The Snow Angel

Chapter 1



“Carol’s my name, and snow’s my game!” Carol happily thought to herself. She was outside in the newly fallen snow, brushing off her brand new car. In anyone else’s eyes, it wasn’t really new, but Carol had just bought the Jeep, so it was new and precious to her. Carol leaned back against her car for a moment to watch the sunrise, when a strange noise reached her ears. Crack! Swish! Crack! Swish! It sounded like something… or someone, was walking through the forest that surrounded her home!
After a few moments, the pounding of her heart subsided, and she turned around to finish cleaning off her car. Every so often, she would stop to listen for the crashing sound coming from the woods. With one last brush of the ice scraper, she gave a slightly satisfied smile and walked back into her garage.
Carol twisted the doorknob and leaned on the door to open it, but the door was locked. Puzzled, she went around to the front and picked up the rock that concealed her spare house key. With a small frown, she unlocked the door and stepped into her house.
Beep! Beep! Beep! “I’m coming, I’m coming!” Carol muttered to herself as the microwave that held her hot cocoa let her know that it was done heating the delicious drink up.
As she was striding carefully back to the table, she saw a shadow move around the corner. With a small gasp of horror and surprise, she set down the steaming hot cup of liquid chocolate, and picked up a knife that was lying on the counter.
Walking very softly along the narrow hallway that led upstairs, she quietly edged her way closer to the bedrooms. Suddenly a creaking noise from the basement steps made her freeze. Whirling around, she was confronted by the mysterious stranger that was inside her house.
The man facing her was tall, and rugged. His face was lined with dark stubble and he looked as if her hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep in days. What struck her most were the cool gray eyes that seemed as if they could stare directly into her soul. “Please, I just needed some food and water, and a place to sleep.” The stranger requested in a slightly Hispanic accent.
“Who are you? What are you doing in my house?” Carol demanded.
“I need….I ‘m going to….” The man trailed off, leaving his answer unfinished. Suddenly, his eyes rolled up toward the ceiling and he collapsed.
Carol, forgetting the dilemma, rushed over and caught him. She half dragged, half carried the man over to her couch and covered him up with a fuzzy, warm afghan her grandmother had made for a housewarming present.
While pondering what to do next, the phone gave a shrill ring. With a startled jump she answered it. “Hello?”
“Hi Carol darling. How are you?”
“Oh, Mom…. I’m fine. You?”
“Great. What are you doing?”
Carol thought about this for a moment, then replied, “I’m baking lunch. I really need to go Mom. Can I call you back later?”
After listening for a moment, Carol said goodbye and hung up. She began to walk back to the living room to think some more, when she heard a groan. Rushing into the room, she watched as the stranger rubbed his eyes and sat up. “What happened?” The tall man asked.
“You tell me. Now who are you and what are you doing in my house?” Carol demanded.

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This is just a personal note: I've got a story line planned out, but I need some help with other ideas. Where should I take this? How should this story end? If you have any ideas, please write to me and I'll check them out. I'm open to anything!