I hang in the creature's grip, dangling like a rag doll, every inch of my body screaming in agony. My ribs groan under the pressure of its twisted, unnatural fingers, wrapped around me like iron chains. My skin feels like it's being torn apart, pulled from my bones, as if I'm unraveling—thread by thread, piece by piece. Every breath is a battle, every heartbeat another throb of excruciating pain..
But none of that compares to the weight in my chest.
I failed my kids. I failed my wife. I failed my family.
*I failed.*
The pain in my heart is sharper than the agony tearing through my limbs. It's a different kind of pain—a hollow, suffocating ache that's gnawing at me, pulling me down into a bottomless pit. My kids... my *children*. Tommy, who loved dinosaurs and wanted to be a paleontologist. Katie, who could light up a room with just her smile. They were everything to me. My whole world revolved around them. They were the reason I got up every day, the reason I tried to be a better man.
And now they're gone.
My body goes limp, surrendering to the creature's cold, unyielding grip. There's no use fighting. It's over. My muscles give out, the fire in them extinguished as I'm lifted higher, closer to whatever darkness this thing intends to drag me into. Bones crack in my chest, the sound deafening in the silence that surrounds us.
I can feel my mind teetering on the edge. It's so close now. The darkness, the oblivion. It's calling to me, and part of me wants to let go—to just give in. The pain, the terror, the loss... I want it to end. I want everything to stop.
But my mind, just before it shatters, clings to something else.
**Emma.**
She's there, in the back of my mind, like a distant light in a storm. I can see her standing on the porch, her blonde hair catching the sunlight, waving at me with that sweet, gentle smile. That last image of her feels like it's burned into my memory. I never imagined it would be the last time I'd see her. If I had known... if I had just known...
A lump rises in my throat, choking me, making it harder to breathe. My eyes blur with tears, mingling with the blood on my face. I can still see her, still hear her laughter, feel the warmth of her body next to mine on those long, quiet nights when we would just lie in bed, whispering about our dreams, our plans for the future.
That future is gone. Burned to ash.
The memories flood my mind now, fast and relentless, like a dam that's burst open. They crash over me, drowning me in a sea of what was. What *could have been*. I can see her as clearly as if she were standing right in front of me, smiling, laughing, telling me everything would be okay.
But I know it won't be. Nothing will ever be okay again.
Before Emma, I was nothing. Just a shadow of a man. A loser, barely scraping by. My days were meaningless, blending into each other in a haze of empty hours. My life didn't start until she came into it. She gave me direction, gave me a reason to keep going. She gave me everything.
And now... she's gone. Just like that.
I failed her. I failed them all.
I can still see them. The moment flashes in my mind like a scar I'll never heal from. The sound of Tommy's neck snapping—the orc's cruel, black eyes locked onto mine as it took my boy's life like it was nothing. I can still hear Katie's scream, that last, terrible sound before it was cut short, swallowed by the monster that ripped her apart.
I should have saved them. I should have done something—anything. But I couldn't. I didn't. I was useless, powerless. All I could do was watch as the monsters tore apart the two people who meant more to me than anything in the world.
And now, as the creature hoists me higher, my body hanging limp in its grip, I know I'm about to join them. There's no fight left in me. There's nothing left at all.
The creature pulls me closer, and I can feel its cold breath—if that's what it is—against my skin. Its twisted, contorted form looms over me, a mass of pale, shifting flesh and impossible angles. There's no face. No eyes. Just darkness, an endless void where its mouth should be.
The room around me has dissolved into a blur of shadows and red light, the once-familiar walls of my home now nothing more than jagged shapes and splinters of ruin. The air is thick with smoke, and I can taste the ash on my tongue, bitter and acrid. But the taste doesn't matter. The smell doesn't matter.
All that matters is the cold. The unbearable, freezing cold that's seeping into my bones, into my soul, as the creature pulls me ever closer to its gaping maw. I can feel its grip tightening around my neck, my bones groaning under the pressure, my skin tearing under the force of its claws. I can feel the blood running down my body, warm and sticky, mixing with the dirt and ash on the floor.
My vision blurs. Everything is fading now. The world is turning dark around me, closing in like a black curtain. I can barely see, barely breathe. The pressure on my neck is unbearable, but it's not the worst of it. The worst is the pain in my heart. The pain of knowing that everything I loved, everything I fought for, is gone.
*Emma.* I can still see her face. That beautiful face, the way her eyes crinkled when she smiled, the way her laugh used to fill the room. My heart aches for her, for the life we had, for the life we could have had. I should have protected her. I should have been there. But I wasn't.
The creature's grip tightens again, and I feel the world slipping away from me. My thoughts scatter, the memories fading, slipping through my fingers like sand. But I hold onto one last thing—one last memory.
It's the first time I kissed her. We were sitting on that old park bench, the one near the river, watching the sunset. The light was golden, casting long shadows across the ground, and for a moment, everything felt perfect. I can still feel the warmth of her skin, the softness of her lips, the way my heart pounded in my chest as I leaned in. That moment... that was the moment my life changed forever.
"I love you," I whisper, my voice barely a breath. "Emma…"
Her name is the last thing I can hold onto, the last thing I can say before everything slips away. It's the only thing that matters. The only thing I have left.
It's all I have left. My last thought, my last words, before the darkness takes me. I can feel the creature's mouth opening wide, an endless void of darkness, pulling me in. The cold is overwhelming now, freezing me from the inside out. My body goes limp, my vision fades to black, and in one swift motion, it bites down, tearing my head from my shoulders.
And then, there's nothing.
No pain.
No fear.
No light.
Nothing.