-Vaughn Blackmore:
The silence settles differently now.
Not sharp like before, not pressing against me from every direction, but heavy in a way that fills the tent. There's no space left for anything else. No distraction. No way to ignore what's happening.
I stay exactly where I am.
At first, it's just instinct keeping me tense—my body locked, shoulders tight, like I'm still expecting something else to happen. Like I should be fighting this, pushing away, doing anything other than standing here, held like this.
But the cold is still there.
Not as strong as before, not biting through me the same way it was when I first got into the tent, but it hasn't disappeared. It's still sitting under my skin, deep enough that I can't ignore it.
And the warmth—
The warmth is stronger.
