Frostbound

Chris

It felt like I was having an out-of-body experience. My mind would send the signal for my legs to move but it was delayed, lagging behind for some reason. My body was racked with so much aching pain that I worked hard to tune all of it out which didn't help matters.

The only positive was that I didn't pass out. I sure wanted to, and I knew sleep was calling my name soon, but I forced myself to stay awake. Conscious as we walked through the scenes of destruction.

The scenes of my destruction.

It didn't fill me with joy to see what I had done. It didn't invoke pride to see the slaughter I had handed out. Sure, the fight was brutal and I took satisfaction in knowing I had won. Knowing I stood above those that lay dead, but it was hollow.

Seeing all the human bodies mixed in with the Orc bodies made it so.

Still, even the burning grief was dull, just like everything else.

The feeling was like a river already worn through me and now it was just new water running through old grooves. The banks had already been viciously carved, it was just time to fill it with the most recent waters.

My morose thoughts were hard to banish while gazing upon the battlefield.

Abigail also said nothing. We were both reeling in our own way. While I wasn't that close to my cousin Alice, she was still family. Family that wasn't with us anymore.

Sam was going to be devastated. She'd already lost a husband and son, now she lost a daughter as well. Allison wasn't family by blood, as she had married Mitchell to enter the Zalenski family, but her loss was still felt.

I wouldn't be surprised if Mitchell was out there cradling her lifeless body with tears streaming down his face. The image was unpleasant but impossible to push away.