It's a Big World After All

Prologue

Cold.

That one word was all that lingered, blinding her thoughts, making its way deep into her core, penetrating her bones. She could no longer think, no longer feel. The world was becoming a dark, cold void.

The burning in her chest was now just a dull, cool pain. Was she still breathing? It didn't feel like it, but she must be...

She felt him moving above her. She thought he might be speaking to her, but all she could hear were muffled whispers. She couldn't move. She couldn't speak.

Her body felt frozen. She could feel ice, a layer of sharp crystals on her skin. Shadows swirled behind closed eyelids. This was it.

They say that, before you die, your whole life flashes before you.

But all Ravyn could focus on was the cold. The cold which was slowly... finally... slipping away. Joining the shadows; a terrifying yet peaceful dance.

The cold, the shadows... They were almost gone. That dark void of nothing seemed so peaceful and inviting.

Suddenly, the dullness was pierced by something sharp. Ravyn felt like shards of glass had penetrated her throat, and were being pushed down, deep into her heart. This new pain was cold, but different to that cool pain of before... This pain was sharp, icy.

She wanted to scream. To cry out in pain, to reach up and pull those icy shards from within her. But she couldn't move.

The sharp pain seemed to invade her entire body. She didn't know what was happening. She couldn't remember where she was, nor even who she was.

For a moment the world was ice and pain and darkness. And as Ravyn let the shadows swallow her, she realised that dark, peaceful void was now gone.

No. She wasn't dead yet.