How long had Ava been running? She couldn’t tell. It was pitch black. There was no light, no clock; she couldn’t see past her hands or how far she’d run. She kept moving anyway. Running was the best thing she could do for now.

The further she went, the darkness turned into a long hallway, showcasing faceless paintings off peeling walls. A green door popped up near the end. Was that the exit? It had to be, if not some place safer than here.

Ava picked up the pace and ran faster and faster, but the heavyweight of gravity confined her to the floor. This had to be a dream. She was just sleeping next to Sam.

Something cool caught her ankle. A dark blob squeezed her skin as hundreds fast approached. Fingers sprouted from the goo, flattening into a hand. They grab at her thigh, her waist. Her hair was tugged violently back from behind. She couldn’t escape.

They scratched Ava’s skin, left bites of frost. Her breath froze in the stale air. She tried avoiding the hands the best she could, but with each step, her muscles burned. Her shoes grew heavy as lead covered boots.

This was only a dream, it had to be, yet she couldn’t even use her gliding abilities at all. None of her abilities were working when they should be. They always did in her dreams. What the hell was going on?

With one last push, Ava closed in on the decorative green door, with a facade of swirls and contours and a lion head for a handle. Light seeped out from the base. She latched onto the iron handle and pulled it open. And closed it just as fast.

The hands rammed against the door. They scratched the wood where her back pressed, billowing the sides out. Her heels dug into the carpet. She searched for a lock. A giant plank of wood appeared high above her head. It was long enough to cross the entire threshold of this door.

It was now or never. Ava jumped and yanked the plank down. It latched shut and rested on its iron arms. The scratches seized in an instant. She could finally feel and hear the erratic thumping of her heart.

An eerie silence cascaded over the room, clashing with its Neo Pop colors and dark Gothic inspiration. A brick fireplace was against the right wall with a fire blazing heat into her chilled bones. Bare walls, no paintings hung in this room, yet she was being watched.

Mounds of food laid out in decadence across a long metal table with a tall and wide centerpiece. There were steaming vegetables and fruit floating in sweet liqueur, topped with Ava’s favorite desserts of macaroons and chocolate. Tons of chocolate. A roasted pig sat at the end with a delicious red apple stuffed inside its mouth.

This need to eat overwhelmed her. It smelled like chicken, like moose pie and ripe fruit. She could taste them in the air, and before she could stop herself, she picked the apple up. Its red coating shined brilliantly from the Gothic chandelier, begging her to eat it.

“Didn’t your mother ever teach you to never take food from a stranger?”

Hairs rose on the back of her neck. His voice was so deep and chilling—hypnotizing. Ava stiffened and peeked around the centerpieces metal thorns.

It was the demon man from earlier. The one Sam called a reaper.

Well, that confirmed it. This was just a nightmare. After what happened in the ballroom, she should’ve known.

Dabbing at his mouth, he set a silver fork down and stood up, showing all of his tree tall height. He was dressed with impeccable tastes, wearing a pinstriped suit that was black as the midnight sky, and appeared more menacing than when she first laid eyes on him.

Of course, my nightmares would twist reality.

A sinister smile taunted his pale face, beneath those voided eyes. He whimsically picked up a knife sitting nearby. Its long silver dagger gleamed, tiny stars danced across his glove. It was longer than any steak knife should be.

He stabbed the point into the metal table top and dragged it across with determined steps. Screams pierced the room, echoing against the wall in their own symphonic orchestra. Ava covered her ears and ran towards a green door in the corner.

This was just a nightmare. Just a nightmare.

Her boots squeaked against the marble flooring, its vines turned into a slither of hissing snakes, snapping at her as they followed right behind. She was almost to the door, light seeped out from its gaps and broken hinges. Hopefully, it led outside.

The knife stabbed right into the wall in front of Ava. She came to a halt, stared at the glinting silver of its blade as it pressed into her skin. Blood ran down the side of her cheek, stung her forehead. Through shaky hands, she touched it. She shouldn’t feel pain, yet it felt like she’d been cut.

“Let’s play a game.”

