“Fine. So I was wrong. At least you can say that we...hey, what's that?” He jogged ahead.
Sherri ran to keep up, “What? What did you see?”
“Look. What is this?” He stopped running.
Everything in this area was covered in a thick, white frost. They stood at the edge of it, but they could not see all the way to the other side it was so large. Grass, rocks, tree trunks and limbs, all covered in this ice.
Sherri carefully reached over and brushed her hand down the frosty trunk of an evergreen tree. “What happened here? Did someone set off a bomb?”
“An Ice bomb?” Brian asked.
“Well, it looks like this exploded right here.”
Brian knelt down and cocked his head as he looked at the grass, “I don't think it was an explosion. At least not a normal one. Look at this.”
Sherri joined him, “What is it?”
“The grass, it hasn't moved. This is all dried, dead grass. The frost looks like it merely settled on it. But, the way this frost is splayed out, it was shot at the grass and trees. This doesn't make any sense.”
“Do you think it's some sort of government experimental work? We might've walked into something like area fifty one.”
Brian scoffed, “They wouldn't do dangerous experiments in the middle of a state park. Thousands of people visit this place every year.” He stood up and took a step into the frosty grasses.
“Brian! Don't go in that stuff.”
He pulled out his phone to take video of the area, “It's just ice. We have tons of it up in New England. I want to get some video of this, put it online, and see if anyone knows what this is. It's probably some kind of rare weather phenomenon, like a macro burst of frost. We could go viral on this.”
“Is all you think about getting publicity online?” Sherri muttered.
“Hey, what's good for the show is good for both of us. Don't forget we won awards last year after that one interview went viral.” He kept walking away from her as he took video.
Sherri groaned in hesitation and finally followed him into the frost zone. “Well, you got video, lets go.”
“Don't be in such a hurry. This goes on for a bit. We should go further.”
Sherri was right behind him, she had her phone out, “I have Dan's phone number. I'm gonna call him and see if he's back at his house. If he is, we can get out of here and go back to civilization.” She dialed and held the phone up to her ear. “Come on, come on, pick up.”
“Hey Sherri, come look at this.” Brian had walked a good distance from her.
She ran over to him while putting her phone away, “He's not answering. What did you want to show me?”
“Look at this tree. It's leaning funny.” He scanned up and down the trunk of a larger tree that had partly sunk into the ground.
Sherri was about to say something when she paused, “Hey, what was that?”
“I felt it too.” Brian lowered his phone and they both looked at the other. He softly said, “I think the ground is sinking. We should...” they both jerked as the ground jostled and sunk down. Brian grabbed the tree trunk. Sherri ran to him and grabbed the same tree. Just as they did, the ground gave way and the fell into a sink hole. The tree was on the edge of it and so they merely slid down, but it was a long slide holding onto the frosty bark of this old tree.
Chapter 3: Mysterious Cave
After what felt like a mile down, the tree stopped. Rocks and dirt still trickled through the opening, filling the newly formed hole.
“Sherri, you okay?”
Sherri let go of the tree and brushed her face off, “I think so. Nothing feels broken. You okay?”
Brian sat up on his knees, kneeling on a pile of dirt, “I'm alright. Just some scrapes.”
“Good.” Sherri smacked him in the shoulder, “I told you not to go into the frost. But, no, you had to get another viral video. Well, I hope you're happy!”
“Ow!” He rubbed his shoulder, “I only wanted to take some video of the frost, not fall down a hole!”
“Well, were in it now! I don't suppose you know how to get us out of here?”
“We can just call...oh no, it's moving.” He felt the tree shifting under the pile of dirt. It slid down and smashed into a dirt wall. As it did, it loosened the soil above and more came tumbling down. “Ah, crap. We're gonna get buried alive if we don't get out of here.”
“Look!” Sherri got up and shakily walked down the fallen trunk, “See, there's light.”
Brian look down to where the tree had smashed into the wall, it had broken through. There was a cave behind this wall. “Great.” He picked up a large rock and got to the wall. He slammed the rock against the large gash the tree had made. Sherri joined him with a branch she pulled out of the debris. Soon they had broken the hole open large enough for the both of them to get through.
Brian went through first, tumbling into this cavern. Sherri fell in behind him, rocks and soil following her.
Brian stood up and brushed his shirt off, “Wow, that was close.”
“Too close.” Sherri tossed the branch aside and used Brian’s hand to get up. “Okay, where are we now?”
“I don't know. But, look at this place.” He walked around the domed cave they had fallen into. “The floor, it so even and flat. I've not been in too many caves, but I don't think they have such smooth, flat floors.”
Sherri looked ahead, down a large tunnel, “There's light coming from down there. But, it doesn't look like daylight. It's too bright, and kinda blue.”
“I see it. What is this place?”
“And underground bunker, a tourist area, someones home. I don't know. All we can do is explore.”
Brian shook his head, “I'm tired of all this exploration. I'm calling the police to help.” He went for his phone. “Crap. It was in my hand when we fell. Oh, here it is.” He found it on the ground where it had slid after he fell through. “It's still working, but I've got no signal. Yours?”
