Part: 1

“It’s so cold!” I shivered, rubbing my hands together, trying to warm myself up. I wanted out of this place, I wanted nothing more than to warm up. It hurts! Everything hurts! My mind shouted.

Taking each step at a time through the never ending darkness, I felt a hopelessness so deep, that it drowned me into numbness as I wondered aimlessly around, trying to find that spark. Hugging myself as the pain of the cold shivered throughout my bones, but too tired to continue, I sat down for a brief second. The cold only grew more intense and painful the longer I sat. I knew it wouldn’t last long but it was a well deserved rest.

Sighing, I got up and marched on when someone cried out in front of me, forcing me to stop and look up. A glowing silhouette of a person sat before me, cradled up like a child as they rubbed desperately at their skin. I thought back to when I had first arrived here, who knows how long ago that was, but all of us tried huddling together once. I shook my head, It was worse than any blizzard I could have possibly imagine, even worse than dry ice. Immediately I walked away, leaving them to their own sorrows. I soon stopped amidst my tracks when the darkness before me was even more opaque than usual. A shadow of tentacles swiveled out from it and I knew that I had messed up and landed in the darker zone.

Shoot! I thought. I thought I was careful. With no time to think, I pivoted around and pushed my aching and tired legs to run. The sound of the very fabric of time and space being torn was something I could never get used to and whatever that thing did to people like us was something I never wanted to find out. Something whooshed passed me, leaving my ear to ring as the sound of deep waves rushed with it. Running did help keep the cold at bay and warmed me up, but unfortunately I couldn’t run forever. My lungs began to burn and ache and my legs were on the verge of buckling.

Hearing the cries of the person I had passed not too long ago, I shouted at them “Run!” Although it was pointless, I hoped that maybe I could still save them before it was too late. This place is very strange, for some reason no one here speaks the same language and it doesn’t matter how long anyone has been here, no one here will ever understand the language another person is speaking. It was like a barrier we couldn’t break. Even though it was useless, I continued screaming hoping to gain some attention, but they were stuck in a trance, rocking back and forth, locked in a world I couldn’t enter. Something snapped violently to my right and out of reflex I tucked and rolled to my left. My heart ached as I watched helplessly as the person I tried to help looked up. Fear was etched into their eyes, They tried to run away but it was already too late. I bit my lip and turned away, unable to watch what was to come next. Their screams pierced this empty space but also disappeared just as quickly. Once that thing finally collected a target, it would disappear to who knows where.

Heaving a sigh, I laid onto the ground. Staring up into the void, I closed my eyes. No matter how long I’ve been here, seeing that has still never been an easy pill to swallow. Letting my mind drift from that awful scene, I began to reminisce about the crystal blue skies, the beautiful warmth of the sun and the wind that blew gently through my hair. I thought about the life I once had and frowned. If only I had…

My thoughts were interrupted by the piercing cold that slammed into my body. Trying to ignore it so I could rest, only made the cold worse. Frustrated, I got up and continued my treacherous walk. Rubbing at my skin and wondering aimlessly once again, letting my mind go blank, I drifted into myself, it was the only way I could think of to stay sane.