Day One

“Don’t--“ She said it too late. Her eyes grew large as she saw the crack in the ice start to spread, heard the popping and the crackling noises that came with it. Aleister was the first to go down, dragged by the cold water and pulled under. She saw every single inch of his face, the surprise in his eyes that was only starting to turn into horror as he sank out of view. Then Jerry--Jerry who Izy always mocked, but who seemed to be close friends with Sasha--she watched as he couldn’t even scream before falling into the hole, swallowed by the ice. Then Wash--Wash who she barely knew but considered a hero--the large black man who seemed so stable, his shield in his hands-- Syd reached out, grasping for his hand. She was too far away. She watched as he was sucked under as well.

“Sasha, don’t--no!!” she screamed as her friend--her good friend went under as well. Syd raced forward, scrambling across the ice, reaching for Sasha’s hand--her fingers touched the other girl’s, brushing for just the briefest second. She saw the confused expression that Sasha had worn for the entire journey change, twisting into one of horror-- And then she was under the ice. Syd could see her face through the ice, the look of fear in her eyes. Syd slammed her hand down on it, trying to breath through, trying to get to the other girl--

And she woke up. For a moment she sat there, her heart pounding in her chest, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Day Two

“Not that way,” Syd said, holding up a hand and pointing. “There’s thin ice there. We need to go this way,” she told them, starting around the area where she had seen them all die. If they could just get past that, they would be home free. The dream had been a portent of the future--a way of showing her how she could save them--

The ground in front of them shifted, the snow rising like a fountain spewing over and hitting them all in the face. Syd barely managed to wipe it away before she saw the sharp, icy tentacle rising from the ground. She watched in horror as it slammed down on Wash, crushing him in front of her eyes. Wildly she brought up her crossbow, raining shots down on it, only to be ignored as it went after Aleister next. The tentacle wrapped around the blond death hunter’s body, tightening quickly--he barely managed to scream before his back was broken. His head fell to the side in an awkward angle, tongue hanging from his mouth. Tears were streaming down her face as she watched her friend die.

Jerry went next, shooting the tentacle with his bazooka only to be slapped hard by the tentacle. It was almost in slow motion that she watched the thin man’s neck break with the impact. There was only Sasha and her left. Syd raised her crossbow again, shooting as much as she could, racing towards Sasha--

The tentacle wrapped around the other girl’s body, hauling her off the ground. It tangled in her limbs and held her far too intimately-- “NOOO!!” Syd screamed, bringing up Izy once again and firing as quickly as she could. She saw Sasha’s face, a scared expression even as the life hunter struggled to get free--

Then the tentacle went under the snow again, disappearing from view--and taking Sasha with it. Syd raced to the hole that had been left behind, staring down into the blackness for a moment before jumping in.

And waking up in a cold sweat. She took a deep breath, then another, trying to calm her heart down. That had been--it had to have been another warning dream, she thought.

Day Three

She had to do something, Syd thought as they started trudging through the snow. They were just going to die again. A bloodier, more violent death than the last one. She couldn’t figure out what the dreams had meant, though. There was something she was missing--something connecting each of the deaths--maybe someone that--

It was her. It had to be her. Somehow this was all her fault. She didn’t know how, or why, but it was her fault. She couldn’t let them die again, not like they had before, she couldn’t leave Sasha at the whims of the tentacle, either. So--so what did she do? If it was her fault--there had to be something she could do to stop the others from dying. Maybe--Maybe if she went first, if she was the first to die, the others would get the chance to escape. It was a narrow shot, but one she would take, she thought as she headed forward. She stepped onto the ice that she knew was too thin, turning to look at the others as she felt it crack under her feet--

And she woke up in a cold sweat.

((WC: 884 +3 pts))