Suspended in the cold air, Linda felt as if she were about to fall. She was hanging upside down, bound by strings that tore through her skin. Blood poured out of her neck, some sliding all the way down into her lips—leaving an iron taste in her mouth.
And yet out of all of her current problems, it was her fatigue what terrified her the most. She was blinking wearily, tiredness weighing more and more heavily on her eyelids. Falling asleep in her current condition would only put her on a doomed road which led towards one destination.
Die…I'm going to die…
Her heart started racing. She needed to act quickly before she lost consciousness. She tried to think of ways to save her life, but clouded by pain and vertigo, Linda found it impossible to focus.
Think, you fool, you don't have time to waste.
Her eyes widened. All the negative thoughts in her mind muted as if someone had lowered the noise, clearing space for her to think without distractions.
Yeah… I can do this! There's still hope.
First she needed to stop the bleeding in her throat. She pressed her chin against the wound, instantly regretting it as she felt the burn in her throat intensify.
Oh, Jesus, it hurts! But I covered the wound, that's all that matters.
The next problem was the real challenge and that was how she'd get down. Her situation reminded Linda of scenes in movies or shows in which characters were caught by a trap and they'd hang by a rope tied to their feet.
She tried to remember how they managed to escape in those cases. But considering that most involved doing impossible stunts like bending their body to reach the rope and cut it, none of them seemed like a real solution. Not only because of the fact that Linda herself was very unathletic but also because she wasn't being held up by a rope. It was strings.
Wait a minute…I'm tied by strings. Strings which are thinner, smaller and more fragile than a rope.
Using all of her remaining strength, Linda stretched her body out as much as possible to break apart the string. But surprisingly it was more resilient than she had initially assumed, not feeling particularly any different.
I can't…I can't break it. Why? It's just string!
She struggled a few more minutes before she eventually gave up. For a moment she remained still, tears forming in her eyes while the ugly truth settled in.
Useless. After all I've been through, I'm still…useless…
Because she was unable to break the string, she only had one option left: She needed someone else to bring her down. Judging by how dark and quiet it was, Linda guessed it was probably past midnight. Meaning it would take hours before anyone came across her.
No, by that time I'd be dead.
She looked around desperately, searching for anything that could help her. She was surrounded by complete darkness except for the moonlight leaking through the stained glass.
"Ah!"
Out of her eye's corner she noticed a shadow move. Her breathing stopped the moment she turned to face it. Just like her, there were two other people hanging in the air. They made no move or sound, only ever slightly rotating by the wind's fault. Upon looking closely at the larger body, she gasped horrified. It was a man wearing simple clothes, carrying a sword by his belt.
"Ow—"
She vomited the moment she opened her mouth, sickness finally catching up with her. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. No—she refused to accept it. Why had things come down to this? Moments ago everything seemed fine. Hit by an overwhelming exhaustion, Linda knew that her time was up.
This is a nightmare.
Yes, that's right. It was the only logical conclusion. To think that this place was anything but a nightmare, how foolish of her.
As her consciousness slowly faded, she remembered a crucial detail she had almost missed, probably because of how absurd it seemed. Out the window, she looked up towards that which sat on the heavens, indifferently watching over its realm. And she did the same thing she had done the night before.
I beg you…wake me up from this nightmare…please…
With her last breath, Linda made one final wish to the waning crescent moon.