Cold Abyss
Light snow falls from the dark void above, the faint glow of streetlights shining in the distance, emanating a soft drone and casting their dim orange onto the undisturbed, glistening snow beneath it as they rest upon the concrete floor.
Left untouched, these snow mounds will slowly build on themselves, becoming impossibly high mounds scattered throughout the desolate landscape, eventually collapsing under their own weight, and entombing large areas under a thick blanket of snow.
The expanse of snowy ground appears to ever-expand with each step taken. The streetlights, the only illumination in this abyss, are randomly placed, from neatly packed to miles away, shrouding vast areas in darkness.
The majority of the time, this light snowfall coats the abyss, and despite the lack of clouds, it remains extremely cold, the occasional blizzard reminding those wandering of the severity of the frost.
Howling winds travel through the air, freezing anything caught in their wake to its core, sucking what warmth was once, if ever, present.
In defiance of the cold, harsh landscape, small bushes grow, protruding out of the snow, and large parking lots dot the landscape, their lost purpose now replaced with serving as the only protection from the frigid occurrences, albeit only temporarily.
The Lots
Vast indoor parking garages that seem to stretch indefinitely in every direction, with stories upon stories stacking upon each other without end. Unremarkable concrete labyrinths painted in a dull, depressing grey.
Support pillars line up next to one another, sharing the dull colour palette of the floors and ceiling, some pristine, others derelict, with chunks removed, occasionally missing entirely.
Thin pipes run loosely along the ceiling, connecting to the fluorescent tubes that dimly light the complex, humming faintly in the background with a feigned sense of forebodingness.
While the lots serve as some protection from the frigid temperatures, the air remains cold, the walls and floors exponentially colder, the icy wind blowing through the outer ends of the lots.
The feeling of paranoia, unable to be shaken by some, feeds on the constant sensation of being watched. The endlessness of the lonely and dull lots, and the backs of their minds secretly acknowledging the slowly loosening grip on reality in total isolation.
Cold Abyss was written by
Ferrante with critique from
CertifiedWarCriminal,
ArcheNegation, and
Aequilibrium. This article was created from a combination of two articles: Cold Abyss by
Tomuuu and The Lot by
Terepashi. The images used in the article are in order: Snow absorbs sound during snowfall by u/EngineeringTinker and Empty Parking Garage by thimic. The ambience used is Cold Wind Sound Effect - Strong Winter Blizzard by Free Audio Zone.