settle on the ground but instead took him higher up in to the air
"Whoa-" he said, moving his legs in a bicycling motion. He rose higher in to the air, barely passing the first floor before the unknown force holding him up dropped him.
He unsteadily landed on his feet, right behind Wind and that supposed blur.
The man was muttering to himself as he gathered his fallen notebooks, he had a loop of blonde hair on his head and was a bit on the chubby side.
"What happened here?" Jack asked, tilting his head to get a better look.
The man jumped up, grabbing his chest in surprise. The man turned to look at the albino boy.
"You scared me, not a good idea since what's been happening around here." The man said, once more crouching down to gather his stuff.
"Where did everyone go?" Jack asked, leaning down to help him.
The man stopped fumbling with the papers and sent him a long look.
After a long moment of silence, he spoke. "You aren't from these parts are you?"
"No..." Jack slowly shook his head. "I just woke up about an hour ago."
"More like half hour," Wind interjected. The man didn't look like he even heard him.
"He can't see me Jack, no one but you can." Wind said simply at Jacks look.
"Things...happened." The man said, "With those things running around rampage, I don't even know what to call them, the undead? Well the virus is running around and no one knows how to stop it. I've lost more friends in the past month than the last twenty years combined."
The man finished gathering his stuff and began to shove it in his messenger bag.
"Your the first person I seen in days." The man stared wishfully at the ground. "It's rare to see anyone. Their either one of the things or hiding out with the guardians."
"What are those?" Jack interrupted.
"Who, not what. There these group of people who brought the remaining survivors in to hiding. Heard they have a soft spot for kids."
The man stood up and brushed his pants. " I better get going, works not going to do itself."
"Wait!" Jack yelled, jumping up next to the man.
"Can you tell me what Jack Frost is?"
The man gave him a long look. "Turn to page three hundred in your book."
The man started to lightly jog down the street.
"Wait! What's your name?" Jack called.
The man didn't even turn around. "Call me Manny."
Manny turned a corner, disappearing from sight. Jack followed his footsteps, but when he turned the corner he was greeted with an empty street.
"Manny?" Jack called softly, slowly moving down the street. Wind was no where in sight and that worried him.
A movement by the trash can alerted him.
"There you were Manny, I thought-" He stopped when he saw what it was.
This ..thing... It wasn't even human and it was revolting in every way. It arm was twisted at a weird angle with half of its neck missing. Then the smell hit him.
The thing spotted him. It lumbered after him, letting out a loud groan.
Jack panicked. He took off running in the opposite direction.
He scrambled for purchase on the hard cement and spun around a corner. Left right left right. The thing was hard on his heels, it's revolting breath on his neck.
When he took another left, he was trapped in a dead end.
The thing slunk toward him, making him take steps back.
Something tapped his back.
Letting out a scream that sounded like a little girl was something he would deny for eternity.
"Whoa calm down tiger." A voice said behind him.
He instantly relaxed when he realized who was speaking.
"Take this." Wind said, handing him a wooden bat. "Believe me, you're going to need it."
He grabbed the handle of the wooden bat, letting his thumb run along the edge.
The last thing he heard before the world turned dark once again was Winds voice promising everything will be alright.
When he awoke once more, his clothes were splattered with blood and the zombie from before was now laying unmoving on the ground.
"W-what happened?" He asked, dropping the now red bat.
"Frost overdrive. You went kind of cook-coo." Wind hummed. "It wouldn't do for you to be walking around looking like a character from a horror movie. Follow me."
Wind floated down a the dark alleyway. Jack followed in a daze, stumbling slightly while Wind led him out.
Who was Jack Frost? Who are the guardians? Why was he able to fly?
What's going on?
He was scared, no doubt about that. But it wasn't about the zombies, nor the fact he almost died. It wasn't the guardians or Wind. It wasn't even what he was capable of.
It was something he didn't know. It was this dark shadow that seem to haunt him every time he turned around.
And the worst part was that he was utterly alone. Sure he had Wind, but he was just a figment of his imagination. He had no past, no family, no friends, he had nobody in this new world.
But something was wrong.
He knew the name of thing and he could read the faded lettering of a sign of the store he was currently marveling at, so he must have lived here before.
But he had no idea about these creatures. They must have come while he was in the dark.
He had a strange feeling this town used to be full of life.
"We're here." Wind interrupted his train of thought.
"Why did you stop me, I was on the brink of something amazing." Jack said sarcastically.
"Sure, what ever you say." Wind snorted.
They were standing in front of a grocery store, grey snow as pushed to the side, letting a clear path to the door. The door and widow looked more beat up then the other stores though.
"Go change in to the clothes in your book bag. Try to find something to eat and rest up for the night. Tomorrow we can search for a weapon to protect yourself with." Wind commanded.
Jack noticed that the sun was near setting and his stomach was cramping up with hunger pains.
"You my friend, are a mind reader." Jack chuckled, walking in to the store with a laughing Wind.
Almost all the shelves were empty and the floors were thank god cleared of blood.
Still feeling nervous, he headed to the men's bathroom to change.
The bathroom was in the back corner of the grocery store, a stop and shop he thought as he passed a label on carton of crackers that would undeniably be stale by now.
He barely glance up as he walked by the aisles in to a small hallway. On his left was the men's and woman's bathroom, a emergency exit with a 'shoplifters will be caught' sign, and a mystery door. With a sigh he entered the men's bathroom.
The bathroom left an creepy feeling with its whitewash walls and orange and blue checkered tiles. So that was an out.
When he stripped his thin Tee, he spotted something's he hadn't seen before.
Long thin white lines crossed each other on both of his wrists. They were barley noticeable unless you were looking for it.
