A Dance With Death

|| Chapter 17 - Hopeless ||

                     

I stop and look at her. She halts a few steps ahead and looks back at me. I seem to be at a loss for words. "You talked to Caius?" I say. "When?"

She glances at the door in front of us, trying not to look at me. She folds her arms behind her back and slightly leans to the front. She then looks downwards, masking her expressions. "I didn't talk to him."

I shift my position and stand in front of her. "Then what happened?" I ask.

She passes her hands through her ruffled hair and glances at me. Her face is shadowed. Only a slight flicker in her eyes shows fear.

"I didn't only see the visions I previously saw," she says. "I saw new ones. With more people; souls actually. They were screaming, begging for help. My earlier experiences were nothing compared to what I witnessed today. It took me a while to recognise them." She closes her eyes, trying to push the memories away. "They were all the souls that weren't meant to die. I could somehow feel their pain. I saw women, children. I...just..."

She heaves a sigh and shakes her head. She remains silent for a while, trying to gather her voice. "Then I saw him. Through all the pain and the screams, I saw him standing there. He was in his true form, the more terrible version of him. It felt like the never-ending darkness. His face, or whatever it seemed to be, was full of marks and dark shadows. He was smiling, pleased at all the trouble he caused." She stops, as if she's choking on her own words.

"What happened then?" I ask. "How did he do it?" I know she doesn't want to even think about it, rather talk, but I need to know. She continues to walk forward, I follow her.

"If being as strong as Death was his aim," Althea continues, "then I'm afraid he is very close to achieving it. He felt strange. Even for a reaper. He said nothing for a while. He just stared at me. And when he spoke, I couldn't move..."

"What did he tell you?"

She stares at me with uneasiness. "He said he will not stop," she says. "He said he's coming for you. And there's nothing that can stop him."

I fall back when I hear the words. I gape at her with incredulity. My mind starts racing with thoughts. I feel my legs shake, as they are unable to support me. She comes closer slowly, still affected by weakness, to reach out to me. Ignoring the discomfort I sense at her touch, she places a hand on my shoulder.

"I don't know what he was trying to say," she says. "I don't know why he wants you or how he's going to get to you. All I know is that your life is in terrible danger. We need to keep you safe."

I remove her hand from my shoulder. "Why is this happening to me? What did I do to deserve this?"

"You didn't do anything," she defends. "Caius wants something from you. I can't figure out what. But I'm sure it has nothing to do with you."

If she only knew. "I never wanted this. I never wanted any of this. I..." I shake my head repeatedly, "I just want to live."

Althea bends her knees, so as to meet my gaze. "You will. I'll do whatever I can to bring you back to life." She gives me a reassuring smile.

Deep inside, I know that she's unsure of what she's saying. She herself said that Caius has become powerful, almost as strong as Death. He was right. There is no stopping him. He will come for me. My death is inevitable. The feeling of hopelessness envelopes me as these thoughts cross my mind. Nevertheless, I smile at Althea, hiding all my feelings and my doubts. She returns the smile.

A young woman - maybe a worker - enters the hallway. I move from her way, even though I know she'll just pass through me. I'm quite unused to it.

"Why is he doing this?" I ask, when the woman disappears at the other end. "Why did he talk to you? Why not Griffith, or even Ektor?"