Devil’s Playground by Helena Shaw

The snow showed no signs of slowing down as it whipped and whirled through Dawn’s

hair. All her sweaters were gone, her makeshift scarf, her boots, everything.

And yet she wasn’t cold.

When she and Jase had gone out earlier, the snow had been so cold that it hurt, and it had

been even worse when they got back to the hotel and her toes and fingers started to warm up

again. The pain and itch had combined into pure agony and part of her wanted to bury them in

the hotel’s ice bucket just to alleviate the pain, but in time it had begun to subside on its own.

Maybe I’m going numb, she wondered to herself as she marched through the snow. She’d

read that was a sign of hypothermia. The body numbs itself to the cold and eventually you just

go to sleep, but never wake up.

But she wasn’t tired. She was looking for something, and she couldn’t sleep until she

found it.

She had no choice but to keep moving forward through the blowing wind. Each step was

a struggle against the constant pressure of the gale, but she couldn’t stop.

It wasn’t until she reached the park that she realized that she was completely alone.

“Jase!” Dawn called. He’d been with her a moment ago, she could have sworn it, but

now she was alone.

Entirely alone.

“Anyone?” Dawn screamed. No one was out in the freezing weather. The snow was too

much, too wet and cold, and it just kept falling.

I have to find him, Dawn’s mind raced as she moved through the park. Panic surged

through her and she kicked through the snow while it planted wet kisses with every flake that

landed on her cheeks.

But the further she went, the less the snow behaved like normal. It changed, mutated, and

when she looked up at the trees she saw they were no longer bowed and bent, but easily carrying

the weight of their loads.

“No…” Dawn muttered as she spun. The wet snow turned to dry speckles of white ash

and the wind was no longer cool on her face, but a hot blast of air.

The ash in the trees spread and grew, and without warning, it burst into red hot flames.

Smoke filled the air and Dawn knew she had no choice but to run or risk getting swallowed by

the fire.

It’s not real, she told herself as she ran. It can’t be real. It’s just a dream.

But it didn’t feel like a dream. The heat was real, the smoke in her lungs too. The hot

blasts of air stung her eyes and everything was too clear.

Ahead, she saw what just might be her salvation. A subway entrance beckoned to her and

she ran right for it.

Like the rest of the New York in her dream, she was alone when she got down the long

flight of stone stairs. She’d hoped a train would be waiting, a train that would take her out of her

dream and keep her safe, but she wouldn’t be so lucky.

As a teen, she’d loved the subway. The freedom it had given her that she hadn’t had in

her small home in New Jersey. Without the need for a car, she could just get on the train and go

anywhere she wanted to without a moment’s notice.

It would be her eighteenth birthday present to herself, or at least, that’s what she had

decided. The moment she was legally an adult, she’d be gone and she’d keep running until he

could never find her again.

Her plan had been to get some cash, get on the subway, and catch a train. With cash in

hand, she’d be able to do it all easily enough. No one could trace the cash and she’d be out of the

city before the sun rose.

It had all been worth it. The freedom she’d had on the road was better than the subway

had ever offered her. It couldn’t even compare, and now she could only hope that this time, the

train would actually lead her somewhere safe, rather than just looping around the city.

She knew she couldn’t stand there and wait for the train, not for long. Something was

outside and it was coming for her. She couldn’t risk standing still and she needed to get moving

or risk being caught.

With no train in sight, Dawn jumped down on the tracks. Even knowing it was a dream,

she avoided the third rail and debated whether to go left or right.

Right, she decided. An old bit of trivia was what kept her from going left. Sinister, that

was the old word for left, or at least that’s what she had heard. She couldn’t go the sinister way,

it was just asking for trouble.

She hadn’t made it far when behind her she heard something. Even without turning

around, she knew she was no longer alone. The soft sounds of scraping claws and heavy breath

filled her ears and when she turned, all she saw were glowing yellow eyes.

Run, her mind screamed, and she did just that. There was no hesitation, no paralysis, only

instinct as she began to run down the tunnel.