Both of his wrists and ankles were severely bruised, and not the grey and blue one. It was black and purple with yellow spots already forming. Not to mention the weird dots on the inside of his elbow.
He changed in to the hoodie and pants, admiring himself in the mirror. He had to admit he did look quite in them. When he stepped out of the bathroom, he noticed that none of the lights were on.
The shelf's were space with food and it was cleared all the way to the feminine aisle. Cans and other assortments of trash cluttered corners and he rubbed his arms to ward away the sudden chill. A familiar mop of brown hair floated over to Jack when he was searching aisle seven and held a can out to him.
"Beef and turnips " Wind said simply. "There was a burner in aisle three that you could use. There is also a generator behind the bathroom, it'll be nice to have some light in here."
Jack smiled his thanks. He was still a bit confused over the turn of events such as Winds power to float and his brief moment of flight. And the undead, can't forget about that.
He headed over to aisle three with Wind. As true as he said aisle three held some cooking utensils and cleaning supplies.
"Here," Wind held out a flashlight from the folds in his cloak. "Go turn on the generator. I'll set up camp by the toilet stuff."
"Sure thing." Jack nodded, grabbing the flashlight before turning around and heading to the generator.
With his flashlight in his mouth and humming a random song he couldn't quite remember, he probably looked like a lunatic but there was no one to judge as he flicked on the switch. The machine came alive with a whirl and the lights flickered on.
Wind sent him a wiry look when Jack took a seat next to him. "I turned it on and grabbed a fork. I'm taking a nap." Wind threw his hands up in to the air and floated away.
Without Winds constant companionship Jack felt a twinge of loneliness join the knot of fear in the base of his stomach.
The can was opened already and he helped himself to some disgusting beef and turnips.
He shoveled the food down, slid the fork back in to the empty can, and stood up to view his surroundings. He slid the burner in to his bag and threw the can inside the nearest trash.
There was really no one comfortable to lay down for a bit, so he set out to find a more comfortable place to sleep.
Obviously, this was no all place store. It apparently only sold groceries and it was already ransacked mostly. Jack snorted to himself upon finding that the cashier was broken and some money was stolen. From what he could gather from Manny money wasn't being used anymore.
Near the front of the store where the light was dimmed was a collection of carriages, and thinking to himself that whoever he was before was anorexic as he lifted him self with little problem in to the back. He pushed the smaller carriage in front that usually held toddlers or breakables back and using his book bag a pillow, he closed his eyes.
Apparently, whoever wanted him to get a good night sleep was an absolute zero as he tossed and turned in the cramp space.
With a sigh, he curled in to a fettle position with his back on the hard metal and opened his book bag. The clothes that he was wearing earlier were crunched up and his hand lingered on the card before pulling out the silver book.
Manny's word lingered in his mind as he flipped through the pages. Jack didn't even think that the book was three hundred pages long. But sure enough, it was.
The very last page to be exact.
Unlike the first pages, the page was worn and yellow with age, and taking great care Jack smooth out the page.
Jack Frost.
It hit him hard, and it hurt.
Pain stabbed in to his heart, leaving him gasping for breath. Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes, only his surviving willpower keeping them from falling. He brought his hands up to his chest, clawing at where his heart would be; and the pain.
The bracelet.
The ID card.
"Frost overdrive."
"Huh?" He glanced down, watching as the sleeve of his shirt was slowly soaked.
He had no idea why he was crying. But truth to be said the book just confirmed his identity. He wasn't sure if that was good or bad.
He patiently waited until his eyes stopped with the waterworks (which took a while thank you very much) before forcing himself to read on.
'Jack Frost
An eternal child with ice powers. Locked away eternally in the darkness. If he ever escapes the darkness shoot on sight.'
He froze at those words. Shoot on sight? Was did that mean.
His eyelids began to droop and no matter how hard he struggled sleep was washing over him like a wave.
He slid the book back into the bag and curled up once again. He could deal with all the confusion later after he slept.
Jack awoken to the sound of a scream. It was high and even in the state of sleepiness he could tell two things.
One: it was a child's scream.
Two: and it was filled with fear.
He scrambled out of the carriage, his heart momentarily flying up to his throat as it tipped to the side.
He landed with his back to the ground, winded. He took a deep breath and scrambled up from the ground. His muscles ached in protest at the sudden movement but he readied himself to a sprint.
Wind was floating over by his left, his cheeks flushed and chocolate eyes darting everywhere but him.
"Hurry!" He hissed. "Over by aisle eight!"
That was all the confirmation Jack needed before taking off. His feet slapping against the title. He felt the familiar choking sensation of fear creep in to his stomach.
He pushed his muscles harder, his breath coming out in short gasps. He felt the urge to...to-
Just as before he took the next step, only for it to land on a invisible step. He swung higher and higher. His breath caught in his throat as he floated above the aisles. With each second he was getting closer and closer to the ceiling.
Wind stared up at him from the place on the floor with a bittersweet smile on his face.
The feeling of the wind holding him up, the feeling of being absolutely gravity free was nothing he ever felt before. He closed his eyes as a happy smile appeared on his face.
The upward force disappeared as quickly as it has joined. He started plummeting almost slowly. He was free falling to his death.
He closed his eyes, swallowing down his fright he waited for the inventible.
At last, his last thought would be of those scared children.
But it didn't come. He landed on another body that gave out underneath him with a sickening crack.
Jack landed hard and by no means unhurt. He would probably have some nasty bruises later.
He heard gasps coming from his right and some sniffles of what sounded like a little kid.
Gathering what little courage he had, slowly he peeked under his eyelids to meet two pair of frightened eyes.
-End of chapter one-