The light in your nightmares

She didn't make it to shore after all.

Adrenaline makes all her muscles quiver.

She is covered in blood and dirt among the natives.

Her green eyes follow the boat as it moves away like so many others.

A tear runs down her cheek.

She has difficulty in understanding. She was so close to the goal.

she only had a few meters left to cross to reach the water!

But so many of these beings block her path that she can see only a small piece of the lake from where she stands.

They are pressed against her.

They stink of death.

Their fingers are clenched on the handles of their weapons, ready to strike.

She gasps. Her rib cage hurts.

She is among the living corpses like a lost sheep among wolves.

Pony remains petrified for too long. When the boat almost completely disappear from her field of vision, when the natives began to get agitated again, when the crazy gazes once again land on the back of her neck, she realises that it's time to flee .

Thus the woman turns around, trying to force her way.

But the natives huddle together, some try to block her path, blocking her with their arms.

Soon they will be able to resume the massacre.

it's like a trap that closes around her to flatten her alive.

This is where she understands that there is no going back. She becomes agitated, she cries in terror.

She tells herself that she will not die without a fight. Even if she has to break the Ferryman's rules.

Her teeths clenched, she pushes everything she can but they are all too strong and too numerous. they compress her with their bodies, their black eyes never taking their gaze off her.

Out of the corner of her eye she sees the dark silhouette of the boat blending into the mist.

Natives change their attitude almost immediately.

Pony no longer grits her teeth, she screams.

Blades slash her shoulders and arms.

Her scream is sharp, filled with rage and pain.

This woman who is usually so proud and reckless is reduced by blows and panic to a sobbing little girl. She asks them to stop, almost begging them.

But she also strikes, She strikes blindly, everything that blocks her path get slashed. Crying, screaming and insulting everything and everyone all the while.

-Fuck STOP! Fuck YOU All! DIE DIE!

Blood spurts into her pupils.

And when she blinks she realizes that in panic she continued to move towards the shore.

She doesn't think any further. If there is no going back, all that remains is to move forward. Black nails try to hold her back, clawing at her cheeks. But she only focuses on one thing.

She knows very well that she won't last more than a minute, and now that she knows the real rules of the Ferryman. She knows this one won't come back.

This dirty guy lied to them!

There are no second attempts! And from the beginning there was no room for them all!

If she had known! If she had known!

-AAAAAAAH!

A club hits her stomach, the impact make her bend.

Both her knees touch the ground, a blade cuts the air just above her.

She avoids it, rolls, almost crawls and there she finally reaches the black water.

She quickly gets up and runs with bleeding knees.

Her tears dry on her cheeks.

Behind her back the cry of the natives who are angry at no longer being able to leave with the boat pursues her

She dives into the water without hesitation.

As soon as she is in the lake she loses her footing.

It's like falling off an invisible cliff.

Her arms move in all directions, like a panicked dog.

She gulp down a sip of water, the muddy taste covering her tongue.

The women manages to stabilize herself, swimming as quickly as possible.

A glance behind her shoulder assures her that no natives are following.

With adrenaline she manage to move forward in the water quite far in a short time .

The water is so black that from a distance you have the impression that her head and arms are emerging from the void.

It is impossible to see what is below her.

Pony moves through the water quickly, ever and ever further.

But she can't find the opposite bank.

There is only the black surface of the lake, and all around the white which seems to extend to infinity.

She wonders if she is following the right direction, if by chance she is not being misled or perhaps in panic is she swimming in circles? Maybe she is returning to the starting point?

Already exhausted and filled with doubt, she stops moving forward.

She floats there, her gaze lost in the black immensity.

Then she feels it, something moving against her foot.

She wiggles her leg trying to see beyond the surface of the opaque water but can't see anything.

The feeling returns. Something slides against her skin.

She thinks she sees scales glowing.

She doesn't have time to scream when a jaw is already closing on her calf.

the women skin is pierced, her flesh is torn and her bones are broken.

The pain is sudden and immeasurable.

The young woman loses control of her suffering body.

She feels her muscles stretch, then snap under the pull of the sharp teeth.

It's as if Pony suddenly lost weight. Her eyes roll in her sockets. She loses consciousness for a second.

Then she flinch, her eyes rolling back. It's not over.

The beast that took her leg is now attacking the other.

She is tossed around by the creature like a rag doll.

Other bones crack but the flesh and sinews hold together enough for the beast to drag Pony into the water.

thus dragged in the dark, Pony feels cold scales without seeing them brushing her once more.

The pain is too great for her to think.

The women tries to scream but she can only be silent, since the water she swallows drowns her lungs.

Her arm is torn off next .

She is like a common toy that is being dismantled.

She can't do anything anymore. how can she fight in this state? Powerless she can only wait for death.

Her face contorted, she keeps her eyes wide open.

Then she disappears.Just in time.

...

Charismatic managed to escape.

The young woman runs into the forest, pursued by more than a hundred natives.

The biggest and strongest among them are barely a few centimeters away from catching her.

She doesn't know where Pony is.

She lost the other woman during the melee.

Just like Handsome, who she had to abandon in the crowd when the attacks increased.

At one point during the debacle Charismatic was knocked to the ground, a club hitting her until her skull was crushed.

Luckily the boat arrived before the natives could do more.

Knowing in advance that she will have no chance of surviving if she stays near the water, she got up and somehow managed to take advantage of everyone's distraction to reach the woods.

