The next shift hit harder than the last, the cold snapping at my skin like icy fangs. I curled into a tighter ball, shivering violently, my breath coming in short, visible puffs. Across the room, the girl was doing the same, her arms wrapped around her knees as she rocked slightly to stay warm.
I watched her for a moment, debating whether to speak. Her defiance earlier had painted her as tough, but now she looked just as vulnerable as I felt.
“Hey,” I croaked, my voice barely audible over the hum of the air vents.
She glanced up, her lips trembling from the cold. “What?”
“We’ll freeze to death like this,” I said through chattering teeth.
She raised an eyebrow. “What do you suggest? There’s no way out, in case you haven’t noticed.”
“I’m not talking about escape,” I said. “We need to share body heat. It’s the only way we’re going to survive this.”
Her eyes narrowed in suspicion, but she didn’t dismiss the idea outright. “You’re serious?”
“You think I’m trying to make a move in here?” I shot back, frustration creeping into my tone. “It’s basic survival. Your call, though.”
She hesitated, glancing at the frost forming on the walls, then at me. Finally, she sighed and crawled closer, her movements slow and deliberate as if weighing every second of trust.
“This doesn’t mean I like you,” she muttered as she settled beside me.
“Noted,” I said, sitting upright to let her lean against my side. The contact was awkward at first, but as the minutes passed and the warmth started to return, neither of us seemed to care.
“What’s your name?” I asked after a long silence.
“Chloe,” she replied, her voice still guarded.
“Liam,” I offered.
“I know who you are,” she said, her tone softening slightly. “The infamous emerald thief.”
I sighed. “I didn’t steal it.”
“Sure,” she said, but there was no malice in her tone this time—just exhaustion.
The heat returned with a vengeance, turning the metal walls into searing plates. We quickly pulled apart, our combined warmth now unbearable in the rising temperature.
“I can’t take much more of this,” Chloe said, wiping sweat from her brow.
“You’ve been here longer than me,” I said. “How do you keep going?”
She gave a dry laugh. “You don’t. You just... exist. Surviving is the only thing left to do.”
“Not for me,” I said firmly. “I have to get out of here.”
She glanced at me, her expression unreadable. “You’re not the first to think that. This place kills hope, Liam. If you hold onto it too tightly, it’ll destroy you.”
“Well, I don’t have much else to hold onto,” I said, clenching my fists.
She looked at me for a long moment before nodding slightly. “Maybe that’s why you’re still fighting.”
As the hours dragged on, the shifts between heat and cold became more frequent, as if the room itself was alive and toying with us. We barely spoke, each of us retreating into our own minds, but the brief moments of shared warmth during the freezing cycles became a small comfort in the endless torment.
When the next freezing shift hit, Chloe crawled closer again without hesitation, and this time, the silence between us wasn’t so heavy.
“We need a plan,” I said quietly.
She didn’t respond right away, her head resting lightly against my shoulder. “There’s no plan to beat this room, Liam.”
“Not for the room,” I said. “For getting out of Nowhere.”
She pulled back slightly to look at me, her eyes sharp despite the exhaustion. “You’re serious?”
“Dead serious,” I said. “This place wants to break us, but it’s not going to win. Not with me. And not with you.”
For the first time, her lips curved into the faintest hint of a smile.
“You’re either the dumbest person I’ve met,” she said, “or the bravest.”
“Maybe both,” I said, grinning despite the freezing air.
“Alright, Liam,” she said, her voice gaining a flicker of determination. “If you’re going to fight, I’ll fight with you. But we’re going to need more than just hope to pull this off.”
“Then let’s start planning,” I said.
Together, huddled against the unbearable cold, we began to share ideas, tiny sparks of resistance igniting in the dark, oppressive chamber.
YOU ARE READING
THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE
Mystery / ThrillerPERSECUTED FOR A CRIME HE DIDN'T COMMIT PAYING FOR THE SINS DONE BY OTHERS NOW HE HAS GOT TO ESCAPE THE DEATHTRAP KNOWN AS NOWHERE...... HE HAS 365 DAYS LEFT BEFORE HE IS KILLED HE HAS GOT TO GET OUT OF NOWHERE ISLAND IN THE END WILL HE MAKE IT OU...