The demon man’s voice soothed its way into her ears and forced her attention towards him. He walked with a cool stride, twirling another blade between his fingertips as if it were a mere coin. “Let’s see how fast you can run.”

He threw the second knife. Ava ducked, the blade stabbed into the wall above her head. She yanked the first knife out and ran towards the door before he could throw a third. She pushed it open. The door smacked against the wall and hit the ground with a slap.

It was another damn hallway and nearly identical to the one she escaped from. But this time there was an open door at the end with trees beyond its horizon.

Ava took off running, shoes slipping. There was mildew in the air, the scent of moisture and humidity frizzing up her hair.

This was just a nightmare. This was just a nightmare.

She tried conjuring her weapon like she’d done many times before. Still, nothing worked. Her body trembled. For the time in her life, Ava felt so vulnerable. So mortal.

More paintings hung from the peeling walls. Their eyes moved with her steps, turning into yellow serpent glares. Claws formed on their hands. Their skin melted from the painting itself, dripping globs of darks and reds and lights onto the carpet floor.

Sticky glue caught her shoes. Ava sank into a tar-like substance. Bubbles burped out one after the other until a white veiny ball floated to the top. A large pupil rolled out from beneath the goo. It blinked, then smiled. Her foot was in its mouth.

Using both hands, she stabbed the knife right into its slit retina. The demon screamed, bellowing a screech so loudly, the empty paintings trembled and flew across the hallway. With her foot free, she ran faster and faster.

A corner frame smacked her right against the temple. She collapsed, the knife knocked out of her grasp. Ava moaned, held her head. It hurt and throbbed. Blood ran down her face. This couldn’t be happening. This was just a dream. This wasn’t real!

A knife cut through the air and stabbed into her shoulder. Ava screamed out in pain.

The demon man dug the blade further into her skin and bone, breathing fear against her neck and a deathly chill down her back. “They have called me many things in life, but the one name always sticks out is a reaper. Tell me, how does the rhyme go?”

He yanked the knife out and hovered a gloved hand near her head. She froze in place—too scared to move, too scared to think. “Never let a reaper touch you or your soul will be snatched. Never eat food from a reaper or your soul will be trapped.”

He crouched, meeting her tired eyes. The knife played over his fingertips, smeared in fresh crimson blood. “Never look into a reaper’s eyes or you will invite them inside. Never speak to a reaper or you will lose a life.”

This guy was insane. She needed to get out of here. She needed to will herself to move, to wake up, but every time Ava breathed it grew harder with each inhale. It was like a hand squeezed her lungs tight.

It was getting even harder to sit upright. And he enjoyed it, a glint sparked in his black eyes, and it gave happiness a whole new meaning. “So tell me, Avalyn. Which one is it going to be? Will you choose to run or stay and fight?”

He swung the knife back and forth like a pendant, trying to hypnotize her with its spell. Blood dripped between them. She needed to snap out of it. Drip. The feeling came back in her fingers. Drip. The smooth metal warmed in her grip. Drip.

Ava stabbed the knife into her hand.

It woke her back up instantly, but not out of this hellish dream.

Clenching her teeth, she yanked the blade out, but it was a pain she could tolerate. It was nothing she hadn’t experienced before. His smile widened in curiosity almost like she’d peaked his interest. She didn’t want his interest at all.

Ava jumped up and ran away from him as fast as she could. The door was within range, just feet ahead. The smell of forest, rain, and flowers gave her hope of finding a peaceful place, but when she ran outside, ash covered the sky.

White and black uniforms, they ran a deep shade of war and regrets. She was back on the battlefield. The smoke rose from the burnt grass, fires grew in the distance, destroying City Base 8. It filled her lungs with death and despair.

I can’t breathe… I can’t breathe…

The soldiers sluggishly walked towards her like zombies, most bleeding from their chest, others mangled and hobbled about. She staggered back, and crunched a skull beneath her boot. She stood in a graveyard of bones and rotten flesh. Bile rose up her throat.

No. This wasn’t happening. This was just a dream.

This wasn’t real. This was all in my head.

