over the items. The black pieces grew like a coat of paint, encompassing each torrial in turn.
Laura felt a stab of fear in her stomach, and realized what she had just done. Somehow, the shadow had lured her in here – and separated her from the others. She moved quickly to unlock the vault door, but when she turned all she could see was black.
She took an uncertain step toward the door and reached out. Her hands should have met the cold iron, but instead, they felt… nothing. A noise behind her startled her, and she whipped around. What she saw made her feel true terror for the first time in her life.
Everything that had been there before was gone. The torrial were not there. All she could see was never-ending darkness, extending indefinitely in all dimensions. Every now and then the darkness shimmered, creating a type of black enclosure much the same size as the vault had been. The black walls waxed and waned dizzyingly, though, and morphed in shape and size like in some kind of bad dream. And there, standing right before her, in a black deeper than should be possible, was the figure of a single man.
He had no eyes, but Laura knew he was watching her. The ends of his arms and legs trailed off in wispy ends, connecting him to the darkness that surrounded everything. She knew he – or it – was what the shadow had been. He was what lured her here.
His arm morphed into the scythe of a blade, and he lunged at her. She jumped out of the way, but the man – the creature, the shadow, whatever it was – was impossibly fast. A part of its blade caught the edge of her shirt, causing the fabric to hiss and burn. If Laura had been just a split second slower, her arm would have been sliced right through.
Before she even had a chance to regain her balance, the creature lunged at her again. It moved with the deadly grace of a snake. Laura backpedaled out of the way desperately. The walls continued to shrink and expand, playing tricks on her mind and on her assessment of distance. In stroke of pure luck, she realized that she had believed the man-shaped shadow to be closer than it actually was. The small difference was enough for Laura to avoid the second blow and scramble to her feet. The walls pulsed menacingly in on her.
Laura barely had enough time to orient herself before the shadow struck again. It aimed right for her head. Laura jumped back, narrowly avoiding the vile blade. She felt the rush of air from the swipe on her face.
Desperately, she felt out for something she could defend herself with. Something, anything would be better than her bare hands. Instinctively, she knew that if she let the shadowed blade touch her, she would be worse than dead. And she knew that unless she could find an advantage soon, she stood little chance. The shadow seemed to be made for killing, and it was more than a match for her. It was the first thing she ever encountered that moved faster than a Vassiz .
Her empty hands grabbed at air, finding nothing. Where there should have been the torrial there was nothing. Where there should have been the walls, there was nothing. Laura was sure this was not the human world anymore. She suspected that somehow, the shadow had pulled her into some sort of vortex. A vortex that, potentially, existed between the real world and the dream realm. There was nothing here except her and the creature.
The man-shaped shadow did not strike at her immediately after the last miss. Instead, it had taken to slowly circling her. It was almost like it was teasing Laura, daring her to fight back. Knowing that she could not.
The shadow made a move toward her. Laura jousted to one side. The strike did not come – the creature was just playing with her. It pulled back, and stepped to one side. Laura could feel its unyielding eyes on her.
It made another abrupt move toward her, but this time Laura didn’t flinch.
Laura felt a stab of fear in her stomach, and realized what she had just done. Somehow, the shadow had lured her in here – and separated her from the others. She moved quickly to unlock the vault door, but when she turned all she could see was black.
She took an uncertain step toward the door and reached out. Her hands should have met the cold iron, but instead, they felt… nothing. A noise behind her startled her, and she whipped around. What she saw made her feel true terror for the first time in her life.
Everything that had been there before was gone. The torrial were not there. All she could see was never-ending darkness, extending indefinitely in all dimensions. Every now and then the darkness shimmered, creating a type of black enclosure much the same size as the vault had been. The black walls waxed and waned dizzyingly, though, and morphed in shape and size like in some kind of bad dream. And there, standing right before her, in a black deeper than should be possible, was the figure of a single man.
He had no eyes, but Laura knew he was watching her. The ends of his arms and legs trailed off in wispy ends, connecting him to the darkness that surrounded everything. She knew he – or it – was what the shadow had been. He was what lured her here.
His arm morphed into the scythe of a blade, and he lunged at her. She jumped out of the way, but the man – the creature, the shadow, whatever it was – was impossibly fast. A part of its blade caught the edge of her shirt, causing the fabric to hiss and burn. If Laura had been just a split second slower, her arm would have been sliced right through.
Before she even had a chance to regain her balance, the creature lunged at her again. It moved with the deadly grace of a snake. Laura backpedaled out of the way desperately. The walls continued to shrink and expand, playing tricks on her mind and on her assessment of distance. In stroke of pure luck, she realized that she had believed the man-shaped shadow to be closer than it actually was. The small difference was enough for Laura to avoid the second blow and scramble to her feet. The walls pulsed menacingly in on her.
Laura barely had enough time to orient herself before the shadow struck again. It aimed right for her head. Laura jumped back, narrowly avoiding the vile blade. She felt the rush of air from the swipe on her face.
Desperately, she felt out for something she could defend herself with. Something, anything would be better than her bare hands. Instinctively, she knew that if she let the shadowed blade touch her, she would be worse than dead. And she knew that unless she could find an advantage soon, she stood little chance. The shadow seemed to be made for killing, and it was more than a match for her. It was the first thing she ever encountered that moved faster than a Vassiz .
Her empty hands grabbed at air, finding nothing. Where there should have been the torrial there was nothing. Where there should have been the walls, there was nothing. Laura was sure this was not the human world anymore. She suspected that somehow, the shadow had pulled her into some sort of vortex. A vortex that, potentially, existed between the real world and the dream realm. There was nothing here except her and the creature.
The man-shaped shadow did not strike at her immediately after the last miss. Instead, it had taken to slowly circling her. It was almost like it was teasing Laura, daring her to fight back. Knowing that she could not.
The shadow made a move toward her. Laura jousted to one side. The strike did not come – the creature was just playing with her. It pulled back, and stepped to one side. Laura could feel its unyielding eyes on her.
It made another abrupt move toward her, but this time Laura didn’t flinch.
Similar Books
