18. Icy despair
eighteen
Icy despair
EWAN
All I know is icy despair, and I can barely stay conscious.
Through the fog of frigid numbness, I see glimpses of the outside world, of the reality beyond my open eyelids. I’m walking down a dark street, cobblestones under my feet, but I’m also not. This body isn’t mine anymore.
Some time ago I remember walking by James as he coughed blood and struggled to call my name. I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t help him. Lana and Shirley were there too, but they were shrouded in shadows.
I think I’m dead. Because what else could this cold be but the end of my short life? And yet, death hasn’t freed me from my torment. I hurt and I feel everything. I’m drowning.
Please, make it stop.
“Quiet,” says a voice. My voice.
The icy grip of death tightens around me, and let out a silent scream until oblivion is all I know.