Snow billowed at Alex, quickly coating his flight suit in a thin layer of white powder. He stood motionless, the water bottle swung back and forth in his hand. Snow climbed up his legs like a tower on a frozen plain. He blinked rapidly, his eyes straining to see in the blinding torrent.

  His breathing quickened, and the pounding in his chest became deafening. The cold air in his lungs pierced his body like knives. With each passing moment, the dull throb in his head intensified until it felt like his mind was going to rip in two. Through the blinding snow, he could make out what appeared to be a circular room made of reddish-grey stone without a roof, with a rectangular indent in the wall in front of him.

  Metallic fixtures jutted from the walls around him, each containing a short, charred pole. Alex grabbed the zipper on his flight suit and pulled it up as far as possible. He tucked his hands in his armpits to keep them warm. The wind slashed through his face like razors, stealing every ounce of heat he had.

  He tried to step forward, but his legs buckled under him. The water bottle clattered into the snow as his hand shot out to catch himself. His breath was so deep and rapid that it could have drilled through the stone beneath him as he lay there. He grabbed the bottle and curled himself into a ball, trying to stave off the blades of wind cutting through any exposed skin.

  The sound of his breathing filled his ears. His temple was about to burst, and his heart wanted to leap from his chest. His fingers were a deep, unsettling red, and an icicle had begun to form beneath his nose. Every inch of him moved so fast that he could almost fall through the stone floor.

  Alex closed his eyes and breathed deeply. He held his breath for a moment and then slowly exhaled. The shivering subsided, and his heart no longer pounded in his ears. The cold nipped at his skin, biting hardest on his bright red ears, but the fog in his mind had cleared.

  Wind buffeted against his back, tugging against his hair and clothes. He picked up his water bottle and slowly rose to his feet. The flight cap loudly flopped back and forth in his right calf pocket as the wind tried to take it. His eyes locked on the rectangular indent in the wall.

  Alex trudged through the snow to the doorway, covering his face with his right arm. The door was made of warped wood and crossed with rusted iron bars and rivets. On the left side was a modest handle with a small lever and no keyhole. Alex reached for the handle but yanked his hand back as the icy metal touched his skin.

  Sharply exhaling, Alex shook his hand. Reaching down, he unzipped the pocket on his left thigh and pulled out his flight gloves. After slipping them on, he tightened the Velcro flaps on his cuffs.

  The mechanism emitted a sharp, rusty groan as Alex pressed his thumb on the lever and gripped the handle tightly. He steadily applied more and more pressure; the groan became louder and louder. A loud crack echoed over the wind as the lever gave way. Alex braced his free arm on the door and marched forward. The hinge screamed in protest as snow and dust fell around him. The large stone walls vibrated angrily. When the door was half-open, Alex slipped through, a torrent of snow following him.

  Alex slammed his body into the door with as much force as possible, shaking the walls around him and causing dust to leap into the air. With a final burst of strength, Alex pushed the door shut. A loud bang echoed past him as the door slammed shut and the mechanism re-engaged.

  A thunderous bang echoed around the pair, causing the young woman to flinch and grip her brown leather coat. The warm fire between them flickered as the sound faded into the soft roar of the blizzard raging outside.

  "What was that?" The young woman whispered. Her white hair and turquoise eyes glimmered in the firelight.

  The man sitting near her scanned the shadows, the orange glow of the fire flickering in his green eyes. He wore an oversized brown fur coat with white tribal markings. The light reflected off the blood-red skin on his bald head, contrasting with his thick black beard. "I not know."

  She pulled her coat tighter, "What should we do?"

  The large man knelt and slowly picked up a longsword and torch. "I investigate." His voice was low and steady, and his gaze fixed on the darkness ahead. He dipped the torch into the fire and stepped into the darkness. "You stay here."

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  Alex switched on the LED flashlight, casting its bright light through the dim corridor. The walls had the same metal fixtures and burned torches as the previous room. He walked forward cautiously, vapor rising from his mouth with every breath. A long series of bootprints pressed into a decayed red carpet marked where he had stepped.

  After several long minutes, the formerly smooth, uninterrupted featured a pair of small doorways. Peaking into the one to the left, he discovered a large set of windows covering the far wall and a massive ornate bed with a pair of nightstands to his right.

