The voices echoed loudly, a growing anguish gripped her, taking her breath away.
Clawing hands clutched her limbs, icy sighs touched her face, throwing her into a whirlwind of anguished despair.
"Enough, enough!" she felt like she was screaming, but she couldn't hear a sound come out of her mouth.
A trickle of moisture ran down her face.
"Am I crying?" she wondered darkly.
A powerful force hit her, throwing her away. She felt her bones shatter, but she couldn't move.
"What's happening to me? Why can't I move?" she gasped.
Something wet touched her face, a slimy sensation that made her gag.
It was thick, slimy, like drool, with a sweetish smell, like burnt flowers.
She felt suffocated and tried desperately to pull away, to no avail.
"Don't go," a croaking voice whispered in her ear. "We've been waiting so long."
"No! No!" she screamed desperately, trying to force her rigid body to move.
Terror filled her head, her lungs seemed to have stopped, and the dull thumping of her heart echoed at the edge of her hearing.
"Reeeiinaaa!" chanted a cackling voice, like that of a child wanting to play, but with such a horrifying density that it scared her to death.
"Help me! Help me!" she murmured, feeling her strength failing.
"Grandma sends her regards," the voice laughed ungracefully, coming closer.
It was as if someone had driven a stake through her heart. She felt the cold invade her, numb her, and carry her away, into unconsciousness.
The laughter echoed for a long time, the shadow touched her empty seat and smiled.
"You will return, Jibril, your place is here with us."
"Reina, wake up!"
"Leave me... help..."
"You're safe, don't worry."
That sweet voice had the power to calm her. She realized she had spoken and whispered:
"Who... who are you?"
"I'm Dr. Arkham."
The memory of that face dawned on her, and she forced herself to open her eyes. Fog and damp greeted her, the hard ground beneath her made of wet grass.
Two dark, worried eyes were staring at her, and she recognized them as the doctor.
"Where am I?"
Her throat burned from the effort of articulating the words, but she didn't intend to stop. The memory of the aphonia and the emptiness made her tremble.
"In the community, remember?"
He barely moved his head to nod.
"Do you have pain somewhere?" he asked, taking her hand.
She made a great effort to move her arm and legs, but a pang of pain made her moan.
"Where?" the doctor asked.
"My ankle. On the right," he whispered, gritting his teeth.
Two hands lifted her leg, gently feeling her foot.
"It's sprained, it has a big bruise. Considering how far she's flown, she's lucky that..."
"Thanks, Michael, let's go ahead with the stretcher and take her back to the infirmary," the man interrupted firmly, standing up and motioning to someone.
Two nurses rushed over, placed a stretcher on the floor, and with quick movements, placed it on the mattress, covering it with a blanket.
Only then did she realize how many people were there, recognizing several nurses from the community.
It was only as they were carrying her away that she noticed a small group standing off to the side, chatting. They weren't guests, nor visitors. They looked like a group of curious teenagers, but one characteristic made them different: pale and emaciated, dressed in modern but sloppy clothes.
They were shadows, and they were pointing at her.
A shiver ran through her, making her tremble convulsively.
"Quick, get in there!" the doctor ordered, assessing her pallor and pushing them toward the entrance.
She was led to a small room where her injured ankle was treated, her temperature was taken, and a hot drink was brought. She drank it with pleasure, trying to chase the shadows away. It was only when everyone had left that Arkham returned to her. He looked at her grimly.
"What happened out there?" he asked.
Reina shook her head.
"I don't know," she murmured. "What was I doing on the floor?"
"You fell from the balcony of your room. Or rather, you jumped."
She looked up, astonished.
"What are you saying, that I tried to kill myself?" she blurted out.
"You did?"
"Are you kidding? Why would I?" she replied, offended by that assumption.
Without answering, Arkham sat a short distance away from her, crossing his arms.
"They saw you gesticulating, shouting, then you climbed onto the balcony and jumped into the void," he replied dryly.
Shocked, she placed the cup on the table and closed her eyes. She couldn't remember anything, not even what she'd done in the previous hours. The only vivid sensation was the numbness of her body and that anguished voice she'd heard.
