Burning fire rages on my skin as I glance out at the pristine, pearl-white expanse before me. The maze of row beyond row of snow-glistening tress, draw my focus as a wolf’s howl echoes throughout the crystalized forest. I yank my sleeves down over my arms when the ice sets in through my bones, causing my body to erratically shiver. Each breathe of air sends a burning sensation traveling down my throat and into my lungs. My breathe hitches as I cross the frozen tree-line, entering the almost silent woods. Almost silent… Another howl from the wolves, far deeper through the trees than I, rings through my ears. This does not stop me from taking another step forward through the breath-taking sights surrounding me. My heightened senses allow me to hear the soft, almost distant, crunch of snow as the creatures of the forest pass by. I am very clearly not alone.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see a fox burrow down into his home with his family. A fox pup nuzzles up against the mother fox with a yawn as the night falls over the startlingly beautiful woods of the forest. Still I walk further, deeper in towards the very heart of the snow-glistening forest. Farther through the trees, a nearby owl spreads its warm, feathery wings as it takes flight above the glittering canopies of white.
Suddenly, a seemingly familiar scream disrupts the calm of the darkened icy forest. The chilled air is no longer soothing to me as my legs burst into a run. As time passes, my legs grow numb and I still don’t know who screamed, but I am going to. Soon. I can still feel the scream echoing throughout my body, sending goose bumps across my skin. Then I reach the clearing.
I see nothing, but a white and silver-grey expanse surrounded by the frost-ridden trees. When I look over the crystalized clearing once more… I see it… An area in the clearing where the snow is piled higher than the rest. There is a hand poking out of the snow, sending an eerie chill down my spine.
Spinning on my heel, I turn to runaway from the clearing, but I am stopped by the sight of a man clothed in stark black from head to toe. For a split second, my heart stops. The calm before the storm. It takes me a moment to process the fact that the fearful man is grabbing me by the arm with a knife in hand. I don’t scream. I find screaming pointless in this one small timeless moment, because I know I will die no matter what I do.
Instead of acknowledging my oncoming death, I reach out with my heart to feel the very essence of the icy forest I once thought was beautiful only moments before. I let the beautiful memory consume me as I feel myself being yanked towards the horrible man. An odd mixture of horror and peace is swirling through my veins while adrenaline pumps through my body.
Nothing happens.
I open my eyes to see the darkly clothed figure pinned down in the snow by… a wolf? I glance around the clearing to see several wolves of all shapes, sizes, and colors. It’s a pack and they are… Helping me? I glance back at the wolf pinning down the man. This wolf is larger than the others. His fur is coated in a shade of black even darker than that of the black clothed man. The wolf’s eye are the melting color of golden honey and upon seeing the protection of the wolves, I am no longer afraid. Most people would seize this moment to run, but I don’t. Why?
I feel like I have been punched in the back of the head when I remember why I am even in the clearing in the first place. The scream… I turn and walk towards the hand poking out of the snow. Kneeling down, I take a deep breathe before clearing the snow off the body. When I clear the snow off of the face, I suppress a scream.
The body is my lifeless friend. Her once beautiful hair now soaked in a frozen crimson puddle. Her face is still warm with life, but the blood says otherwise. Tears run down my cheeks, sticking salty icicles to my now numbed skin. I feel something soft and warm on my right side. The large black-furred wolf is lying next to me, whimpering softly like a puppy. At this time, I don’t think. My brain is shut off as I dig my fingers into the thick warm fur of the wolf beside me. I curl into its side for warmth as I stare at the empty eyes of someone dear to me. No more thinking. No more feeling. Nothing…

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I wake up abruptly and wipe my sweat-covered brow with my pajama sleeve. It isn’t even three in the morning yet. Everyone is asleep. Everyone, that is… except me. All I can think about are empty, lifeless, cold, dead chocolate brown eyes. The nightmare flew out of nowhere and descended into my mind, corrupting my dreams. I know my friend is still alive, but fear still courses through my veins as I try to calm my shaking hands. Only one thing can help clear my mind now. I close my eyes and fall into a deep sleep.

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Burning fire rages on my skin as I glance out at the pristine, pearl-white expanse before me. The maze of row beyond row of snow-glistening tress, draw my focus as a wolf’s howl echoes throughout the crystalized forest…