  As he walked into the room, Alex switched off his flashlight. His foot nudged a small ball hidden in the dust. Alex knelt and picked it up. It was slightly smaller than a baseball, made entirely of faded leather, and had a single seam running around it. He let it roll out of his hand as he stepped forward.

  The ball slammed into his knee and bounced into the floor with a dull thud. His brow furrowed as he frowned slightly. He knelt, picked it up, held it over his head, and dropped it again. His eyes widened as he watched it slowly fall past him and land in the dust, forming a small crater on the floor.

  Alex reached down again, raised the ball over his head, and let it go. This time, he gave it a slight spin, but it reached the ground just as slowly as before. Once more, he picked it up, but this time, he tossed it above his hand. It flew up, slowing until it stopped, then fell towards his hand. His jaw tightened as he threw it again, watching it slowly fall to his hand.

  His breath caught in his throat. He let the ball slowly fall to the ground and quickly moved to the window. He scraped out a small viewport in the frost covering the window with his flashlight, and pressed his face to the glass.

  A vast white forest stretched as far as the eye could see. To the left and right, he could barely see where the passageway connected to a larger structure dotted with the remains of several towers. Various holes were scattered across the structure's surface, most of which contained large boulders.

  His gaze wandered toward the grey clouds high above. They rolled with the torrent of snow that pummeled the castle. As he watched, they seemed to crack slightly as if the heavens were opening them up for him to see. Floating high in the brilliant blue sky was a white-grey orb like the moon, with a second one only a third its size casting a faint shadow across its surface.

  Alex's eyes widened as his jaw dropped. The flashlight fell from his hand onto the floor with a loud clunking sound. He spoke with a faint voice so quiet that the sound barely reached his ears. "Oh my god."

  The large man crouched behind one of the boulders, watching as the figure pulled away from the window. As the figure moved back inside, white light once more pierced the snowstorm.

  He moved carefully around the large stone, wind blades cutting harmlessly into his thick clothing. Tossing the faintly glowing torch onto the remains of a spiral staircase, the large man pulled himself up.

  A loud crack rang out as the stone beneath his knee crumpled and fell. The large man rapidly scrambled up the steps and hid against the wall as the sounds of falling stones echoed through the hollow structure.

  Alex turned sharply and slammed his back against the wall, cutting his flashlight beam through the shadows behind him. His heart hammered in his chest as a series of sharp, clattering sounds faded beneath him. His lip quivered as he slammed his eyes shut; a sharp, trembling noise escaped his lips. He shakily inhaled slowly through the nose and out through the mouth as he opened his eyes.

  At the end of the hall, a large arched door stood sealed with a thick wooden beam set into stone brackets. Unlike the other doors he had encountered, this one was almost entirely made of metal. Alex set his water bottle and flashlight on the bench to the left of the door and slowly walked up to it.

  Pressing his palms under the beam, he slowly lifted it and freed the wood from its iron and stone prison. He leaned the beam against the wall and grabbed the door's handles. The hinge creaked loudly as he pulled it open. The glow of the flashlight pierced a massive, dusty room. Wooden floorboards creaked with each step as he entered and slowly looked around.

  Two rows of Roman-like pillars extended down at the center of the room. Slumped against one of the pillars were skeletal remains bearing rusted Roman-like armor, a rusted halberd embedded in their chest. Five other bodies in identical armor lay on the floor between him and another door.

  Turning around, he found an ornate marble throne with a faded portrait behind it. Bolted to it with a set of rusted iron rings was a skeleton in golden plate armor. The bolts held the skeleton in a regal position, giving haunting sockets where eyes once sat a clear view of the scene before them.

  The floor creaked below Alex's feet as he walked toward the skeleton, growing louder with each step. He ignored them and stopped a few paces from the skeleton; the armor gleamed beneath the thick layer of dust that coated its surface. He slowly began to step forward, raising his foot off the ground to place it on the steps leading up to the throne.

  Sharp cracking flooded his ears; he looked down, and the floor shattered.

  "OH SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!" Alex plummeted through the floor, his grip quickly tightening on his water bottle and flashlight as he fell. He crashed through a wooden table, sending shards of wood flying around the room. His vision blurred as he stared at the hole barely illuminated by his flashlight. His chest ached as heavy eyelids slowly slid shut.