One

Discovering Solarblank.

     Unfortunately, for me, something always has to go wrong. It was pitch black when I decided to glance out my window. I could barely keep my eyes open... I don't remember falling asleep, but remember perfectly well how I was woken up. An announcement came over the plane's intercom, but the pilot's most certainly wasn't the voice speaking. Instead, a heavily-breathing message to all passengers and flight crew was delivered.

 

     She shouted, "Attention, passengers! This is your captain speaking..." The rest, I couldn't understand over the muffled screams and panics from other passengers. All I really knew was that the entire crew, including the co-pilot, was locked from the control room and each member was trying to coax the terrorist into unlocking the door and handing over the flight.

 

     Every inch of the plane was flooded with panicked screams and frantic whispers from passenger to passenger. I kept quiet and locked my gaze at the front. The crew's attempt to bust down the door was hopeless. They threw all kinds of proposals at the woman who had drugged the pilot, if only she would make the rational decision of surrendering, letting them in and letting them take the wheel.

 

     It all happened so fast, it almost only comes in flashes now. I don't know if she had let go of the wheel completely, or if she was pulling the plane down... but our plane was falling. As the screams pulsed through my ears, I clenched my teeth, shut my eyes tightly and prayed... and then everything stopped. I didn't even want to open my eyes. And I hadn't until I'd felt water all the way to my knees.

 

     My eyes had burst open and my heart raced. I unfastened my seatbelt, shaking pretty badly, and jumped to grab my bag, which rested on the shelf above me. As soon as I reached that, I shuffled hastily to the exit in the front. Of course, having water to block it from the outside in, the door wouldn't budge. I examined the shelves, the seats, then the floor. No one was moving... or breathing, at all. It was now that the severity of the situation really hit me. The chill of surrounding death was crawling up and down my spine. I shook it off, glanced around once more, and snatched a golf club that had fallen to the floor when we'd crashed. Using it as a makeshift crowbar, I unhinged the door as best I could and pushed it out into the pitch black water.

 

     I didn't dare look back. I clutched the golf club close to me, holding my bag in my arms and kicking my legs as rapidly as possible. The water I was in was below freezing, and I wasn't breathing all that well, but I didn't stop. Even when I hit the water's surface, I didn't stop. Because I didn't want to stick around and find out what lingered in the wreckage or the dark itself.

 

     The sun had just barely begun to rise when I reached my highest point of exhaustion. I took a brief moment to try and compose myself. I wasn't really shocked that I'd survived the plane crash. I was more astonished that I had survived the night, swimming in killer, cold water.

 

     When I calmed down enough to be able to inhale and exhale properly, I opened my eyes again. Straight in front of me, there was snow. I was disappointed that snow was what it was, but land was better than dying from swimming around in hypothermia. So I forced my body to shore with the last remains of my energy and pulled myself up out of the water.

 

     It probably wasn't that grand of an idea, jumping out of the water without hesitation. The breeze made my body temperature drop even lower, and now I shivered uncontrollably. I crouched down to the soft, white earth beneath me. Despite the water surrounding, and despite the frigid atmosphere... the snow itself was warm.

 

     I sat in disbelief, running my fingers through the fresh layers of warm powder. It was beautiful, untouched. Nothing had stomped it down anywhere near me. It was so unlike anything I'd ever seen before.

 

     Digging my hands deeper into the snow, I came upon something much harder than what covered it. I raised my brow, pulling my hand back. No dirt lingered on my palm. Glimpsing down into the small abyss I'd created, I spotted what I thought was some sort of book. I quickly unburied it and took a look inside. On the first page was written, "The cold will melt you. The hot will freeze you. Don't overstay your welcome, and don't touch the water at night. This place is crazy... get out while you can."

 

     Every page after that was wordless. Now I understood that I had just found someone's journal. I tucked it away in my bag and pulled to my feet to investigate this strange continent.

Author's Note

Ignore run-ons, grammar errors, punctuation errors, etc.