The Wasteland spread open before Lacey where she stood at the edge of the forest. It was still flat and vast, but today the crisp whiteness lay muted underneath the greying cloud cover building in the sky. The ripples along the flat plane of snow also looked a bit more pronounced since the last time she’d seen it on the day she and Peter had performed their search.

  She believed she’d found the stretch where Jinxy would’ve entered it. At that point of the Forest March trail, the land formed a gentle curve that provided a natural lead-in from the edge of the forest into the Wasteland landscape. It was already almost twice as far in as the point where she and Peter had concluded their search, running for safety when they heard the abominable snowman in the distance.

  Following the curve, it opened up onto the Wasteland, almost like a waterslide tossing someone into a wide-open pool. The village lay on her left, the smoke from the cottages reaching up into the sky like so many grey beacons. In the distance, on her right, the Cliffs of Polar Dawn stretched up to the sky. That was the name of the mountain range she and Peter had seen the avalanche drop from, and that’s where she suspected Jinxy would’ve headed.

  The beginnings of the Wasteland, where she stood, was flat and featureless. Boring, for an elf like Jinxy. She would’ve sought the adventure of the mountains, where new and unexpected things lurked, and where she might just have run in to the abominable snowman as well.

  Lacey began to walk, studying the snow for dimpled signs of a track of footprints, like Peter had taught her. She estimated it would take her about an hour to reach the Cliffs, then she could probably spend a half hour or so exploring, leaving another hour and a half for her return to the village. Three hours in total, and she’d be back before snow began to fall.

  It would be great if she found Jinxy, but, barring that, even just signs of her passage would already be enough to get another search team going.

  She’d covered about half the distance to the mountains, when she saw the first dimples. Her breath caught in her throat. Could it be? She walked over to study the dimples more closely. They were definitely there, but they didn’t make a line like a track of walking footprints would. Were these dimples made by Jinxy? Or, maybe she stood around here for a while, resting or something.

  Either way, it was something. The fact that there was something at all, confirmed that she was on the right route. She kicked the snow around it a bit, uncovering the ground to see if there was anything beneath. There wasn’t, so she adjusted her backpack and began walking again.

  She’d covered about the same amount of distance again, going forward, when the first little petal of worry began to unfurl in her chest. It was taking much longer to reach the first foothills of the mountains than she’d anticipated at the outset. Maybe it’s better to turn back now? a soft voice inside her wondered, pressing a gentle finger of pressure against her spine.

  Stopping to shift the weight of her backpack, she considered. Maybe, but she’d made so much progress. It would be a shame to turn back right before she found something. Looking back towards the village, she was surprised at how hazy it had become. She frowned, looking up. Even though it wasn’t dusk yet, the clouds had grown darker, casting the landscape in deeper shadow.

  She couldn’t continue much longer. She looked uneasily towards the foothills again, and reached a decision. The first foothill. She would climb it, see what she could spot from that vantage point, and then return. Even though the visibility had deteriorated a bit, she didn’t feel worry about getting lost yet. All she had to do was head away from the mountains and then keep them on her left. That would lead her back to the forest and from there she could find the village. Besides, the plain was so flat and her footsteps had left a deep trail she could easily follow back even if the landscape became obscured.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Setting out again, she kept Jinxy front of mind, as she kept searching the snow for little hollows. It was becoming harder to see variations in the crust in the greying gloom.

  She could find Jinxy, she was sure of it. And when she did, the village would realise and appreciate her unique skillset, and she would’ve proven herself to Peter. Then, she could really help him going forward, if there were any mysteries again.

  Besides, Santa had trust in her. That’s why he brought her from Earth exactly to find Jinxy before anyone even knew that she was going to go missing.

  She reached, and climbed the first hill, only to realise that there was a higher one obstructing her line of sight. It wasn’t that much further. This is the last one, she promised herself.

  Her pack was becoming heavy, and this incline was much steeper than the previous one. She huffed as she walked, feeling the cold air clinging to her cheeks. It was becoming colder, but she was almost done.

  She stopped, considering whether she should lay down her pack and continue without it. She was going to come right back, after all. Lifting her head to look up at the top of this hill, a tendril of fear reached out to curl around her spine.

  The greyness of the sky had sagged down, and was now seeping into the air. It wasn’t a question anymore, she needed to turn back immediately. No one should’ve noticed her absence yet, and she could return without explanation of this failed attempt.

  For a moment her legs felt shaky, but then steadied as she began to move again. She turned around, retracing her steps back to the smaller hill. Something cold and moist fell on her cheek, then melted away. Little fluffs of snow were gently sifting down over the landscape. She increased her pace as much as her legs could manage.

  Cresting the top of the first hill again felt like a victory. She’d be all right, now that she could see the village and walk straight towards it. But, when she looked towards the village she couldn’t see it at all. She couldn’t see much in any direction, the greying weather casting a blanket over her that obscured vision more than a few meters out.

  She took a deep deliberate breath, the cold air prickling into her lungs. It didn’t matter. She was still okay. All she had to do was keep following the deep tracks she had trod on her way out here, and she’d get safely back to the village.

  She set off again, now seriously considering whether she should drop the backpack and just run. However, her sense of self-preservation kicked in. No, it flat out refused. We need this backpack. She kept it, clinging to the straps as she shuffled forward through the snow as fast as she could, not caring about taking deliberate steps anymore.

  Fear had now embedded itself into her limbs. It had grown steadily darker, the snow falling thicker. What she had thought were her tracks, unexpectedly fizzled out, disappearing into the new layers of falling snow. She had no idea where she was in relation to anything else. Was she still heading towards the village? She didn’t know.

  A part of her whispered that she needed to stop walking and take a moment to think, but it felt like someone else was controlling her limbs. It drove her forward, under the primal reasoning that movement was progress. Until she stepped, and suddenly the ground wasn’t where she expected. She stumbled, her momentum pushing her forward to fall on her hands and knees.

  For a moment she stayed as she was, before fighting the weight of the backpack to get back up onto her feet. She couldn’t keep blindly running. Next she might run off a cliff before she even realised it was there.

  The heavens opened, now seemingly dumping all the snow out at once. She could hardly see a ruler’s length in front of her. I need a place to shelter, she realised.

  Slowly she began to stumble forward again, searching for any change in the landscape that could help. An overhanging rock. A corner in the cliff face, protecting her from the wind. A snowdrift wall she could burrow into. Anything.

  But it just kept getting darker, as her fear rose. Her heart was now racing, fear of death fuelling her movements, and somehow also providing cold clarity. If she didn’t find something, she would die out here. Her steps became more desperate, as she searched for contours in the dark.

  Finally the realisation came. She wasn’t finding anything. She could hardly feel her limbs anymore, it was so cold. She couldn’t keep going anymore. Stopping, she slid down to her knees in the snow. Maybe she could burrow in here, right where she was? It might be enough to give her at least a little protection in the stormy dark. She leaned forward, scraping into the snow with her numb hands.

  ‘Lacey!’ Peter’s voice rang out, muffled by the storm.

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