And just as I was thinking that, there was a scream. It was like a sign from heaven telling me that everything would be all right....

“It's here,” someone muttered, and a few others things that meant about the same thing. The most important aspect was the panic. It was evident, like a wave that was pulling them all down.

“Calm down,” the masked man said, standing up. “This is exactly what we wanted to happen. If everyone plays their part, we'll be fine.”

The crowd started moving as soon as he gave the order, running from one side to the other like headless chickens. I didn't know how long they had been preparing this plan, whatever it was for, but clearly it didn't matter. Not when you were facing Death.

No one could really prepare for that.

It seemed like everyone had forgotten I was here, but it wasn't like that would change my situation. Would Plague be able to take care of all these people? I wasn't sure. That woman had crumbled as soon as she found out my partner was one of those things, and they were called Plague for a reason.

They seemed to be feared by all mankind.

But the most dangerous thing about a plague was when it spread non-stop. She might be strong, but it was just one of those creatures against dozens of wizards or whatever these freaks were.

Would she be able, really, to rescue me at the last moment?

I should have realized it as soon as I started thinking about how convenient that would be, to pin all my hopes on her.

The door opened. And in the end, she didn't even show up.

To be fair, neither she nor anyone else.

There was nothing on the other side of the door but the unfathomable darkness of the hallway and the icy wind blowing through. But the door hadn't opened by itself. Such things could not happen.... Well, maybe in this world they could, but it was a clear sign that something was there. Could Plague become invisible?

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No.

Nothing of the sort.

I should have abandoned that hope from the beginning.

“It's here. It's here at last.” As proof, my captors were interpreting it as such as well.

The woman who spoke seemed excited, however. Not a hint of fear, unlike the others. If she wasn't a good actress, then she was completely insane, but on second thought anyone who was here on purpose was insane, no matter how much fear they showed at the last moment. When it was too late to regret it.

The icy wind, the wooden doors swaying slightly. They were joined by a new sound. A dripping sound, as if someone had left a faucet running. That was the first thing I thought of.

But nothing of the sort.

It was blood. The dripping was getting heavier and heavier. It was falling hard by the entrance, but there was nothing else. No screams, no faint moans of pain, nothing else that could indicate a human or animal presence. The blood had to come from somewhere, that was what something inside me was screaming. But there was nothing else.

Nothing, nothing.

I felt a chill, again, that had little to do with the icy wind. I was sick of all this shit.

An eternity later...

Footsteps. But they didn't make a sound either. They were simply seen thanks to being marked by blood. They weren't human footsteps. Those feet had three toes, like the claws of some dinosaur. That was the first thing that came to my mind, although it didn't fit very well. A dinosaur.

Whatever it was, it was invisible. It left only the trail of blood behind it. It couldn't be its own, could it?

But then whose?

Hell, where did the blood come from? I couldn't stop thinking about it. As if it was the most important question of the moment, the main concern I should have. As if in that question also hid the way out of this situation.

“Now!” shouted the masked man.

We had met about five minutes ago. Not that his voice was recognizable to me, but there was no great commotion. Quite the contrary. A deathly silence.

The footsteps, and the blood, went through pillars. A portal opened in each of the pillars, and out of them came....

Chains.

The same chains, or at least the type, that he had used on me. Did they really think that was enough? This was Death, wasn't it? It couldn't be a mere grim reaper. I wondered if they intended to give it the coup de grace after they caught it, somehow. Or if they had no intention of killing that thing at all.

If these fools really believed they could restrain something like that and force it to do anything.

The chains moved as fast as ever, searching for their prey, but all they found was air, even though it was clear that the chains should have reached it, since bloody footsteps marked its passage through the room. And it was clear that it was taking its time.

Was it a non-corporeal creature, just like me? Only the chains couldn't reverse it and catch it.

They were not enough.

Maybe nothing would be enough.