Sherri looked at her phone, “Nothing.”
“Looks like we're still exploring.” He marched onward.
The tunnel continued for a long way. There were a few openings that led down various paths, but none of them had any light showing. The path in front of them had this amazing glow. The closer they came, the more they understood this wasn't sunlight coming through an opening.
The path opened out onto a suspended stone walk, which was part of a web of these paths. They were in a spherical room large enough to hold several homes. Hanging in the air everywhere were little crystals. Each one giving off a shining bluish white light. There were so many of them it was like looking at a beautiful star-field in winter. Meandering throughout this cavern were these walkways, connected to each other in various places. The walkways all met at one point, in the center of this sphere. A platform stood with a pedestal on top, hovering above it was a larger snowflake crystal that exuded the most light.
Brian and Sherri both simply gazed at the incredible sight around them. Brian managed to mumble, “Where...wh...what is...what is this place?”
Sherri gulped and looked to her side to the nearest part of this sphere. Those crystals were hovering right there, as if suspended by tiny threads. “I don't know. This isn't real. This can't be real.”
“Do you think we hit our heads when we fell? This must be a dream.”
“We're having the same dream?” Sherri asked.
“You might be part of mine.” Brian took a few shaky steps out onto the walkway, “I don't know what to say. OW!” He turned and glared at her.
Sherri pulled her hand back from where she had pinched him, “You're not dreaming. And neither am I. This is some kind of illusion. It has to be.”
Brian stopped sneering at her and nodded, “I guess. It's a good illusion. Had me fooled. I wonder if this is some kind of show they put on.” He reached out for one of those floating crystals. He touched it and quickly pulled his hand back, “Wow, it's so cold.”
“Don't be
an idiot. Stop touching things. We have to find someone down here who can help us find the way out.” Sherri looked around, following the walkways with her eyes, seeing if any of them led out of this room. “Look, down there. A door.”
Brian leaned over and looked way down to the bottom of the room. There was a walkway that curved down and met an open door, with light coming out of it. “Good.”
“Let's go.”
They made their way over the top of the walkway and would follow the best path around to the bottom of the room. They came right up to the pedestal holding that bright snowflake.
Brian paused as he gazed into it, “Look at this one. It's larger than the others.”
Sherri wasn't paying attention. “Yeah, sure. You can find out about this when we meet whoever's in charge.”
He reached up for it. “This one, it's different. It's so beautiful.”
A sultry woman’s voice spoke all around him, “Just one touch. Let me speak to you. All you need to do is touch...”
“Brian!” Sherri was back to him and had grabbed his hand from touching the crystal.
He stood back and blinked a few times, “Where did you come from?”
“Massachusetts, by way of Orlando. Now, what are you doing? We already bashed a hole in the wall of their stuff. Let's not mess anything else up.”
“You're right. Sorry. Let's move.” He looked away from the crystal and followed Sherri down the walkways toward the open door.
After a long, twisting road to the bottom of this place, Brian and Sherri entered another hallway much like the one they fell into. At the end of this hall a light flickered.
“My goodness, it's cold.” Brian held his arms around him as a blast of frigid wind hit them.
Sherri tucked her arms against herself as well, “Do you think that's coming from outside?”
“I don't think so. It wasn't this cold outside.”
“Wait, do you hear something...or someone?” Sherri paused and craned her head to the side.
“Yes, it sounds like someone is speaking. There's someone down there.”
“Good. Maybe he can show us the way out.” Sherri pushed forward, bracing herself for the regular gusts of cold air.
Chapter 4: The Wizard and The Fairy
The hall emptied into a large room. It had tables with strange objects on them. Shelves filled with old books, odd looking bottles of glowing liquids, and other random items one might find in a bed room. Scattered around were candles with glowing orbs floating above the wicks. To the back of the room was a door that emitted a dancing light and occasional blasts of cold air.
“This is interesting,” Brian stopped to look at one of the unusual candles. Hold his hand near the glowing orb he frowned, “It's not hot. It's actually cold.”
Sherri leaned over to look at a hand mirror on a table. “This has to be a set for some thing. This looks too fantastic to be real, like that cave of snowflakes back there.”
Just then, that same voice they heard before came from the next room, “Twisting winds, bind and turn, winters power boil and churn.”
Brian and Sherri's eye's were fixed on that door. Brian ventured, “You...uh...wanna go say hi?”
“No. You should go first.” Sherri didn't budge.
Brian gulped, “Why don't we go together.”
They practically slid their feet across the ground as they stepped closer to the open door. Both peeked around the side to see what was going on, neither brave enough to step right in. A man in blue robes held up a small stick, pointing it at the center of the room. Standing on its own, a staff of crystal blue was directly under a tiny opening in the rock ceiling above. From the opening came down a swirling energy that spun around the room like water circling a drain. It came to the center, directly above the top of the staff, congealing into what looked like a crystal.
“Huh?” The robed man looked to the side.
Sherri quickly grabbed Brian by the shirt and pulled out of the door, preventing that man from seeing them. Brian pressed his back up against the wall, Sherri was right beside him. She slowly sank to the floor, her legs going weak out of fear. Their hearts raced and they nearly stopped breathing while waiting for that strange man to come out.
