A frozen hell.
White. Blinding. Still.
Bodies were everywhere—preserved in mid-motion, mid-scream, mid-plea.
The temperature display blinked in harsh red letters:
-42°C
My breath hitched.
Then I saw her.
“Elena—!”
She was slumped against the far wall.
Frozen.
Her head tilted slightly, lips parted in a silent scream.
Teeth bared in a grimace that didn’t belong to life.
Her skin—pale as marble—had taken on a blue-black tint at the edges.
Frost clung to her lashes, to her hair, to every fold of her dress.
Between her thighs lay a dark, frozen pool of blood, stark against the icy floor.
And something else—something far too small.
My heart stopped.
The world narrowed.
“No... no—no—no—”
I dropped to my knees beside her, my legs trembling.
“Elena!”
I reached down and gently nudged her shoulder with my hand, then shifted my weight to press the tip of my boot against her side for extra leverage.
Nothing.
No movement.
No breath.
No response.
“Elena—fuck—Elena, wake up!”
My voice broke.
Shattered.
I forced my gaze downward again, hands trembling as understanding clawed its way into my chest.
