A Not-So Haunted Heart

Prologue

- im back to writing for a hat in time. yes. hello. this time, im doing x oc, not x reader. yay -

It was cold.

Freezing cold.

Ether had lost all track of time. He had no idea how long ago he'd been shut in here. The door was still stuck shut, or, well, it hadn't budged when he tried to open it with force.

He gave up when his hands went numb from the cold.

Huddled in the corner, exhausted and wrapped in his cloak, Ether had a horrible feeling that this was it. He was going to die, freezing to death in the Cook Mafia's freezer. He had no way to shield himself from the cold. The only items in this awful room were shelves, frozen fish, ice and snow. He was doomed.

He should never have come here. His family was right. He should have stayed at home, working random day jobs, instead of going off to explore the world.

It was a stupid idea, and now he was going to die.

He pulled his cloak tighter around himself. It didn't do much to help against the cold, but it at least gave him a slight feeling of content. He clumsily fingered the fabric, though he'd lost all feeling in his fingers, and it didn't calm him like it usually did.

He exhaled heavily, a puff of warm air escaping his mouth in the process.

He squeezed his eyes shut. How long had it been? Half an hour? It felt like much, much longer... he had to be close to death by now, and... how long did it take to freeze to death..? He should know this... and yet, he couldn't recall the information.

He opened his eyes again, his movements sluggish. He would really succumb to hypothermia or frostbite...

There was a tiny vent at the top of the wall across from him that was letting more cool air in. If he'd noticed it earlier, he could have blocked it off... which might have prolonged his suffering for a little longer, and maybe given him a chance at survival. But he could barely muster the energy nor willpower to keep his eyes open, let alone resist leaning against the metal wall. The small part of his brain that was still functioning told him that would just make him even colder.

But as more time went on he couldn't keep his crouch from fatigue, and he sank to the icy ground, falling against the wall. His eyes closed again.

For the last time in his life, Ether fell unconscious.

- yes death in the prologue is necessary -