(pov : Roum)
We left the camp as soon as we heard the screams.
Heart-rending screams, far away, to the east.
Romance.
I recognized her immediately.
No need to talk about it. We just looked at each other, then moved.
Joy took the lamp, Disgust grabbed the rope, and I checked my chargers.
We moved forward slowly, all connected to the same thread, as if we were walking on the edge of an abyss.
The fog was heavy, almost solid.
Even our breaths seemed to be lost in it.
- Roum… are you sure it's really her?
Joy whispered.
His voice trembled a little, but not from fear. From uncertainty.
I didn't answer him. I didn't want to lie to him.
The further we went, the more the trees changed.
The branches looked like arms.
Some were moving. Others were moving.
Or maybe it was just our minds cracking.
And suddenly, a gunshot.
BANG !
The bullet whizzed past my head inches away.
I froze, arms raised.
And that's when I saw her.
Romance.
Dirty, scratched, wild-eyed.
She was pointing her gun at us, her whole body shaking.
She looked… absent.
As if something else was looking through HER or looking at HER
- Hey, it's me! It's Roum! Calm down!
My voice trembled. Just a little.
But she screamed.
"DEMON !"
And before I could say anything, she jumped on me.
I felt his knee hit my chest, his breath hot, his knife grazing my throat.
- Asmara! Stop! Wait, what's wrong with you?
Joy rushed to pull her back, but Asmara was faster.
She pushed her away violently, and Joy crashed against a tree trunk.
Disgust screamed, completely lost.
- Asmara, it's us, damn it! Are you going too far?!
But she didn't listen to us.
His eyes didn't even see us.
She was staring at something else.
Something in the fog.
- fake... you are all fake... you are all lying...
I raised my hands, slowly.
I didn't want to rush her.
She was shaking so much that the blade of her knife vibrated.
- It's me. Look at my hands. See? I won't do anything, yes, take the knife out. Remember? You're the one who...
She degenerated my weapon
And shot.
Three knocks.
Blindly.
The bullets got lost in the fog, and after that, nothing.
Just the dry sound of the empty trigger.
CLAP. CLAP.
She was breathing heavily.
I saw his lips moving, but no sound came out.
And suddenly, she grabbed me, pushed me to the ground, and I felt the blade slide against my skin.
- You think you'll get me with that old trick... it's not you...
His voice was no longer his own.
It was hoarse, strangled.
As if she were speaking from underwater.
Joy stood up, furious, her face marked.
- She's completely lost it! You want to kill us now!
"Wait!" I shouted, trying to free myself.
But Asmara was no longer listening.
She raised the knife.
I saw her hesitate.
Just a moment. Just a moment.
Then the pain.
Burning.
A blade that sinks into my shoulder.
I screamed.
Blood spurted out.
Red. Real.
I fell to my knees, gasping for air.
I looked into her eyes.
And I saw nothing human.
Just… a chasm.
"You're exaggerating…" I whispered.
But she stepped back, the knife still dripping, muttering under her breath:
- You are shadows... you all lie...
Joy wanted to hit her.
I held her with my gaze.
- No… wait…
Asmara titubait.
She laughed nervously, her hands over her ears.
- don't come near DEMON, DEMON... I have to eliminate you...
I didn't know whether to help him or run away.
And then she froze.
Her eyes slid behind me, as if she saw something we couldn't.
- What's wrong?!
No answer.
Just a breath taken away.
Then she whispered:
- She's here...
We all turned around.
And I didn't see anything either.
Just mist, nothing else.
Love
What is really you?
She didn't move.
Just his face.
Exactly the same.
Joy stepped forward and grabbed her by the hair.
- she's crazy...
Asmara started screaming.
An animal, inhuman howl.
She tore herself away from Joy, ran towards the fog,
Then, nothing.
Silence.
The mist closed in on them.
Joy was trembling, still panting.
- What was that?
I didn't answer.
I couldn't.
My shoulder was bleeding, my breath was short.
And in my head, only one sentence was turning
"Is that her?"