THE COLD

”     Its so cold in here” a sad shakey voice echoes in the chamber. The pale purple face has a single tear run from the side of its eye but only makes it half way down the its cheek before its frozen in place. “I’m scared. I’ve been frightened for a long time now but all of this….this really scares me”. The sad voice beings to gently sob. The sobbing echoes in the chamber. The sad voice whispers to itself “Am I going to die in here?”

    Below the sobbing was a soft spoken voice that spoke up “No…..probably not”. The soft voice looked at the others around him with a saddend expression. The soft voice looks at the frozen tear on the light purple face, thats now motionless and holding an expression of dread. “We have been here for quite some time and still alive” said the soft voice. “How long?” replied the sad voice. A skinny sounding voice from the opposite corner of the chamber echoed out “A year…maybe a year and a half, give or take….hard to tell time in here”

      The sad voice, feeling the weight of impending doom upon it, looks around the room and fixates its saddened eyes on the odd pink marbled walls. “What are these walls made of? Some kind of pink stone? Could….could you maybe break through it?”. A silence fell upon the room. Then a shrill voice near the middle of the room gently said “….No…Its not Possible”

    The soft voice spoke up “I believe I’m familiar with the material on the walls. I can feel it radiating energy. I think its a ice wurm heart”. Around the room the softer voices all nodded their heads in agreement. “The ice wurms, even in death, their heart still lives on”. The sad voice cleared its throat “But, that would be a very very large heart wouldnt it!? To fill a chambers walls this size with the flesh of a wur..”. The sad voice was interrupted by  shy sounding voice “Who were the others you were with before you came here?”

     The sad voices facial expression went blank and for a moment, silence once again fell over the room. “How did you know I was with a group?” echoed the sad voice. Below, the softer sounding voices all gave each other looks. “I didnt know them, but, they were already there when I was captured. We…we all looked to be about the same age. I think I was the last added to the group”. A soft sweet sounding voice at the front of the chamber whispered to the cold sadened voice “Its ok my dear, you are ok with us, we are all here with you”. The sweet sounding voice coaxed the sadened face to speak further. 

    “My name is Pondro, I….I was the apprentice of Lord Golian”. Toward the back of the room a senial voice pips up “Were you Anarian my boy? I’m familiar with Lord Golian and organized tournaments with  some of the thunder mages of his circle”. The senial voice was met by hisses and frustration from the others around him “WeRe!?, wErE!?, WERE!?”. The sad voice paused “Yeah…..yes I’m Anarian”. The cold pale face ponders for a bit and looks around the room infront of him. 

    The soft spoken voice enters the conversation again “Its nice to meet you Pondro, I’m Sundermere. Where was the last place you remember being before here?”. Pondros face once again overcome with a sadened facial expression. “I only recall bits and pieces of being with a group of other kids. It was dark but there was a wonderful smell. I couldnt speak to the others for some reason, they didnt talk either. I do recall being hungry for a bit. I saw mostly Leen children. No other Anarians but there was….was a goblin girl, wearing a pumpkin Mask….”. Pondro is interrupted again by the senial voice “Have you any idea who captured you boy?”. “I dont know” replied Pondro. 

    The voices below Pondro all became heated after his reply. Their conversations and discussion began to fill the room with noise. Pondro, uncomfortable with all the noise, began feeling stiff in his arms and legs. “I cant turn my head, I think my neck might be injured, could you help me maybe sit up so I can stretch?”. The noise below Pondro dissapated and the chamber was once again silent. 

    Sundermere, in a calm voice spoke up “Pondro, perhaps its best if I speek to you directly”. Pondro looked confused because he had been speaking directly to Sundermere and the other voices this whole time. Suddenly Pondro felt rumbling movement below him. He heard some movement from just behind his head. Then, right before his eyes, rolled a dark red cube with the tiniest black dots for eyes and little mouth. 

    This blew the lid off of Pondros anxiety and he spun into a panic. “Wha…..What are you!?!??” Pondro screeched out followed by heavy breaths.

    Sundermere solemnly looked at Pondros anxious face “I dont know what you were expecting, but I know this was not it”. Another rumbling of movement from below and then a few more dark red cubes rolled over next to Sundermere red cube body. Pondros mind racing “You…you all are ice cubes?” . A look of dissapointment was shared between the red cubes next to Sundermere. “Pondro, I need you to see something” and Sundermere moved closer to Pondros face. Then he and the other red cubes moved their cubed bodies like gears rotating and lifting Pondro from the frozen red ice cube floor he had been resting on.

     “Give him a moment” whispered the sweet sounding voice to Sundermere. Pondro now sitting up and facing what had been sitting behind him the whole time. “What…is this?….what are those?….WAIT!!!!” Pondros breath now heaving. “WHERE AM I!?!?!? WHERE THE HELL AM I!?!?! OH MY GODS! IS  THIS THEM!?!?! IS IT!?!? THE OTHERS!?!?”.  Unhinged crying followed by tears flowing from Pondros eyes. All freezing on his cheek before they hit the pink marbled flesh floor below. 

   Infront of Pondros view were seven light purple colored ice pops, each with a face. A face complete with nose, mouth, eyes and lips. Still in a slumbered state, they lay resting on their side, all in a neat row. Pondro, in the very front of that neat row. Beneath each light purple ice pop, were many deep red cubes of ice, all of which belonged to the different voices that had been speaking to him. 

    The horror and realisation setting in now for Pondro. In a soft defeated voice “We were just kids….and now…none of us have bodies. Why? Why do this to us?”. The mouth on Pondros pale purple face just drooped open acompanied by a set of tired eyes. Sundermere and a few of the other dark red cubes all rolled into Pondros direct view. “Its alot to take in, especially for a child, I know. Even for us wizards….we….are not 100% how we ended up here, in this, chest. We are certain that, the reason we are here, is to keep you intact during whatever journey this chest is making. Only the inside of this chest can we speak on, but to have it lined with a Frost Wurms Heart…is no simple craft nor easy gather.” Sundermere was about to continue talking when he notices Pondros eyes close. Sundermere instructs the other cubes to return Pondro back to his resting state with the other ice pops. 

    “Those poor children, their spirit and body bound to a ice pop for gods know what. Not that we are any better off…” says the sweet sounding voice to Sundermere. “Their fate is sealed, for some nefarious purpose. Its easier for vile beings to consume a simple ice pop instead of looking into the eyes of a child when they cut its throat or listen to its screams from being consumed alive….*SIGH*…atleast we know they dont intend to eat us…for now”. Sundermere takes another moment to look over Pondros ice pop form before rolling back to the bottom of the chest and finds a spot to rest next to the other bloodied ice cubes.