"Reina, talk to me."
She grimaced bitterly.
"She thinks I'm hiding something from her, but I'm not. I don't know why I was on the balcony, I don't remember. I just know…" She took a deep breath and opened her tear-filled eyes. "I just know I had a bad nightmare, and I'm still scared."
The doctor nodded slowly and stood up.
"I'll have you taken to your room so you can rest."
Reina's emotions flared.
"No!" she exclaimed.
He approached her, worried.
"Are you afraid of sleeping?"
"I..." she swallowed embarrassed. "If there's... something, well, in the room, I..."
"I understand. Do you want to stay in the infirmary? It's not exactly the most comfortable place, but at least there are no windows that might increase your fear of unwelcome presences."
He smiled at her, and the girl relaxed.
"Yes, I would appreciate that."
With a nod, the doctor walked away, leaving her to her tangled thoughts. She leaned back against the pillow, raised her bandaged leg, noting that it didn't hurt, and pulled the blanket up to her chin. Not remembering what had happened irritated her, but she couldn't concentrate. Without realizing it, she drifted off to sleep.
A cold sensation jolted her awake, and she sat up, horrified. She scanned the infirmary uneasily, but there was nothing there except a sad Luca, crouched next to the gauze cabinet.
"You gave me the cold shoulder!" she snarled, gasping for breath. "After what I..."
She stopped and frowned.
"Do you know what happened to me? Why, according to Arkham, I tried to kill myself?"
Luca didn't answer, but remained staring at her with sad eyes.
"Luca, spit it out!"
The ghost avoided her gaze and rose upward.
"You're not allowed to run away, come back here!" she fumed, throwing the blanket aside and climbing off the bed. A pang made her collapse and grit her teeth.
The ghost seemed surprised and returned to her, but kept his distance.
"Are you hurt?" he asked.
The girl nodded and grabbed the bed to get up.
"I'm sorry. I didn't think that…"
He suddenly stopped and began to rise again.
Cursing under her breath, Reina sat up, stretched out her leg, and resumed breathing slowly.
"Either you tell me what's happening, or you can just walk away and never come back!"
Her angry, pained tone stopped Luca in his tracks. He turned and they faced each other for a few moments, until the ghost nodded.
"It was my fault!" he admitted, lowering himself to the foot of the bed. "I thought I was protecting you, but I unleashed the delirium."
"What did you do?"
"I wanted to protect you from the damned," he whispered.
"What damned?"
"The ones summoned by Pardo," he replied dejectedly.
Reina flinched.
"But it's not the 7th yet!"
"Before he is claimed, the shadow world organizes to transport as many disembodied, or ghosts, as possible to this side. Pardo is the key to unlocking it, but unconsciously he is also a summoner. In a certain sense, he is always searching for his loved ones, and those who feed on fear, like the damned, cling to these emotions."
"Does he know?" she asked, frightened.
"I don't think so, but even if he did, he wouldn't care. Do you know anyone else who sees ghosts, besides you?"
"What do you mean?"
"The disembodied covet those with a gift, like sight or the power to open doors. Pardo is already one of them. Who do you think will be their target now?"
"You think they're looking for me? But I've been here a long time and they've never attacked me," she protested.
"Only because you didn't know him. He led them to you, and now they know who you are."
Reina shivered.
Luca remained silent for a moment before confessing.
"Last night, I was the one who accidentally knocked you out so you wouldn't go to him, but your uncontrolled power alerted them, and they rushed to claim you."
"What do you mean? You…"
She stopped suddenly, grasping a thought.
"I was on my way to him when… What happened to me? Did you hit me?"
Luca shook his head.
"I had created a barrier on your door, but when you touched it, something I hadn't expected happened. Your 'gift' reacted and created a backlash that made you faint. I was scared and tried to revive you, but you started screaming and kicking, and then you ran to the balcony. I tried to grab you, but you threw yourself down. If I weren't already dead, I would be after seeing you on the floor!"
