I woke up on the couch and strangely felt warmth. No cold chills from my poorly made blanket. No itchy feeling of worn out wool. I couldn't resist the urge to snuggle up to the warmth I felt as well as the arm slung over my shoulder. Wait...what?! Blinking, I opened my eyes only to come face-to-face with the all Russian ma from the night before. I let out a yelp-I mean a manly shout-and flung myself away from the couch.
"What the crap man!?" His eyes crinkled and shone while he laughed a deep heartfelt laugh as continued to rapidly beat my fist against his chest.
"Ah! Young Jack awakens!" His jolliness was interrupted by a small golden-haired man jumping in his face and shaking his finger at him. I couldn't help but smirk at the reprimanded look on the big guy's face.
"Yes. Yes! I was just about to tell him!" I raised my eyebrow in question.
"You see, dear Jackie, your dear Aunt had a, well, a small...break down last night. She has gone somewhere to stay to be ...taken care of." I couldn't believe my ears. She left. Left me with these total strangers. My palms started to sweat and my entire body shook. Before I knew it everything, EVERYTHING, went white and it's all I could see. Then...nothing. Darkness
"-ack! Jack! I think he is waking Sandy!" What. The. Crap...
The first thing I saw after I woke up, much like before I passed out, was white. Except this time, I saw snow. In. My. House. Sandy had small icicles hanging from his ears and the tip of his nose. The sight made me let out a string of uncontrollable giggles. North's eyes widen at the happy noises I was making and soon my tiny giggles were joined by deep, baritone chuckles.
"How did this happen?" I couldn't keep the wonder from my voice. All my life I had waited for the unthinkable, the supernatural, and here it was. Right in front of me in all it's glory. I was so excited, I leapt to my feet and jumped into the nearest snow pile. I could hear Sandy's bell-like laughter as I tossed the snow above my head. I couldn't help myself. I had always loved the snow, always will. My wonder was short lived as a familiar cold feeling came over me. Not that almost pleasant cold you get after dog-sledding after the first snow fall of the season. No. This was a sinister, evil kind of cold.
North and Sandy must have noticed too. In an instant North was by my side, two swords drawn. Sandy ran over to me, thrust the book from the attic in my hands, and pushed me farther into the snow, as though it could protect me.
As if reading my thoughts, the snow slowly started to harden, turning into a thick block of ice. The ice slowly circled around me until I was totally covered by a case of see-through ice. Just as the ice finished swirling, a fist appeared out of nowhere and began to beat the ice.
"Give me that book!" It came out as a snarl. I turned my head, searching for help, only to find that the Boogieman's henchmen had North and Sandy surrounded. Every slash and hit only caused the dark shadows to multiply. The Boogieman slowly started to wake towards me. With every step, my fear rose.
"Please. Please leave me alone." I begged.
"Poor, poor Jack. All alone? I can change that..." The world around us began to fade. It made me swoon: Causing me such dizziness, I thought I would puke. The walls melted away: the ice becoming dark pillars of broken buildings. Cages hung from all around. From the ceiling to the corners, pretty much everywhere you looked. Somehow I found myself, North and Sandy in one such cage Panic seized me as my personal demon slowly inched forward. He reached his arm out, softly petting my head.
"Welcome dear Jack," He suddenly gripped my hair so hard, he nearly ripped the hair from my headdress as he finished, "to your worst nightmare."