1 Prologue - Cold Embrace

DATE: JANUARY 04, 2424

LOCATION: UNKNOWN

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"Don't die!"

I hope Achilles heard my shout, even though my own strained and desperate voice is barely audible to me now. My head throbs in all directions, and my vision blurs.

I can't see anything clearly, perhaps because there is nothing to see; everything else is white. The once-vibrant colors of our costumes are now layered with frost, mocking the life we once knew.

The white sky gently pours down snow. Looking up at the snowfall, it should have been beautiful. How I have always wanted to see snow firsthand. But this sight only amplifies the extreme torture we are enduring.

I stand alone in the vast field of snow, Achilles' arm draped over my shoulder. I tower over him, having carried his weight as I used all my effort to drag him to his feet. My lean muscles visibly scream in pain, and my lungs feel like they are burning with each frozen gasp that fills my chest.

Despite all the agony, I cling to him. How could I leave Achilles behind? After all, he had taught me every dangerous maneuver. He is my tightrope partner, my friend, and my trapeze mentor. But he is becoming heavier with each step. He feels like a rock of ice, and I can't bear to look at his dying face.

"Hold on, I've got you," I whisper, perhaps as much to cheer myself as to reassure Achilles. Because where do we go from here? No shelter or cover can be seen, just flat plains of snow stretching as far as the eye can see.

Do lost souls always find their way back? Without a clear path, a chilling thought crosses my mind: would death be more appealing?

Who would have thought this would happen? My life used to be lively, from the places to the clothes and the people I met every day. Our rigorous training to master balance and enhance our strength had become useless. My hunger is now consuming me, while my mouth down to my throat feels like a desert.

"Just a little further, Achi, stay with me," still my stubborn spirit didn't want to face reality right now. Each step sinks me almost knee-deep into the snow, gripping my boots like a hundred knives piercing through the worn leather into my flesh.

I muster the courage to look at Achilles only to be struck by horror and pain.

Achilles's head has rolled heavily to the side. His eyes are glazed over, and his breath is stilling forever.

"Achilles?!"

"No! Don't do this!"

"Achilles, you old elephant, I know you have the strength of the mightiest tusker; don't leave me out here alone!"

Finally, I break. I feel alive once more as the agony of my heart shattering into pieces threatens to kill me.

Tears fall as I carefully lay his body on the freezing ground. Memories of my innocent childhood flash before my eyes as I remember him taking me under his wings.

I clutch Achilles' stiffening form to my chest. His face is frozen in repose, eyes staring blankly upward through a crust of ice.

"You can't go like this. You cheated me, old man. Why did you leave me?"

Rocking back and forth, I try to scream his name hoping he might answer one last time.

At that moment, I envy him. I resent his escape from this frozen hell.

Yes, given where I am now, maybe death can be comforting.