Young Writers Society

"Who knows?" Amy asked. "But it's kind of pretty, isn't it?"

She'd only seen snow a handful of times in her life, once when she and her mother went to visit Tara and Debbie in Nebraska. It had snowed a few times since she'd moved to Seattle, but never like this.

And she was warm in her clothes. She was a bit unnerved that she'd come to in the middle of the woods with clothes she didn't own, wondering how she'd gotten here. She'd passed out watching Mutiny on the Bounty on TCM, a movie she didn't care all that much for, but hey, Clark Gable took his shirt off. She'd been on her third bottle of Heineken. Her mother had warned her about drinking so much before, but Amy insisted she wasn't an alcoholic. Maybe now she'd listen.

A lot of the others were younger than her, and teacher instinct in her told her needed to set an example for them. Still, Amy noticed the others were staring at her funny, and she wasn't sure exactly what for.

"We should try to find a road. Something. Anything."

Wren nodded in agreement - both to the comment about how pretty it was in the forest, and about how they needed to find some sign of civilization. Her gaze swept through the forest. There wasn't really a path anywhere. The trees had just enough space in between them to fit a path, but there wasn't a-

She looked a little closer.

There was a path a few rows of trees away from them. It was mostly hidden behind snow-ridden bushes, but Wren could make out little bits of light brown peeking out from the white. Without thinking to mention her discovery, or ask that the others come with her, Wren started moving towards it.

She pushed past some of the lower hanging branches and stepped over a few fallen logs. Snow was clinging to her winter coat and gloves by the time she reached the path she had seen, but it was worth it.

She turned back towards the others.

"I found a path!" she said, her voice just a little louder than it had been before. She turned back to look down the path. If she squinted hard enough, she could make out small curls of smoke drifting up into the air.

Hablex half-listened to the talking around her, but did notice when Wren approached a group of trees. She tried to slide the drawing board back into her pockets without smearing the black lines, but it wasn't too successful. This silly thing.

She knew Malker will laugh at her once she got back home, and hopefully she will be able to bring this odd device to show him. Hablex needed to learn how to get out of this place first though, which had to start with leaving the forest.

"Let's go then," she said, bundling her hands in loose fabric from her tunic. Hablex didn't like having to wander through unknown lands, and she didn't know if being with strangers was better than being alone, but she would make do with what she was given.

''Well...'' Alaska took in the snowy landscape. ''It is rather magical...''
But the others were already heading down a path.
''Wait for me!'' she called and raced after them.

Winter followed, unsure where they were going. She could leave them. There was much forest to explore, much reason to explore it. She could find a place of death and speak to Summer, who perhaps knew more than Winter about what was happening to her. But the others were kind. Strange, but kind. It was hard to find kind people in strange places.

So Winter followed.

Her fingers trailed over the trunk of a tree, drawing the heat from within and leaving a trail of frost in their wake. She'd need as much heat as she could manage in this cold. She would get sick again, and Summer would not be there to draw out the cold from her frostbitten hands.

"So," Amy said, trying to break the silence as they trudged through the snow. "Where's everyone from?"

God, she was so awkward. And they were still staring at her. Her coat was nice and warm. It couldn't have been that ugly.

''I'm from Phoenix Texas.'' Alaska explained softly. ''And down in Phoenix we don't get snow.''

Wren fiddled with her glasses.

"I'm from New York City," she said. She made a scar appear on the other hand, too, contorting the shape so it was just a little different than the first one she made underneath her glove. "...I've seen snow, but never in a forest like this..."

"Really? I went to Arizona State for college," Amy responded. "From California. I live in Seattle. So not a lot of snow."

She turned to the other girl. "I've been to New York. I've always wanted to have a meal at Windows on the World. My ex and I were going to go to when we were there, but we didn't have to fit it in. Next time, though."

Hablex was about to answer Amy's question before recalling the fact that she was from an entirely different land than probably everyone else. Maybe she could answer this in a slightly different way, while also staying polite to strangers.

"I grew up by a lot of lakes, but it never got cold enough for snow."

She figured that would sound precise enough, since she wasn't about to try her luck at simply using one of the other girl's homes as a reference. From what Hablex could assume, New York was a cold area, while the other names had to be warmer.

Alaska looked around.
''It's a good thing we're in Warm clothes.'' she murmured absently then sighed. ''But oh! How I wish I had my old clothes.''
Then she glanced at the others.
''Where do you think this path leads?'' she asked.

Windows on the World sounded familiar, but Wren couldn't put her finger on why. Whatever the reason was, it gave her an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach. She didn't have any kind of extraordinary sense of danger, but something about the response just didn't sit right.

Wren pushed the thought away, just like she pretended that Hablex wasn't from another world. If no one was going to draw attention to it, she wouldn't either. She played with the scars underneath her gloves a little more, changing their shapes into designs more akin to tattoos than previous injuries. A cute little flower on one hand, and a heart on the other.

She gave Amy a shy smile.

"I'm not sure if the atmosphere is the same as Windows on the World, but my family owns a cafe," she hesitantly said. "The next time you're in New York, maybe you could come to it?"

After waiting another second, she turned to Alaska - and to the path ahead.

"I think it leads to a building," she softly said. She pointed up ahead of them. "I saw smoke over the trees earlier."

Winter looked around the group, scanning faces and reading postures with a vacant expression, like she was seeing right past them.

"What will we say to the people we meet? We cannot simply demand answers while offering nothing satisfying ourselves," she said abruptly.