I hadn't checked every inch of the ground, every inch of the barrier, but I was sure that escape was already impossible. Even the air seemed to have changed, becoming heavy, as if I had suddenly entered a hostile atmosphere from some distant planet.

In any case, I didn't intend to back out.

I had crossed the line of no return a long time ago. I had to kill that hideous creature any way I could. No, I had to get my soul back, but it was the same thing. It wouldn't give up until it couldn't anymore, just like me. So I had to squash it like a bug and leave nothing behind.

We walked into the hotel that had become a death trap. There was no one at the front desk, not even a few staff, where was everyone?

Maybe I didn't want to know the answer to that question, though I couldn't help but ask.

“What is that barrier?” I asked.

“In a nutshell? It will suck the life out of everyone in the hotel until they're dry. You're already dead, but that includes you.”

Something like life energy, of which I had to possess at least a little, since I existed in this world. Okay. I could more or less follow the thread of madness, that was a relief.

“Can't you do something?”

“There are ways. In theory. They all take too long” which meant she'd die sooner, I assumed, but also surely she cared about the innocent people in this hotel, even in a situation like this “except one. Killing him.”

“Aha. Okay, I like to keep it simple.

Cut the head off the snake and the body will follow. Of course, I'd like to see what kind of animal would go around without a head, but hey, it was still true.

I was no hero and had no interest in saving innocent people, in putting myself at risk for pure strangers.

But, in this case, my interests aligned with those of the faceless masses. So that was fine. I would play the role of the hero for the time being.

We walked through the empty corridors.

Only I knew that wasn't the right word. The hallways, the lights shining over our heads, even the air we breathed. I was aware that this hotel was “dead”; I meant it in a very literal sense, as if it had once been a living thing.

The vampire that had stolen my soul, the culprit that had caused this disaster to begin, was the one killing it.

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Along, of course, with the barrier that wrapped the building like a shroud.

It didn't take long to find trouble. Since I had come to this strange and hostile world, it had never taken me long to find trouble. I had only brought it on myself the first day, by robbing the bank, which had been of no use to me until now.

Except to buy Plague a change of clothes, so she wouldn't go around looking and dressing like a princess.

Big deal.

Anyway, the elevator at the other end of the hall opened. Out of it came five people, all tightly packed, staggering.

All five had something else in common. Their heads were down, but it wasn't that they were looking at the ground, it was as if their necks couldn't support the weight of their heads. Like something was missing. Some severed tendons, something like that.

It was creepy, of course.

They slowly advanced towards us and the first thing I thought of was zombies, but they could be anything. They could be, for all I knew, more creatures like Plague, who had recently gotten a new meat suit.

“What is this?” Lucia mumbled, barely audible.

The important thing was that she wasn't very clear on it either. Great.

One of those zombies or whatever the hell it was suddenly bolted, proving that if it was a zombie, they weren't like in old movies.

The zombie advanced quickly, first across the floor, then running along one of the walls on all fours like some kind of spider.

Finally, sinking its feet deep into the wall, it gained momentum and jumped.

He landed on me, of course, and it was easy for him to throw me to the floor. As well as plunging his fingers into my arms with as much force as if he intended to rip them off. Maybe it was the suddenness of it all, the fear, but for whatever reason I was unable to become intangible.

“Help me!” I should have been able to escape easily on my own, but in the end I could only scream for help.

And Lucia helped me. Of course she did.

She wasn't going to leave me hanging now, when she had done much worse things for me. The zombie flew off, propelled by a gust of wind. At first I thought the force of the impact had finished breaking his neck, but nothing of the sort.

It was still grunting. It was still breathing.

“Why didn't you kill it?” I demanded, half hysterical, hoping that simply the first blow hadn't been enough.

The other zombies (or, again, whatever the fuck they're called) were still slowly advancing towards us, while the downed one struggled to get up.

“Don't say that. They're... possessed or something. It's not their fault.”

For the first time, Lucia didn't live up to my expectations. I was disappointed, though what was really strange was that I had expected a different reaction.

“Or dead!”

“Joshua...”

“Be honest with yourself. They are things, not human beings.” Perhaps they had been born as human beings, but there was no trace of their humanity left anywhere. The best she could do was to put them out of their misery, even if there was a spark left.

I knew next to nothing about this damned world, but that much seemed certain to me.

Otherwise, if she had a solution, even if it wasn't an easy one at hand, she wouldn't have such an anguished expression.

She knew what she had to do. But she wasn't willing to do it, she didn't have the balls. That was all.

“Stop it! We just have to... get to the vampire and kill him. We just have to do that. And you know what I am. How can you ask me to...? They're innocent people.”

I clicked my tongue. It also seemed clear to me that I wouldn't be able to convince her, even if I pretended to cry or started begging. Of course, I could defend myself with my weapons.

But if she wasn't willing to kill, sooner or later something would happen.

And I couldn't afford to lose my best and only ally.

Her kindness was frustrating now.