Reina let out a faint smile at his tenderness, but quickly regained her composure.
"Why didn't you tell me about it, instead of acting on your own? You don't know what a nightmare I've been through!"
"I know him well, though!" she murmured, twisting her jacket.
The girl became more attentive.
"What do you mean?"
Luca approached her.
"A scratchy voice in the darkness, a feeling of cold and darkness, a cold trail that touches you, yet you cannot move? Believe me, all ghosts know it. It's Glacys, the web of death. If you return from the afterlife, it's a mandatory passage," she sighed.
"That... 'thing,' does it have a name? Is it a demon?"
"No, it's an entity formed from the terror every human generates at the point of death. The various sensations intertwine, like a spider's web, giving life to Glacys, who feeds on the fear of the dead and demands a pledge from those who have returned."
"What did you give her?" she whispered, frightened.
"My voice," she smiled sadly. "I loved singing so much."
Reina sketched a sad smile.
She imagined that little boy who never grew up, skipping around the garden, humming a beautiful, cheerful tune. If he'd been a boy of her era, she'd imagine him with his hair sticking up, baggy jeans, and an oversized T-shirt, belting out rap lyrics.
But Luca hadn't even made it to adolescence, and that always wrenched her heart.
A rustling sound interrupted them, the ghost commanded her to be quiet and disappeared, leaving her rigid and frightened.
She didn't like her new condition; she had hoped that by taking the medication, the apparitions would become less frequent or even stop, but that wasn't happening.
Just thinking about that voice made her tremble with fear.
Several minutes passed, during which the lights dimmed intermittently. Reina hoped they wouldn't go out because at that moment, just thinking about the darkness made her feel faint.
She pulled the blanket tightly around her and swung her feet off the bed, despite the throbbing of her injured ankle.
There was no sound, and the prospect, far from soothing her, frightened her. She slowly advanced until she reached the closed door, glanced through the small window, but saw nothing but low, flickering lights.
She sighed and put her hand on the handle, which didn't budge.
She was locked inside, she realized with a shudder. Was Arkham afraid she would escape?
She leaned against the wall, trying not to give in to fear. She had to stay clear and react in case of danger.
She inhaled several times, trying to regain her composure, when she felt the doorknob move.
She covered her mouth with her hand, stifling a spontaneous scream, and flattened herself against the wall. She cast a desperate glance around the room, searching for a weapon to defend herself, but to no avail.
With ominous creaks, the handle lowered completely and the door began to swing open.
Reina slid backward along the wall, groped for a cabinet, and slipped past it, hiding behind it. She held her breath and the tears that stung her eyes.
The door opened slowly, increasing her agony.
A dark, tall, powerful shadow loomed in the opening and remained there for a few moments, scanning the room.
"Reina," a hoarse voice murmured.
The young woman flattened herself against the wall, wincing.
The shadow seemed to sense something because it took a few steps into the room, uncertainly, and repeated her name.
The lights suddenly came on, flooding the room with light, forcing her back.
"Reina!" Arkham's voice shouted, coming running.
With a groan of relief, the girl left her post and threw herself into the doctor's arms.
"You're fine," the man sighed, hugging her.
"There was... a shadow that... I was terrified," she stammered, breaking into tears.
"Don't worry, there's no one there. And whatever it was, it's gone now," he reassured her.
Nodding, she let herself be comforted by his embrace and followed him quietly to the bed.
"You're exhausted, you need to rest," he stated, handing her the blanket that had slipped to the floor.
"I'm afraid to sleep, I'm afraid that thing will come back," she whimpered, covering her head.
"It won't come back, trust me," he reassured her.
He took a syringe, measured out some liquid from a bottle, and took her arm.
"It's a sleeping pill that will allow you to sleep without dreams or nightmares. I'll stay here and watch over you, and if you get agitated for any reason, I'll wake you. I promise."
Deeply exhausted, she agreed, sinking back against the pillow with a sigh.
She felt a slight pinch, and then the room began to darken, mixing objects and sounds, dragging her into nothingness.