Another nightmare.
And I'm not really sure where I'm going with this, but it will be at least 2 chapters. I already have an idea of what I'm writing for chapter 2, but after that I don't know. Feel free to suggest something. Reviews will motivate me to write more and write faster!
Chapter 1
By PHfan21
The vast wilderness surrounds us, in all its glory and beautiful mystery. But it also surrounds us with an ominous sense of isolation. Thick forest, with an even thicker layer of undergrowth, completely encloses us with suffocating enormity. All day we've been walking, my brother, sister, and I. for the last 5 hours we finally admitted we were lost. It was actually several hours before that though that we wandered off course. Snow has been coming down in a thick blanket for the last 2 hours, but the trees prevented much of it from getting through to us. Day had quickly turned to night in secrecy so now we are unprepared for it. The tree canopy has even blocked out the moonlight. All I can see are the whites in my sibling's eyes. They're eyes are open wide with the effort to see.
It was useless to continue to stumble around in this inky blackness, but my brother wants us to keep going, and I, being the youngest, have no say against his superior authority. I felt a hand grope for my own from the dark, and I don't need eyesight to know who it is. When my sister was 5 years old, she was kidnapped. The kidnapper took his cigarette and burned the top of her left hand, before she was found and saved. The circular scar and slender hand is what I am feeling now, so I know it's not my brothers. I was scared for half a second though, before my thumb sought out the scar.
Hot breath tickled my ear and neck.
"I think I see something." And then her hands physically turned my head until I was able to see a little light. To the right of us was a clearing. We hadn't been able to see it until we were almost upon because of the density of the trees.
A twig snapped under my hiking boots as I stepped to the edge, where the trees met open space. The sound was oddly loud. And it was the only sound. The night creature's noises had dissipated.
In this clearing was the crumbling foundations of a house. Whatever fate this home had seen must have been unpleasant. It looked like a wrecking ball had destroyed it. Wood, rusty nails and brick littered the yard. It also looked like maybe someone had also used some sort of explosion to destroy what the wrecking ball had not. There was about the same amount of splinters from the explosion as unharmed, rotting wood. There were even a few burnt pieces. Whoever owned this house certainly did not want to own it anymore. They had taken great care to ensure no one else would own it either.
The snow here had been melting upon impact of the ground, until now. Now it was sticking and was quickly covering the dead remnants of the house. Behind the massive foundation was a very large pool built into the ground. Moonlight glimmered off the surface and it reflected the moons image like a mirror. The surrounding trees protect us from wind, if there even is any. The lack of wind kept the waters surface smooth and unblemished.
My brother took the lead as we headed toward the pool. I sensed movement being me so I turned and looked. It was my sister, and she was having a violent shiver. Her teeth are chattering. It was then that I noticed just how cold it really was. Adrenaline had been pumping through me, so the cold had gone unnoticed. But now it was absolutely freezing. My own teeth had been chattering without my knowledge.
My eyes drifted down to the glassy surface of the water. I'm surprised that it hasn't frozen yet. The water is murky, and has been obviously uncared for since the destruction of the house, some unknown years ago. Dead brown leaves littered the bottom, completely coating it and making the color of the floor of the pool impossible to know. But a few leaves floated and drifted aimlessly. I envied that leaves that haven't sunk. They are weightless, without a care, just floating along… But then again, one day they will sink like the others. A resting place at the bottom of the pool for them is inevitable.
I crouched down to sit on my haunches. Fingers that were chapped red from the cold broke the smooth waters surface. With surprise, and a little disgust at the fact that I just did that and had no idea until after, I realized those fingers were mine. Slight ringlets rippled in a 360 degree arc around my fingers. The water is welcomingly warm. The warmth attracted me, and my hand went in further. When the water was up to my wrist, one of the drifting leaves touched the palm of my hand. I jerked back as if burned. The instant my dripping hand hit the surface of the air I could feel the biting cold on it. It began to hurt so I put it in my armpit to hopefully dry it off and warm it up
"What do we do now?" I whispered in a tiny voice after a moment of silence between us. My façade of courage was failing me now. I felt lost and hopeless, and cold. It's a wonder how fast the temperature had dropped. A few minutes ago it felt freezing, but now the cold is so heart-stoppingly severe.
"I don't know." My brother said with a sigh. The sigh brought a rush of fear. The sigh sounded full of hopelessness and desperation. It was a sigh of surrender. He has given up.
The knowledge I have now of my brother sparked something in me. If he had given up, he the oldest and wisest, well then we are fucked. But at the same time I know I must do something. I must take over our little group. Because my brother sure as hell isn't going to do anything.
In my moment of pondering I had forgotten about my sister. I looked over there now to see how she reacted to the tone of my brother's voice.
She's staring at a spot on the ground, but not really SEEING it. I saw her do a small shiver, and then she stopped. Her teeth were no longer chattering.
Just how cold is it? Everywhere hurts now. My skin felt on fire and it just hurts so bad. The tips of my toes are numb. How cold does it have to be for me to feel this cold? How far below zero? And yet the pool is still unfrozen. How can THAT be? The mystery this place presents has my head whirling. These questions run through my mind, but I know dwelling on them will get us killed because there IS no time left. We have to get warm NOW, or we will die.
The snow has stopped falling. I think it's too cold to snow now.
There is nothing here that will help with out survival, except… No that would be a crazy idea. I heard that water usually feels warmer, but in reality it will bring down your core body temperature faster. But if we don't do something RIGHT NOW we will have no chance. I think it's worth the risk.
So now I'm heading to the concrete steps that lead you into the shallow end. If I told them my idea I know they would refuse and think it absurd. Getting in and THEN telling them is the smartest course of action I could make right now, I hope.
I didn't bother to take off my shoes. No time. My foot touched the silky surface, the earlier ripples already having disappeared. I felt nothing for the first couple inches. But then it spilled into the tops of my shoes, and started filling them up. The warmth is so incredible. It was almost hot compared to the frigid air. I quickly stepped in onto the first step. Gasps sounded from behind me.
"Just what do you think you're doing?" my brother questioned me. I guess he came back to himself a little because of my actions. I fixed my eyes on his own, and continued to step into the water. Finally the steps ended, and the water felt heavenly on my stomach.
"Get in here. Right now you guys. It's really warm." My brother's eyes are still wide with surprise but his feet are already carrying him to the steps. It took us a moment to realize my sister was not following. I finally broke the gaze I held with my brother and took a look at her. She was still staring at that spot on the ground, still no longer shivering. That's really starting to worry me now. Her body has stopped trying to keep her warm.
My brother stepped away from the pool to go to her.
"Hey, sis. Come on now…" He said in a soft voice. But she still didn't respond. So he took her by the upper arm and gave her a tug. She stumbled on her feet but did not fall. Gently, he led her to the edge of the pool. When she didn't step in on her own, he wrapped his arm around her waist and they stepped in together. Two pairs of eyes fluttered closed when the warmth touched them. They're eyes both opened as they came to me, in the 3 feet deep area. Tangling my hand with my sisters, and her in the middle between me and my brother, we walked into the deeper end, together.