The heavy, industrial click of the lock was the final nail in the coffin. James was no longer just a prisoner of the cold; he was a toy in a twisted game he didn't understand.
With a surge of adrenaline born of pure terror, James tried to crawl toward her, the chain clattering violently against the concrete.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he spat, his voice trembling with a mix of rage and hypothermia. "Let me go! Right now! If you don't, I swear... I'll make you regret every second of this!"
Hazel didn't flinch. She didn't even blink. Instead, she let out a soft, mocking hum. "How? Hmm? How exactly will you do that, James? It seems you still haven't grasped the reality of your situation."
"You think this is okay? You think you'll get away with this?" James barked, his breath coming in thick white clouds. "My parents... they'll find me. They'll come for me. Release me now!"
The mention of his family triggered a jagged, hysterical laugh from Hazel. She doubled over, the sound echoing off the frozen walls. "Your parents? Your parents?" she gasped between bouts of laughter. "Oh, they'll find you? My goodness, I think I'm actually scared now."
Her face went stone-cold in an instant. She turned away from him and walked toward a control panel mounted on the wall. With a casual flick of her wrist, she slammed her thumb onto a bright red button.
The motor groaned. The chain tightened with a violent jerk, dragging James across the floor before hoisting his leg toward the ceiling. He scrambled for purchase, but within seconds, he was dangling upside down, his blood rushing to his head while the five AC units blasted his exposed skin from every angle.
"Hey! What Hazel! Don't leave me hanging like this!" he screamed, his voice cracking as he swung helplessly. "What do you want from me?"
Hazel smoothed her hair, looking at him as if he were a piece of art she had just finished hanging. "Maybe when you've had enough 'fun' up there, I'll consider bringing you down. But first," she yawned daintily, "I need my rest. I'll come back to check on you later."
"You fucking psychopath! You won't get away with this!" James roared, his face turning a dark, bruised purple from the hanging position. "At least turn off the damn AC!"
Hazel paused at the door, her hand on the heavy steel handle. She looked back one last time, a dark glint in her eyes. "If I turn them off, James, how will you be able to breathe? Don't worry... I'll be back soon."
"Hey! Don't leave! Hey! Fuck, no! Let me down!"
The heavy steel door slammed shut, the sound booming like a cannon shot. Outside, Hazel leaned against the cold metal, a slow, satisfied smirk spreading across her face as she listened to his muffled screams fade into the relentless hum of the machines.
James swung like a pendulum, his world inverted and blurring. The blood was pooling in his skull, creating a rhythmic, pounding pressure behind his eyeballs that felt like a hammer against glass. Every breath was a struggle; the frigid air felt like inhaling powdered diamonds, shredding his throat with every gasp.
"Think... think," he wheezed, his muscles twitching involuntarily.
He curled his torso upward, a grueling crunch that made his core scream in protest. He reached for the shackle around his ankle, his fingers numb and clumsy. They felt like wooden blocks, unresponsive and pale. He fumbled with the cold steel of the lock, but there was no keyhole it was a heavy-duty magnetic bolt, smooth and taunting.
"Dammit!" he roared, the effort of staying curled causing him to lose his grip. He fell back into the hanging position, his head snapping back as he swung wildly.
He looked around the room from his upside-down vantage point. The floor was a gray blur, but he noticed a small metal grate a few feet away. If he could build enough momentum, could he reach the control panel? No, it was too high on the wall.
He shifted his gaze to the chain itself. It was anchored to a heavy pulley system on the ceiling. As he swung, he noticed a slight slack in the link every time he reached the apex of his arc.
If I can jam the pulley... With a roar of pure, desperate adrenaline, James began to thrash. He used his free leg to kick the air, throwing his weight side to side. The chain groaned. The AC units continued their merciless assault, the frost now visibly forming on the hair of his arms. His skin was turning a sickly shade of blue-white.
Swing. Kick. Swing. Kick.
The room began to spin. Nausea hit him in waves, but he didn't stop. He managed to snag the edge of a nearby support beam with his toes for a split second, giving him the leverage to launch himself toward the wall.
He crashed into the concrete, the impact knocking the wind out of him, but his fingers scrambled for a protruding pipe. He held on for dear life, his body stretched taut between the pipe and the chain.
From this angle, he could see something Hazel had missed a loose shard of metal near the base of the pipe, likely left behind by a construction crew. It was sharp. It was reachable.
But as his frozen fingers brushed the metal, the motor in the ceiling gave a sharp, electronic chirp. The chain began to retract even further, pulling him higher, stretching his limbs until he felt his hip might pop from its socket.
"No! No, no, no!"
The shard was slipping from his reach. The cold was winning, his grip on the pipe failing as his muscles finally began to give out from the sheer exhaustion of the frost.
The shard was right there, a jagged sliver of hope glinting in the harsh light. James lunged, his fingertips brushing the cold metal, but his muscles finally surrendered to the sub-zero air.
The violent shivering stopped as his nervous system began to shut down. His vision tunneled, the roar of the five AC units fading into a dull, distant hum. His hand slipped from the pipe, and he swung back into the center of the room, limp and blue-tinged.
With his head hanging low and his breath slowing to a shallow rattle, the darkness finally claimed him.