14:30 – Day 1

Jesse awoke with a slight gasp, pain instantly searing through her entire body. For a second, she couldn't see a thing. 
She could barely move, her muscles throbbing heavily. Her body temperature on a dangerously low level.

Jesse blinked hard, her eyes starting to see things again. She found herself staring up at a dim blue sky, almost with a purple hint to it. Her vision was distorted and fuzzy, but Jesse could make out what looked like snowflakes, spiraling down around her. She shut her eyes tightly, taking in a deep icy breath, trying to remember where she was or what had happened. 
But nothing.

Jesse forced her eyes back open. She gritted her teeth, flexing her fingers. She could barely feel them, but they were working.

Jesse took a deep breath, forcing her heavy body off the ground. Her gloved hands balled into tight fists, nails digging into her palms. Feeling probably the worse pain she's ever felt in her entire life, radiate through her entire body. Jesse's eyes shut tightly, and she screamed. Hearing her own voice cut through the air, echoing for miles.

Jesse fell back down onto the ground, letting out another pained cry. She only just about managed to roll herself onto her side, curling into a tight ball of cold and pain. No doubt, her ribs were broken.

"Pull yourself... together... Jesse..." She breathed out, shutting her eyes. Gritting her teeth as she placed one arm on the snowy ground. Another scream of anguish ripping itself from her throat as she propped herself up on it.

Jesse breathed in deeply, the icy air burning her throat. She pried her eyes open again, clenching her jaw as she tried to work through the pain she felt.

Jesse groaned in pain, forcing herself up on her one elbow while keeping the other arm wrapped around her throbbing side. Through a few more pained cries and gasps, Jesse manged to get herself up onto her knees.

Her body was shaking, muscles contracting in painful spasms. Eyes shut tightly, her teeth grinding slightly. It felt like Jesse's body was getting colder by the second.

Once more, she forced open her eyes. Looking down at herself, and the ground she was seated on. Her vision wasn't a hundred percent clear, blurring around the corners. But she could still make out the dark red stains on the snow, right where she had been lying.

Jesse looked down at herself, trying to find the source of her bleeding. She was dressed warmly, like she had planned to be out in that weather. A thick wind resistant jacket, over what appeared to be a few layers of sweaters. Her hands hidden beneath wool gloves, probably the only reason her fingers weren't frostbitten yet.

Jesse reached one hand up to the side of her head, bringing it back down to reveal to droplets of blood on the wool. She gritted her teeth again, resisting the urge to cry out once more.

Jesse looked around, feeling her heart hammering inside her chest. Panic was starting to consume her. Still gripping in injured side, she began forcing herself upwards. Her legs shook beneath her, pain spiraling through all her limbs.

Jesse let out another pained shriek as she forced herself through the agony, pushing herself up onto her legs despite her body's countless signs that she needed to stop.

Jesse's breathing came out in short gasps, raspy and scratchy. Ignoring the lightheaded feeling that had settled over her, Jesse forced her head up to look around.

But all she saw, was white. Just stretches of snow, more sprinkling down from the darkening sky. 

"Hello?" Jesse called out, the wind blowing her voice away. "Anybody there?" Her breath choked in her throat, her heart pounding wildly. If only she knew what had happened! Was she alone? Were her friends nearby?

Jesse tried calling out again, her voice small and weak. Tears of both fear and pain burned Jesse's eyes. Her head was starting to pulse.

Jesse took a shaky step forward, nearly sinking back down onto the snowy ground. She gritted her teeth, taking another shaky step forward. Her feet were threatening to twist out beneath her.

Strong gusts of wind tugged at Jesse's clothes, her long chestnut hair blowing into her face. She shook her head lightly, continuing to stumble forward, aimlessly starting to walk while clutching her throbbing ribs.

Every breath felt like she was swallowing a hand full of needles, her throat and chest burning. Jesse's vision was going in and out of focus, occasionally starting to see double. Her boots sunk into the deep snow, making it feel like she was trying to walk through a field of soul sand.

Jesse kept staggering on, no idea where she was heading. She knew one thing, if she stayed lying there - she would die.
If she wanted to live, she had to move.

Suddenly Jesse's foot didn't sink into the snow, instead meeting solid ground. It slid out from underneath her almost instantly.
A pained scream echoed through the air as Jesse's side thudded against rock hard ice. She cried out, choking out a strangled sob. The pain was unbearable.