Breathe in… Breathe out… Breathe in… Breathe out…

She pushed through the crowd, cutting and slicing every hand, every zombie that stepped towards her. A dirt path came into sight, just at the edge of the forest. It was the only way out, but it could be another trap. She’d take her chances.

“You can run, but you can’t hide. I’ll always find you wherever you go!” His hypnotic voice echoed through the trees, in the ground, and into her skull.

She ran through the woods, refusing to look back. If horror movies taught her one thing, it was to never look back, but the further she ran, the denser the forest became. Tree limbs scratched at her arms, grass changed into slippery rocks.

This was just like one of her fears. Just like the demon who tried to eat her alive in the hallway, the soldiers she killed in the past, and now getting lost in this forest, afraid no one would ever find her and she’d die alone.

Caterina used to tell Ava and Gio about the reapers as bedtime stories. They grew up learning to fear the night, stay inside where it’s safe and stay away from strangers. Ava believed they were just stories to scare children into behaving, but what if they were true?

What if the demon man really is a reaper?

Ava tripped over a tree root and crashed onto the rocky grass. Her palms stung, knees raw with scrapes, but there was no time to think. A bird swooped at her head. It cawed, circling around the tree trunks, shooting like a dart.

She ran faster. The bird caws echoed through the forest, becoming a melody of screeches and howls. Her shoes caught on some gravel and slid forward. The bird swooped by her head but missed again.

Another bird swooped towards her side. Its beak nipped her ear. She ducked, using the branches as cover. Their tiny sticks scratched at her skin and clothes, but she didn’t stop. There was no time. She had to keep running. She had to get out of here.

The edge of a cliff popped up. Grasping a tree branch, Ava’s boots skid to a stop, knocking small rocks over the cliff and into a pool of dark abyss. They made no sound nor waves. The pool of water sat still as if death were swimming in it.

A blackbird glided over the horizon. Its wings were spread out so wide and far, it appeared larger and more menacing. Red beady eyes poked out of its skull. The bird landed on the tree behind Ava.

She should’ve prepared herself. She knew the bastard was playing with her fears, yet seeing the red eyes popped up one after the other, she could never prepare for this.

Hundreds of blackbirds perched on every branch, becoming trees themselves. They cawed violently like a shifting storm. Ava staggered back, nearing the cliff. Her heart raced, throat closed. It was getting harder to breathe. Their wings flapped, dust and wind wrapped around her. She tried covering her face.

The blackbirds swooped into the sky, creating this vortex of wind, then dived, pushing Ava onto the ground. Their beaks pecked at her skin, dug into her clothes and flesh, cut her like razor-sharp knives.

Using the knife, she swat at them the best she could, but only cut a few down. More cropped up in their place. From within the flow of birds, the demon man formed, his sinister smile first greeting her before his black eyes.

He stabbed a knife into the ground and pressed the blade against her neck. It grazed her skin every time she breathed. This was it. It was do or die.

The demon man hovered above, the stench of fear seeped into her very soul. She couldn’t wake up. She couldn’t outrun him. She couldn’t use her abilities. The only thing left to do was fight, but if she touched him, she might die. I’m not ready to die.

Trembling, Ava stabbed her knife into his neck.

He didn’t flinch. He didn’t move. He didn’t even bleed.

Instead, he laughed.

He sat up and slowly pulled the knife away from her neck. His distance gave her an opening. She scurried back on the rocks, closer to the edge of the dark pool below. Ava didn’t care anymore. She’d jump in any abyss to get away from this demon.

A wooden cane wrapped around her throat, choking her, yanking her back. Bone-chilling air drifted across her skin. “It’s not your time, yet. But when it comes, I imagine taking your soul will be the most satisfying,” he said.

When Ava managed to gasp for air, the words left her without caution. “Why are you doing this? Why are you torturing me!”

“Torture? I simply love playing with others' fears and nothing more.”

He dropped the cane and poked her back. Its wooden peg dug into her tailbone, forcing her forward—towards the wind and the setting sun.

The rocky edge was at her palms, the drop closer than before.

“Heed my warning, Earth’s General. The gods are coming for you. So you better run and hide. Because they will not be kind to you as I have been tonight,” he said.

And then Ava jumped.