Mira's POV
It has been hours since Aria left. None of us wanted to admit it out loud, but we all thought the same thing—
She made it out… she must've. She can get help and save us from this place.
"Let's go," Old Leandro finally said in a low, tired voice. "The sun is setting. We shouldn't be here when darkness falls."
I nodded. He was right. We stood up, brushed off the dirt, and were about to head back—
Then a sound echoed from the forest.
Footsteps.
"It's Aria!" Daniel shouted.
Old Leandro's shoulders dropped, his voice flat and resigned.
"She didn't make it out."
In that moment, the little hope we held shattered. This cursed, forgotten town wouldn't let us go.
I exhaled sharply—frustration, fear, despair tangled inside me.
Then Daniel whispered, barely a breath:
"The Grim Reaper…"
All the blood drained from our faces.
We turned.
There—floating between the trees—it came.
Tall. Cloaked in black. Gliding silently over the earth, heading toward Aria.
Slow. Patient. As if time did not matter.
DONG—
….
DONG—
The chapel bell rang through the silence.
That was enough to snap us back into our bodies.
Daniel cupped his hands and screamed:
"DON'T LOOK BACK! RUN! RUN WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT!"
And yet…
She looked back.
Idiot.
Aria's POV
I shouldn't have looked.
The moment I turned, my knees collapsed beneath me.
I saw it.
Death.
Wrapped in silence. It didn't walk—it glided, as though the earth refused to touch it. A dark, tattered cloak, blacker than the night itself. No face, just a skin. Skeletal hands clutching an ancient scythe.
It was like the world itself stopped breathing.
The air turned cold. My legs refused to move.
It moved slowly—too slowly—toward me. Not rushing. Not desperate. Certain.
I was ready to cry, to scream, to give up—
Until two pair of hands grabbed me, on each arm.
"Mira? Daniel?" I gasped.
"Wake up! We need to move—now!" Mira's voice cut through the fog in my head.
They pulled me up. We ran. Old Leandro ran too, firing his gun behind us.
Bang. Bang.
The bullets went straight through it.
It didn't even flinch.
We kept running. Sometimes I thought we were losing it… but every time I dared to look back, it was there—closer. Quiet. Watching.
My lungs burned.
We run desperately to survive.. Just a little bit, and we will reach the church.
Then everything went black.
Not night. Not shadows.
Just—nothing. Pitch black.
"What's happening?! I can't see anything!" I cried, reaching blindly for anyone.
"Don't move," Mira whispered. I could hear her… but couldn't touch her.
"Sht… sht—what do we do now?" Daniel muttered, his voice shaking.
"Quiet," Old Leandro hissed.
Silence.
Only our breathing.
Then—rustling.
Someone searched through a bag. A click—
A faint light flickered.
Daniel lit his lighter inches from his face.
"No!… put it out!" Old Leandro hissed to Daniel
But Daniel flinched, dropping it to the ground. The flame spread on dry leaves—small, but growing—casting light around us.
Old Leandro hurried to stomp it out.
We are all watching as he desperately trying to put out the fire.
My eyes adjusted slowly.
That's when I saw it.
Behind him.
White skin. No face.
Then—slowly—a mouth split open across where lips should be. Stretching… stretching… into a wide, unnatural smile. Too wide. Reaching the part where eyes should be.
My blood froze.
A chill shot through me. I tried to speak, but no sound came. I could only point.
Everyone followed my trembling finger—
It raised its scythe.
Old Leandro turned.
Its jaw unhinged. A mouth wide enough to swallow him whole.
"—AAAHHHHH!!"
I don't know who screamed first. Maybe all of us.
I stumbled back and fell. The fire went out. Darkness swallowed everything.
Then—
Old Leandro's scream. A desperate cry for help.
And then—
Silence.
A silence that felt… final. A silence so heavy it felt like the world stopped.
The moonlight breaking through the clouds—I found myself on the cold ground, shaking.
Daniel was crouched, covering his face.
Mira sat with her hands over her ears, eyes shut tight—like she wanted to erase the sound of his screaming.
I looked around.
Old Leandro was gone.
We stayed there for a while. No one moved. No one spoke. I felt empty. Cold.
I don't know what to say.. I just felt drained and I can't just believe what I saw.
Finally, Daniel stood, picked up Leandro's gun—the only thing left behind. His voice cracked as he began to cry.
We walked back to the church silently. It seemed we were only a few meters away when everything turned black earlier.
If only we got there a little faster…
Mira pushed the heavy church door open with trembling hands. We stepped inside.
Grandpa Memoir was waiting in the dim room, sitting quietly in his wheelchair. The candles were burned low. All around—every single person was asleep on the floor.
Sleeping…?
At this hour?
If the sun set just an hour ago, it should only be around 7 p.m.
Why is everyone already asleep? That's Odd.
Grandpa Memoir's voice broke the stillness.
"You're here… You didn't make it out?" he asked, eyes tired, unreadable.
Then his voice dropped lower.
"And where is… Leandro?"
"Aria didn't make it out," Mira said, her voice rough from crying. "And Old Leandro… he was… gone. The Grim Reaper took him."
Silence.
Grandpa Memoir closed his eyes briefly. When he spoke, his tone was firm—too calm.
"We'll talk tomorrow. Rest for now," he said, turning his wheelchair toward the dark corner of the room.
The three of us moved quietly, still shaken. I headed toward an empty corner across from Grandpa Memoir's spot.
I have so many questions.. but I know there is a time for that. For now, we need to rest.
Then—
Crunch.
My foot pressed down on something.
A finger.
"I—I'm sorry! I didn't see your hand!" I whispered frantically, bowing my head toward the sleeping person.
No reply.
Not even a flinch.
That must've hurt… right? I'm wearing shoes… anyone would've woken up.
A cold feeling crawled up my spine.
Slowly, I crouched and looked closer at the woman lying on the mat.
Her chest… wasn't moving.
My hand hesitated in the air—just inches from her nose to check if she was breathing—
"Aria," Grandpa Memoir's voice came from behind me, low and steady.
"You must sleep now."