His eyes are open yet...Black. He runs his fingers across the stony walls, their jagged texture guiding him. Cold wind wraps around his frame, chilling him to the bone. His hands tremble in the reducing temperature. He crawls on his knees, his movement slow. Inch by inch his hands find the worn out cloak, tucked in the corner. It's hard threads run rough along his calloused fingers. He takes out a shaky breath. A cloud forms in front of his chapped lips. His bones groan as he stretches his arms, drawing the cloth over his shoulders.
Winds gather around him, wrapping him in their grips. The thin cloak and his withering tunic fighting a lost battle. The reaper hides in the shadows, its breath, the frost, drawing souls closer to their end. The reaper allows itself a hint of a smile. It moves.
Deep breaths fill the next room. Her lungs struggle, freezing. With what feeble strength left in her he opens his mouth. Another shaky breath. A cloud of mist forms above her mouth. One, two, three, her breath shakes, four, five...six. She last sees a hooded shadow looking down at her, inching closer, at her frail attempts at life. Gradually her soul flows in it's outstretched hand, out of her reach. The reaper swishes it's cloak leaving a thin, broken body behind.
It glides. The shadows it's servants, the cold its cover, the mist its trace. One by one, it graces every cell. Some giggle at its appearance. A little hope shines in some's faces when they meet it. It's steps echo across the silent hall. Some races to find him first, giddy. Relief floods the body of the children it encounters before they tumble to the floor, forming a heap, a final smile adoring their lips.
It stops reaching the metal door. It commands the shadows nearer; flooding the hallways till the eye can see none. It turns the door's handle, takes off it's hood. For the first time that night it waits, listening. Chatter buzzes inside. Cutlery clangs. The waffling smell of food swirls inside. Where hundreds starved, they ate. While dozens passed with cold, they slept in warmth. It enters, screams begin. Their ends will not be painless, it vows.
Death enters the party and leaves none.
