![Thespians pose on a staircase at the District IV Thespian Festival. [Front to back] Luca Baker, Maddison Cirino, Tanyiah Ellison, Alex Lewis, Summer Farkas, Jill Marcus, Ella Mathews, Sanjay Sinha, Isabella Jank, Sofia Lee, Boston Littlepage-Santana, Sally Keane, Tyler Biggar, Tanner Johnson, Jasper Hallock-Wishner, Remy de Paris, Alex Jank, Kaelie Dieter, and Daniel Cooper. Photo by Michael McCarthy.](https://spschronicle.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/image1-900x1200.jpg)
Each nerve begins to spiral beyond control of the host.
Each limb begins to shake, like the effects of a cold, windy day.
The thoughtless victim to this disease falls deep into a crisis of panic, of questions, of airless lungs.
The ocean begins to rise over the sea wall of their eyes, spilling over–causing salty oases to puddle.
The victim contorts into lifeless flesh.
No one hears, sees, or tastes the black state of mind besides the victim of this paralysis.
The manipulation of this disease grows stronger like a master to their puppet, until the internal screams grow silent and the victim
Cold.