Jesse felt sweat break out on her icy skin, gasping slightly as she silently pleaded for the pain to go away.
She painfully rolled herself over, pressing her gloved hands down on the ice she had landed on. Tears burning her eyes as she propped up the upper half of her body.

She looked down at the ice, meeting her own eyes. Her reflection staring back at her, face ghostly pale. Strands of her wet hair were dangling in her face, her brown eyes dull and pained.

But the most frighteningly of all... three deep gashes on the side of her face. Long, thick, claw marks, oozing with fresh blood.

Jesse raised her hand up to her cheek, feeling it sting beneath her touch. Feeling the warmth of her own blood, seeping through her glove.

"The hell..." Jesse breathed shakily, taking a shuddering, gasp-like breath.

Clenching her fists, fighting the urge to shriek in pain, Jesse forced herself back up into a standing position. Hunching over as she continued struggling forward, her feet threatening to slip on the ice.

Wherever she was, it was on top of a frozen lake. And Jesse knew if the ice broke, she wouldn't make it.

But her mind too fogged over to care much, Jesse just continued moving on forward. Her vision obstructed by the flurries of snow, one hand clutching her side while the other was raised to shield her eyes from the wind and snow.

A few times, Jesse tried calling out again. Yelling her friends' names, hoping that there was another soul to hear her.

But she was completely alone.

Jesse took another step, her foot sinking into snow again. She struggled off the ice, her muscles burning with strain as she once more had to walk through the thick snow.

Jesse's knees started buckling, and she stumbled forward into a crawling position. Strong gusts of wind were showering her in fresh snow, threatening to push her over. She shakily looked up, eyes scanning the blinding white horizon.

And that's when Jesse spotted a structure. A wooden cabin, not large at all, but something nonetheless. Immediately she forced her sore body back up, struggling forward in the direction of the building.

Jesse heaved herself onto it's small porch, immediately starting to bang her fists on the door. Her voice too weak to even try begging for somebody to let her in.

But nobody answered the young woman's desperate calls. Jesse sunk down against the door, shivering violently. She weakly reached up a hand, grasping the door handle.

Jesse never expected it to swing open the moment she turned it.

Gasping, Jesse tried getting up with little success. She pulled herself up by the door frame, staggering forward into the dark building.

Jesse's eyes searched the dark room, barely able to make out anything. Her heart pounding inside her chest, her entire body throbbing.

Even in her state, it didn't take long for Jesse to tell that the place was completely abandoned. A few windows were boarded up, cobwebs were dangling from the wooden ceiling. The air smelled of dust, and... something else that Jesse couldn't quite name.

Jesse tried walking deeper into the room, her legs giving way beneath her. There was a thud as the wind blew shut the door, immediately blocking the icy gusts outside.

Jesse felt her mind threatening to give way. She pushed herself up, half crawling forward into the dark. She refused to give up.

Abandoned or not, the house was very finely built. Strong wooden beams supporting it, an L-shaped staircase leading up to a second story. There was a few couches, with a tipped over coffee table in the middle. All facing towards an unlit fireplace.

Jesse's eyes scanned the living room, coming to rest on a sort of blanket draped over one of the couches. Almost purely relying on her instincts at that point, her mind refusing to properly process what she was doing, Jesse heaved herself up against the couch and pulled the blanket around her chilled form.

She coughed, accidentally breathing in some of the dust rising up from the couch. Her eyes were threatening to droop close.

"Stay awake, Jesse... stay awake." She told herself, her voice weak and shaky. Slightly swaying herself back and forth to keep her mind awake.

It really was a stretch to say Jesse felt warmer. But after sitting there, curled into a tiny ball and wrapped in the dusty blanket, Jesse's tight muscles began to relax. The iciness fading from her skin.

As Jesse started feeling her limbs again, all the pain she felt got gradually worse. There was the stabbing pain in her right side, most likely from more than just one broken rib. The shoulder on the same side was throbbing lightly, sending spirals of pain down Jesse's back.
Her head was pulsing, and her wounded cheek stinging. While all those spots stood out, Jesse's entire body was really in pain. She desperately wished to know what had happened to her, or where in the world she was.

Jesse couldn't remember the last thing she did before she woke up... hell, it felt like the memories she did have, were dated weeks back. Spending time with the Order, back home in Beacontown.... There wasn't any snow biomes even near Beacontown, not that Jesse knew off. Where was she?

Jesse shivered sightly, hearing her own teeth chattering. And where were her friends? Were they back home? Were they looking for her? Were they in a similar mess even?

