Ten Ways to Break a Man

Prologue

The feeling of fear made Prompto Argentum wake up from his short and uncomfortable sleep. The boy's eyes stayed shut as he came to grips with the feeling of terror that was washing through his body. It felt like he had just woken up from a bad dream. It wasn't that uncommon when he would have nightmares as a kid.

The abhorrent feeling in his gut kept him from opening his eyes. It didn't make sense, Prompto was sure that his last memories were good ones, were they? Why did he feel this way? Where was he? The questions created a metallic taste in his mouth. It became tempting to spill them out. Perhaps if he did, this metallic taste would go away along with these dreadful questions.

Even if he did decide to depand the answers to those questions, the only answer Prompto would receive was silence- an answer that would only drive his mind further incoherent.

The place that Prompto was in was silent except for the sound of his heart hammering against his ribcage so hard that it hurt. The thumping noises were like music to his ears. It was a faint echo in Prompto's ears. Before it would fade it would be interrupted by another one.

Prompto's attention was brought down to the wet plasters covering his body. His clothes were drenched in hot sweat although the room was freezing cold. His tank-top stuck to his body, Prompto fidgeted around in an attempt to make himself more comfortable.

His breaths were labored and full of distress, and when he breathed out he was sure that he would be able to see his own breath trail across the room and fade into the still air. This was the sort of fear that sat in your stomach when you realized that something was terribly wrong.

The first thing that Prompto decided to do was to control his breathing like he had been taught.

In. Out. In. Out.

It felt like it was the only thing that was keeping Prompto from hyperventilating. He never handled these scenarios that well, and he had been instructed by the prince's advisor that he needed to stay calm for whatever was thrown at him. It helped Prompto since he had anxiety that often lead to overeating and panic attacks.

But then, who wouldn't be freaking out if they woke up in a place like this with no memory of what happened before?

You're alright Prompto. He thought to himself. Everything is going to be alright.

But even then, he knew that it wasn't. Which made it all the harder for him to keep control of his breathing. What he desperately needed at the moment was to hear one of his friends voices. Then he would know that everything was okay and that all those events he had gone through had been a bad dream.

If it was a dream then he could stop himself from pondering even further on the fact that Noctis had attacked him on the train and tried to kill him. Prompto knew better than to think these things, he had noticed that Noctis wasn't himself at that time. The prince had lost his fiance and father in less than a month. It didn't stop Prompto's mind from twisting it up into little lies that drove him further towards depravity.

Once he had calmed down enough to where he could breathe without trouble, he heard a small voice that caught his attention.

"Prompto!"

Noct!

Prompto's dark blue eyes snapped open before he realized that there was nobody there. His vision was blurry at first and his dull blue eyes had to adjust to the dim light that lit the small space in front of him. The light did not reach the corners which were left murky and desolate. The young boy could tell that this light had been used for years and it was nearing the end of its usage. Before long, he would be left in darkness. The thought made him bite his lip before he turned his attention elsewhere.