I'm sorry (Yes, that's chapter's title, not author's apology)

"Mathew!"

It first appeared as a distant voice, one that Mathew could call a miracle to hear.

"Mathew!"

The second call appeared like a word spoken by a friend to Mat's side, brought up in a casual discussion.

"MATHEW!"

'Huh?' The young man finally opened his eyes when the call turned into a proper shout that penetrated his ears and threatened to wring his brain dry.

Nadia's terrified face was the first thing Mathew saw when his eyes finally started to convey what they saw to his brain. Yet, it wasn't the thing that Mathew could perceive the most.

Cold.

An everpresent and never-ending cold shrouded his entire body as if all his clothes vanished only for the world around to turn into artic.

His heart was beating fast as if he just finished a force-march rather than regained consciousness.

"What's goin on...?" Mathew asked, only for his words to come out shaky. For some reason, his lips refused to move like usual, opting to act sluggish and lazy instead.