Dark And Cold

• Tia-rae Napper, Grade 10
• Short Story
• 2015

It was dark.

It was cold.

That was all he knew. It was almost like the world around his ceased to exist.

'Where am i?' He thought, his eyes trying to look around the darkness. His eyes wouldn't adjust, almost like he was blind, and he felt a panic settle in the pit of his stomach, his limbs refusing to move.

'Can someone please help me?' He screamed, the words bouncing around his head, his lips staying shut. Trying to move his arms, he became frantic in his attempts but he soon gave up, his mind too tired to keep going.

'Somebody! Help me!' He hollered, but nothing happened. Or so he thought.

He didn't notice the tingling feeling taking over his fingertips and slowly spreading up his arms. He didn't notice as it spread through his stomach, his mind focusing on trying to get out. It was only when it filled his body that he noticed it and he stopped, confusion setting in.

'Is anyone going to tell me what's happening?' He asked, knowing fully well his words wouldn't reach anyone. Laying there, the tingling slowly got hotter and hotter and soon it felt like it was burning his body, but he couldn't scream. He wouldn't.

Slowly, the burn started to simmer away in his fingertips and he flexed, surprised when his fingers responded to his comand.

'Okay. This is just weird.' He said, trying to keep his fingers moving but finding it difficult, almost as if someone was holding them down.

"Connor." A soft voice suddenly said and he stopped.

'Who was that?' He asked, the words not leaving his mouth.

"Connor, i-i can't believe it. You-you're alive." The voice said and Connor felt like punching whoever said it.

'No duh. Can you please just tell me what's going on?' He asked, but his words went unheard, the burning now just simmerimg away in his stomach.

"Please open your eyes. I need to see you." The voice said and Connor squeezed his hand, suddenly noticing something in his throat.

'I'm trying. Please just tell me what happened.' Connor tried to say, but again, his words went unheard.

"If you can hear me, listen to my voice. Follow it out of wherever you are and open your eyes. Please Connor." The voice said and Connor tried to nod, almost choking himself on whatever was down his throat.

As the voice spoke, Connor listened and followed it, almost as if he were in a maze and the voice was the exit. As he followed, the burning turned to pain, each second that passed becoming more unbearable. He couldn't give up though.

It all happened so fast after that. One moment it was darkness and the next there were colours dancing behind his eyes. Almost as if they were butterflies, his eyes fluttered open and a bright light blinded him, a blurry figure standing over him and, as the face came into view, Connor felt his mind relax.

He was home.