Snow Carpet

My eyes rip open. Small, white ice crystals fall steadily upon me. The numbness of my body starts to explain itself as I look around. White fields as far as the eye can see, and I Iay directly in it. Shivers start to encompass my body, my view angled towards the greyish white sky above.

“Where am I?”

The last thing I remember is walking home in heavy rain that at least wasn‘t as cold as this place. Getting up from this carpet of thick, powdered snow, I rub off the snow from my clothes. After rubbing my eyes and my mind clearing, my perception focuses. It‘s not ‘just‘ a snowy field, there are also quite a few trees surrounding this place, but with no street in sight. Did I get lost on the way home? There is a big landscape next to the company grounds, which is why it‘s so far away, but you should be able to at least see the building I did my work in. But that is not the case.

Maybe it‘s a side effect of the drug? But then it has to be a lasting effect after the initial intake, since I feel extremely bothered by this hellish, finger numbing cold, which wouldn‘t be the case if I was still under the influence of it. Or maybe I‘m dreaming, but would a dream feel so real?

My last train of thought, that I may have gone insane from getting fired and having all those years of work be reduced to nothingness, also runs through my mind. But while I think about that option, I get interrupted by… a bunny? Well, not exactly, but this little light-brown furball hopping around in the snow before me, definitely resembles one. What’s odd about it is its horns, which look like that of a deer. Observing this peculiar specimen further, many more of them start appearing, presumably its family. As I unconsciously move closer towards them, they run off, sadly.

This encounter only reinforces my previous question: Where am I?. Picking a cardinal direction and following it, the question keeps lingering in my mind. But not only does it remain in my brain, but gets fueled further by more sightings of strange specieses. A boar with wool instead of its normal fur, a roe deer with giant wings almost like a pegasus, even a hedgehog the size of a fox. I was glad when I found what first appeared to be a normal snowy owl. But then it moved its head to almost a full 360 Degrees. 360 Degrees!! That is beyond unnormal and of course scared me to death.

After assuring myself that I won‘t sleep tonight from seeing that ‘owl‘, I have yet to answer my previous question. Considering that I definitely feel awake and that there are animals with unexplainable anatomy, I will stick with the simplest scientific answer: I know that I have no clue where I am. But because it feels real, I should be careful, especially in an unknown place like this.

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“Am I ever gonna find a sign of civilization?“

I‘ve already walked through these plains for what feels like several hours. Not only is it freezing cold, but the above ankle height of the snow seepes through my shoes, soaking my socks in wetness. I cling to my labcoat, as the only second layer covering me. The many flakes falling slowly from the sky have already covered my hair completely and the only thing I see through my fogged-up glasses is my warm, condensated breath.

After I have almost given up on finding anything that suggests the existence of humans in this place, I spot something incredibly tall in the distance. The greyish color gave the impression of a large mountain at first. But as I continued towards what I thought was a mountain, it rather resembles a giant wall that would contain giant cities in the old times of swords and guilds.

Taking a more diagonal path towards what I presume is a large city wall, I also see a sort of path in the distance. Now with even more confusion about where I am, I close the distance between myself and the path. Once I reached it, I clearly see footsteps that were probably not made long ago. Generally, it looks like the snow here is shorter than the usual snow carpet laying over the fields. Maybe it‘s a route often taken by travelers? That would at least explain the sunken path.

Following this strange road, I continue my venture to the wall. It actually takes quite a while before arriving. From the footsteps I could confidently conclude that there must be people behind these walls. But if that is the case, am I even allowed inside? Will it cost a fee? Are the people non-hostile? The only other real option is the looming death of the winter. Between these two choices, I‘d rather take my chances. So, despite my skepsis, I take the last steps towards the absolutely gigantic border before being face to face with the huge, opposing gate.