Finally, they heard him say, “Must be nothing. Now where was I...oh, twist the winds, rip the storm, bend the winter where power is born.”
Brian's whispered in the lowest voice he could muster, “What did I just see?” He expected Sherri to say something, but she hadn't even budged. Looking down he found her with a terrific look of shock on her face and her gaze glued to another corner. “Sherri?” He whispered.
She held up a trembling hand and pointed. “Fafafafafairy.” She wheezed out.
Brian forced himself to look. There was a tiny being standing in the dark corner of the room. She had a little sparkling dress on like a ballerina might wear. Her skin was soft hues of pink covered in a sheen of silver. The translucent wings on her back glistened like freshly fallen snow.
When the tiny creature realized they were looking at her, she fluttered up on her wings and flew right at Brian. He took a step back and covered his mouth so not to yell. He wasn't certain which person was more dangerous, the wizard back in that room or this fairy. Either way, yelling wouldn't help.
“What does she want?” Sherri whispered.
“I don't know.” Brian looked at her curious little face staring at him. She had the prettiest blue eyes and the look of a curious child, not a scary demon. “Hello.”
She smiled and touched his nose, her little hand was very cold. She giggled, which sound like icicles tinkling. She fluttered down to Sherri and looked her in the eyes as well. Sherri pushed her way up the wall so to be standing. “Uh, hello? We're lost. Can you help us?”
The fairy smiled and backed up. She gave off a little cute wave at them to follow her. When they didn't seem to understand, she got closer to Brian's face again and then backed up as she beckoned them to follow with a tiny hand waving.
“Do you think she needs our help?” Brian asked.
Sherri got up close to him and took his arm, “I don't know. Maybe she wants to show us a way out?”
Their heads jerked to the side as that strange man in the other room said, “Huh? Do I hear another fairy in my workshop!”
The fairy was now frantically waving at them to follow. They took the cue and ran after the fairy, dashing around a wall and hiding. Even the little fairy was pressed up against the wall. The man came into his workshop and looked around. They could see his shadow moving on the floor.
“My nerves must be jumpy today.” He muttered, his shadow leaving the room again.
Once they were certain he was gone, the little fairy fluttered out from the wall, stuck her thumbs in her hears, waved her hands, and gave off a little raspberry in the general direction of the wizard.
Brian chuckled, “I don't think she likes him.”
The fair looked at Brian with a frown, folded her arms, and crassly shook her head.
Sherri laughed as well at the little display, “I guess not.”
Again the tiny creature waved at them to follow. This time they didn't hesitate and had to run to keep up.
Soon they were out of the hall and going back up the various ramps of this enormous room of snowflakes. They didn't take any of the paths that would lead back to the main hall they entered from. The destination they were led to was the center of the room. The fairy stopped about five feet away from the pedestal and pointed at it.
Brian, breathing heavily after that long run to this place, looked up. “Oh, so you want us to go get that?”
The fairy energetically nodded.
Sherri finally caught up and held her knees to catch her breath, “Man, she can move. Wish I had wings to travel like that.” Taking a few breaths, she continued, “So, what does she want up here?”
“I think she wants us to help her with this crystal.”
The fairy quickly nodded and then pointed harder at
the pedestal. Then she flew up a few inches closer and tapped on what looked like a barrier surrounding the whole platform. It flashed and she was tossed back a few feet by the buzz it gave her.
“Look, Sherri, she can't get through.” Brian walked past the fairy, bracing himself to be struck by the same barrier. But, he didn't feel a thing. He now stood right next to the pedestal. “Wow, it must be some kind of fairy-proof shield.”
“Why does she want that crystal?”
Brian smirked, “I have no idea, I don't speak fairy. Let's just give it to her and maybe she'll show us the way out.”
Sherri smiled at the tiny creature nodding vigorously in agreement. “I don't know. This might be protected for a reason.”
“True. Gee, I wish you hadn't said that. Now I don't know what to do. That's a pretty little fairy, but...what if...” He paused as a voice spoke.
“Lay your hand on me, that I might speak to you better.”
“Who said that?” Brian looked around.
Sherri frowned, “I just said that it might be protected...”
“Not that.”
“Lay your hand on me.” That voice said again.
Brian now stared at the crystal, “It's speaking to me.”
“How?”
“Like I should know.” Brian retorted. “I'm going to hold it, maybe I'll find out more.”
“Be careful.”
He took a deep breath and released it as he quickly reached out and grabbed the crystal before he had a second thought. His eyes were clenched, his face scrunched up, and he was ready for something amazing to happen next. But, all he found was now he held this large crystal. “Now what?” he asked.
Suddenly, a strong voice spoke to him as though another person were standing there. “Greetings mortal. I am Isadora, Queen of the ice fairies. I wish I could speak to you in person, but I have been trapped in this wretched crystal by that awful wizard.”
“Woah, where are you?” He turned around three times, looking for the source of that voice.
Sherri asked, “Who are you talking too?”
The Winter Wizard Page 2