Jesse choked back a pained sob, tears burning her eyes. There was no denying it... she was afraid.

Reaching up her gloved hand, Jesse wiped her eyes. She gritted her teeth, forcing on a determined expression. She was not about to just sit there and drown in her own sorrows.

Taking a deep, shaking breath, Jesse heaved herself off the couch. Her legs threatened to give out beneath her, her feet stiff and cold. Jesse tried moving her toes inside her boots, relieved at still being able to feel them. Good, nothing was frostbitten... yet.

Jesse limped over to the stone fireplace, stiffly kneeling down by it. With trembling movements, she pulled the glove off her left hand. She held it above the logs and ashes, feeling for any heat. None... the fire hasn't been lit, not recently.

Jesse dabbed her fingers on the bottom of the fireplace, pulling her hand back out. She examined her fingers, black ashes covering her pale skin.

"Okay." Jesse breathed to herself, wiping her hand off on her pants. Her eyes scanned the floor around the fireplace, looking for anything she could use to start it.

Jesse's heart was starting to sink into her boots, when her eyes caught what looked like a rolled up newspaper. She reached over, pulling the newsprint out and getting ready to toss it into the fireplace.

Hesitating, Jesse quickly unfolded it first. Her eyes searching for a date, a name... any indication of where she was.

"Damnit." Jesse muttered, seeing the date. "3 years ago... this doesn't help."

Jesse paged through the newspaper, eyes searching for any indication of where she was. Only barely able to read the tiny lettering in the small ray of dim light that shone from the frosted over window.

But it was no use, all the actual news articles were missing. Advertisements being the only things left over... no doubt the paper was left there for the soul purpose of being used in a fire.

Jesse tore up the news paper, placing the pieces inside the fireplace. She looked around, praying that there was something to light it with.

Jesse felt along in the dark, where the newspaper had been lying. She felt something small and round, picking it up and holding it in the light. Her eyebrows rose slightly.

A small toy, seemingly a dog toy. Jesse gave it a light squeeze, the object squeaking in response. Well, hopefully that was a sign that whoever used to live there, were.... somewhat normal.

Jesse tossed the dog toy aside, feeling through the dark again. There were a few firelogs, not that she needed them just yet. Some more kindling as well. If only she could find something to actually get it started with, she'd be set for quite a while.

Jesse's gloved fingers touched a new object. Small, and square shaped... she prayed it was what she thought it was.

Jesse picked the object up, turning it around in the light. Her heart skipping a beat in relief. Matches! She found matches!

Jesse pulled off her other glove, so she could easily handle the thin wooden sticks. She carefully took out one of the matches, striking it against the side of the box.

The pieces of newspaper immediately caught on fire, starting to spread the flames throughout the fireplace. Casting a soft glow onto Jesse's face. She reached her hands out, holding them in front of the fire. Breathing out a slow sigh of relief, her mouth curving into a faint smile. Finally Jesse felt some form of hope.

Jesse wasn't sure how long she sat there, relishing in the warmth from the fire. Listen to the flames crackling, focusing on that to try and ignore the gusting wind outside.

She hoped her friends were safe... hopefully back in the warmth of the Order Hall, uninjured... She wished she knew what had happened, and how she got out there in the middle of what appeared to be a frozen wasteland.

Jesse took a shuddering breath, getting up from her seat. She picked up another firelog, placing it inside the fireplace. The flames crackled, glowing embers rising up into the chimney.

Jesse sunk back down in front of the fire, wrapping the old blanket around herself. She knew she needed to prioritize other things at that moment. Take care of her injuries, maybe see if the house had any food or water, first aid even.

But all Jesse wanted at that moment, was to get some rest. Her limbs no longer freezing, the well insulated cabin now somewhat cosy.

Jesse lied down on her uninjured side, curling herself into a tiny ball beneath the blanket. Her tired eyes beginning to close. Just a nap... just a short... nap.

___

And there we have it, the bitter start to Final Days!

So far? Things are not looking their greatest, and I can tell you now that they won't for a while!

Oh boy, reading through this first chapter again certain brought back memories from when I first wrote it. I haven't read it in ages.
And even though it's one of my newer works, I already I to tweak a crap ton of stuff, because past self's writing was cringe XD

Anyhow, like always on a first chapter, I don't really have much to say. I can't wait to start hearing you guys theorise, but it's still a tad early for that, haha!

So I guess I'll see you all in five days with chapter 2!