The Mansion In The Woods

Chapter 1

Alicia's POV

I woke up with terrible back pain. I groaned and turned around, getting hit in the face by something cold as I did so. Immediately awake, I opened my eyes and almost screamed at what I saw. Snow. Snow everywhere. I had been lying face down on a hill and I realized I couldn't move my fingers. They felt absolutely frozen. I got up, shivering, and looked around me. All I could see was snow and trees. It was still snowing and not just a little bit. The thick layer of the cold substance was everywhere. My feet carried me to a tree nearby, where I tried to shield myself from the icy snow that fell down. 

I didn't know where I was or how I got there, and it scared me terribly. The last thing I remembered was Emma. Oh my god, where was Emma? 

"Emma!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "Emma, where the fuck are you?" Silence. "I know you're messing with me you bitch! Now show yourself or I will literally kill you!" It was still silent. I knew Emma liked messing around with me so I looked in every bush around me, yet I couldn't find her. She enjoying pulling a prank every now and then but I didn't believe she would let me freeze in the middle of nowhere. "Emma please... this isn't funny anymore!" Silence. 

My eyes started watering and I swallowed deeply. Every breath that I took formed clouds in the air. I started walking down the hill. I didn't know a place in the goddamn state that I lived in that had a hill this high so I guess there was only one way to go. 

It felt like hours before the snow stopped.

But I think it was merely 10 minutes. My head felt dizzy and my throat thirsty. Was snow safe to eat? It was pure water, right? I grabbed a hand full of snow but couldn't release the thought that that snow could possibly have dog piss on it. So I dropped it and continued walking. I could see a lot better now but because everything was covered in snow, it didn't help much. I had tripped on a branch more times than I could count and every time it happened, I knew it wasn't the last time. 

I hugged myself, trying to get warmer. But then I stopped. The clothes I was wearing weren't mine. They were heavily oversized, looked used, and smelt weird. I almost cried, but thinking I might have mascara on, I blinked the tears away. Oh god, Alicia, what did you get yourself into this time?

I managed to walk another 3 miles before my legs gave up. I sat down with shaky legs and leaning my head against a tree. Then another thought hit me. What if there were predators here? They were gonna eat me for sure. I couldn't hold it in more. I cried as loud as I could, screaming at whoever was up in the sky, and cursing whoever left me here to die. I was gonna die. I cried for Emma, my parents, my dog, and myself. How could they let me die without wearing normal clothes? They weren't even going to recognize me with this shitty clothing on. 

I punched the tree as hard as I could, feeling my bones resist and my body beg for a break. It needed all the energy it could get. Because of my movements, something slipped from my pocket. It was a compass. I picked up the compass carefully. It was bright pink and kind of ugly. 

I quickly felt inside my other pockets, feeling for something else. And I did. There was a small note reading:

Follow the north 

That was it. The back was blank and my pockets were empty. So I did what any person who didn't want to die would've done. I ran. I ran as fast as I could towards the north, which thankfully wasn't where I'd come from just moments before. I ran until my lungs cried for air and my legs felt like jelly. Then I rested for a bit. And started running again. I switched the running to walking soon after, knowing that I wasn't great at running. Yet I never really stopped running; I was afraid my body would freeze to death if I did and no matter how cold the snow was, or how tired I was, I didn't really stop. 

It must have been at least 4 hours later when my surroundings finally changed. Or well it somewhat changed. The trees were still there, covered in snow as usual, and I didn't see much besides the trees and the snow. But one thing stood out;  one thing made me almost cry from happiness. A house. It was a large dark-brown mansion. I remember it having a creepy vibe but for some reason I ignored that. Without much else to do, I basically ran over to the front door and knocked on it patiently. When no one answered, I knocked again. And again. 

"Oh come on, please, open the door! I'm freezing out here!" I was almost crying again. Those stupid emotions.

But no matter how much I begged, no one answered the front door. So I stood there, for a couple of minutes, clearly hearing movement inside. Then a soft knock on the other side of the door. I looked at the door for mere seconds and knocked back. Then it opened. It was only a soft creak, much less than I expected from a door that large, and it also only opened a little bit. But that little bit was more than enough for me. I could feel the warmth of the house as I still stood outside, so with a quick "thank you" I got in. 

But what I saw when I got inside was nothing like I expected.