The Counterfeit

seven

Jasmine scrambled to her feet, kicking the snow around as she did. Her expression was nothing short of astonished as she gazed around at the stretch of pure white land. The horizon wasn't visible.

As Jasmine was still processing the change in climate, she heard faint voices not a mile away. She knew the voices were her friends. But she couldn't seem to register what they were shouting.

She spotted them, small thin silhouettes in the distance and they looked panicky as they began to run towards Jasmine. Jasmine squinted and she could now tell who was who. Their voices became more audible as they neared her, but Jasmine could only make out the odd word.

"Move!"
"Look out!"
"Behind..." Before the sentence could be finished, Jasmine smashed face first back into the snow, the cold shooting through her body like an electric shock. She gasped at the unexpected move, but didn't struggle when she felt the cool metal end of a blade against the back of her neck.

This situation was becoming more and more familiar to Jasmine.

"How did you change the realm?" Spat the boy whom tripped Jasmine earlier.
"I don't--"
"How did you do it!" He shouted, infuriated. Jasmine had no idea how she'd gotten here in the first place, let alone how to change realms or whatever they're called.

When she didn't answer, the blade was pressed harder against her neck and in that moment, Jasmine wished for nothing more than to let the hot tears forming in her eyes fall without humiliation.

She'd been in this position one too many times now and she'd only arrived around a week ago. Where was the humanity?

"Hey! Get the fuck away from her!" Izzabeth snapped, her voice crystal clear, before kicking the boy square in the jaw. He yelped in agony whilst falling onto his back in the snow, clutching his face and groaning.

Jasmine felt two pairs of hands help her up. Through her glassy eyes, she perceived the two familiar faces of Hannah and Adam, both of them panic-stricken.

"Are you okay? Oh my god," Hannah spoke so quietly it was almost a whisper. Jasmine tried to nod to give her some form of answer, but her whole body was so numb she could scarcely move. Maybe it was the cold, maybe it was the fact that all she wanted to do was cry. She couldn't tell. It were as if her brain had froze and her body had mimicked it.

Adam appeared to catch on that Jasmine just couldn't do anything right then and so he put his arm around her shoulders and gave her the support she needed.

"You son of a bitch!" Izzabeth yelled, picking the boy up by his collar. A wave of surprise washed over Hannah, Jasmine and Adam as they watched her do this. The boy was rather hefty and didn't appear to be the lightest. So how on earth did she manage to just lift him up like that?

"Just because Trixie said to follow us, doesn't mean you have to go around cutting people's heads off!" Izzabeth vented before slapping the boy with a great deal of force across the face.

"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry, I really am! Please just stop!" He pleaded, his cheeks as red as tomatoes.
"Urm, Izz? I think he means it." Adam chimed in. He knew the boy wasn't playing around now. Izzabeth squinted her eyes at the boy and hesitated before dropping the grip on his collar.
"Fine. But I don't trust you on any level, you hear me?"

"I hear you."
"Good. Then let's get out of here."
"What? Izz, we can't just leave him here." Hannah gestured towards the boy who was fixing his tee. Izzabeth pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows.
"Yes we can and I intend on doing so."

"No." Jasmine said quietly.
"Excuse me?"
"I said no." She stepped away from Adam and approached Izzabeth wearily. "Hannah's right. He's coming with us."

Izzabeth was dumbfounded. Her jaw hung open in astonishment not at all seeing how Jasmine could be saying any of this.
"Are you insane?! He just tried to kill you! Or did you miss that?" Jasmine shook her head.
"He'll freeze."
"And so will we if we waste our time debating whether or not he can follow us. He wants to kill you Jasmine. Surely you don't want a phsyco following your every move."

"Hey! I'm not psychotic alright?"
"You sure about that?" Jasmine ignored both of them and instead wandered over to the abandoned knife. She picked it up, the handle wet due to the melted snow, and slid it into a pocket in her trousers.

"Do you have any other weaponry?" She interrupted the boy's quarrel with Izzabeth. He eyed her suspiciously, hesitating.
"No. Just the knife."
"Great then let's go. I'd rather die anywhere but in the snow."

With that, Jasmine brushed past the boy and headed in the direction she thought to be north.
"Jasmine, where are you going?" Hannah called from behind her.
"North."
"How do you know that?"

Jasmine shrugged.
"Got any better ideas?" Silence.
"We should go with her. It's better to keep moving than just stay out here in the middle of nowhere." Adam said to Hannah.

She hesitated at first, doubting Jasmine's navigating skills. But what other choice did they have?

-

The only audible sound was the crunching of snow beneath the group's boots. No one had spoken a word for a while. Probably because they were all trying to keep their breathing at a steady pace and believe it or not, it was much harder to do in cold air.

As they'd trekked, the wind had picked up rapidly making it ten times colder than it was when they arrived. Jasmine shivered violently. Her jacket just wasn't thick enough to provide her with the warmth she needed. And she knew the others were struggling with the same problem.

"This is crazy." Hannah shouted through the howling wind, squinting her eyes to avoid getting snowflakes in them. Jasmine heard her, but didn't respond. She didn't know what to say. Hannah was right, this was crazy. But they had no food, no water, no shelter, no warm clothes. Nothing except the company of each other.

"Hey! Do you guys see that?" Izzabeth called, pointing ahead of her. Jasmine could see it. The faint, yellow orbs of light. White canvases. Put out fires. This must mean civilisation.

Without a second thought, Jasmine sped up her pace. She quickened it with every few steps she took, trying to ignore the clusters of snowflakes that were pummelling towards her.
"Hey! Hello?! Anyone!"

The others copied Jasmine and also began shouting for help. They yelled and yelled until their throats were raw and croaky. All of a sudden, a small, plump female-like figure popped out of one of the white canvases.

Jasmine had never felt so relieved and she thought she may collapse right on the spot.
"Please! Over here!" They were only metres away now. Jasmine dashed through the snow as fast as her legs would carry her, Hannah hot on her heels.

When they reached what appeared to be a campsite, Jasmine stopped in front of the woman who pointed to a nearby tent, signalling for them to enter it. Without any questions or reasoning the group obeyed the woman's order and entered the white tent one by one out of the blithering ice-cold storm.