Paranormal Predicament

Chapter 1: Cold

 The morning was cold, and snow was falling lightly on the ground. I opened my eyes and shivered. It was obviously late morning, as was evident by the sun's position, barely visible in the gray skies. It would have been a beautiful scene, if not for the questions that were now burning in my mind.

 Where was I? How had I gotten here? How much time had passed? How had I lost consciousness? Between the sudden cold and my general confusion, nothing was making any sense. One thing, however, became abundantly clear: I was not equipped for these temperatures. I was wearing a t-shirt and jeans with a pair of tennis shoes. I must not have been expecting to be thrown into cold weather, since I didn't even have a light jacket on hand. With a sudden jolt of fear, I realized that if I didn't find shelter soon, I would most likely freeze to death.

 However, as I attempted to stand, I began to realize that this task was going to be much more difficult than I had originally thought. My limbs had already gone numb, so walking across the snow-covered ground was taking more energy than it probably should have been. I had been walking for about 20 minutes, and I still was no closer to finding shelter. It didn't help that the snow had picked up, obscuring my vision as it now swirled around me. I was on the verge of collapsing.

 I had been walking along the roads, trying to find a house with residents that would be willing to help me, but to no avail. At every house I had stopped, not a single person had answered their door. Suddenly, I saw something that gave me a sliver of hope. I turned my head to get a better look. I saw a large house in the distance, lights shining through the windows and two cars parked in the driveway. But the thing that gave me the most amount of hope was the front porch of the house. There was a roof above it, so very little snow had fallen on it. It wasn't my ideal location, but I thought I could sit and rest there if no one answered the door. I figured it would be slightly warmer, at least.

 I stumbled to the front door and tried to knock, but I had so little strength left that it was much too weak for anyone but me to hear. So I reached for the doorbell and rang it instead. I waited for a moment, but no one came. I waited until I physically couldn't stand any longer. I moved to an empty spot on the porch and slid down against the wall. I decided that I would rest here for a while, then I would try to keep moving. I felt my eyes slowly starting to close. I couldn't fight it, I was so exhausted. I had just begun to drift off into sleep when I heard the faint sound of a door opening. I desperately wanted to see what was happening, but I had almost nothing left. I instead simply laid back as sleep took me deeper into its grasp.

 Just then, I heard the sound of muffled voices. All feeling that I had left in my body went to my stomach as it dropped in despair. I hadn't waited long enough. Now I was stuck sitting on the other end of the front porch, where they might not even think to look. I had just missed my chance at finding help.

 "Dude, look over here!" These words, muffled as they were, pierced through my thoughts. My heart took a daring leap.

 "Oh my God," another voice exclaimed. Were the voices actually getting closer, or was I only hallucinating? I opened my mouth in an attempt to speak. "Help." It was barely a whisper. I wondered for a moment if anyone had even heard me. I tried to speak again, to open my eyes, to do anything at all. But at that instant, I ran completely out of strength. I was plunged deeper into darkness, and everything went quiet.