Now she feels nauseous, and the bitter, metallic taste of blood in her mouth keep coming in wave.

Sweat runs down her temples.

Her cranial box is totally deformed giving an inhuman appareance.

She gets dizzy just from running.

Everything is vague and confusing. Some Hands catch her.

She is thrown to the ground. The gray faces of the Natives approaching like envoys of death.

She has no reaction. She's in too much pain to care.

Vaguely Charismatic seems to see the stocky man who has always accompanied her appear around the corner of a large tree and fight against her pursuers.

The righteous woman remains lying in the mud, bile rising to the corners of her lips...

She knows she can't get up.

She tries to tell her companion to leave, to leave her there, but all that comes out of her mouth is a whisper in the cacophony of screams .

The man does not leave.

More than fear, it was guilt that tear her apart.

She should not have agreed to try to take the boat. The other woman with the ponytail didn't want to at first, and now Charismatic has lost that woman without being able to intervene.

And the sick man, whom she helped to stand up, also ultimately counted on her help to survive. But when the blows fell, she found herself the weakest of all.

Unable to defend herself, how could she have defended others?

If she hadn't said she agreed with the lake, would the others have changed their minds? If she hadn't assured the man that she would help him walk to the shore, would he still have wanted to try his luck?

Are they dead? Because of her?Because of her choices?

Her eyes turn to Potatoes who is still defending her.

He is surrounded. And no matter how strong he is she knows he will fall. He is overwhelmed by numbers.

And will he die because of her too?

By a new twist of fate, however, she loses consciousness like Potatoes and before the blades come to finish them off, their bodies disappear.

The natives do not seem surprised, only disappointed and incredibly frustrated.

Irritation that they transfer without hesitation to those who ran with them during the hunt.

Blood spurts again, in a perpetual cycle of violence.

...

A few minutes before, the boat shrouded in mist takes its passengers into a world of silence.

Dust is in a daze. Although he places his hands against his wounds, blood accumulates under his feet in a dark puddle.

The boy seems lethargic.

Red perceives his discomfort, his thin lips pressed together in an inverted curve, he asks the Ferryman:

- Are we arriving soon?

The entity stands at the head of the boat.

His back, covered in a black coat, has sank a little since they left the swamp.

The Ferryman does not respond, only a slight movement of his hood allows you to be sure that he has heard correctly.

-Forget it, it's been so long since he said anything other than his stupid rules.

It's the man with the feathered hat who answers.

He turns to look at the two young mens, clutching the long rusty barrel of his weapon in his arms.

Red only reacts with a puckering of his lips, inscrutable.

Dust also remains silent.

He knows he is starting to lose too much blood.

Sitting in the boat, he saves his energy by curling up on himself, the cold starting to creep into him.

It's Two who intervenes next.

His voice shakes a little, but he seems calmer than a few hours ago.

-You speak the same language ?

The man rocks back and forth, the feather above his head following the movement. The blade of the bayonet above its barrel lightly touching the nape of the man's neck in this oscillating movement

If Dust would have looked at the man at that moment he would have seen a strange pout on his gray-blue face. His lips stretching into a big smile that reveals yellow teeth.

He seems strangely happy, almost peaceful.

-We have already had Travelers from your world. I remember it yes. they took the wrong path.

Despite his unreassuring appearance, Two continues his questions, becoming more and more confident with each answer.

Perhaps because he notices that the Native is in a talkative mood.

-The wrong path? What do you mean?

-By that I mean they ended up in the wrong places in this hellish piece of land.

-Did they teach you the language?

-Yes, who else?

-Did you also help them get into the boat?

They are the only two who speak during the journey, their discussion only interrupted by the sound of the oars cutting the smooth surface of the water.

The old man, Follower and even Red watch the two mens communicate in silence.

Dust closes his eyes. He is still conscious but he prefers to ignore certain signs.

-No. I already told you. They took the wrong path.

The man stops speaking for a moment to let out a little laugh, almost teasing.

-I didn't help them, I couldn't even help myself. No instead I stole their rifle.

Behind his closed eyelids the boy feel sick.

Two stops for a moment, surprised by the answer, but undoubtedly his desire to understand the situation better takes precedence over anything else with him since he persists:

-So why help our companion to ride with you, what's different? You could have gone up alone.

A sigh is heard.

-Because my partner did not manage to reach the shore. Because I could. Because there is no longer any reason to block your way since I managed to cross.

Dust's fingers, almost glued together with all the blood he has lost, tense.

He opens his eyes, his pupils reflecting for a moment all the passengers on the boat. All of them in a pitiful state, like people from a terrible war.

Even the native is not spared.

He can't lie to himself. Despite his appearance which is similar to a corpse, this man with the hat is like them. A real living being. Not a simple monster. Which is, for Dust, much worse.

Two opens his mouth again, but almost instantly falls forward. Soon all except the Ferryman and the Native disappear.

Like specters that would have finished haunting the lake.

The boat, however, does not continue its progress.

It stops advancing and the Ferryman remains motionless.

The mist thickens even more, it is a rapid and dense white wave which comes to cover the water and the marshy lands.

In this white smoke, the native reacts with more surprise than when the travelers disappeared before his eyes.

He exclaims:

-Hold on! Hold on! I haven't left yet?!

In the white he is only a black silhouette. Like a lost shadow.

The dry voice responds in an icy whisper, repeating a single rule:

-All natives can only reach the other shore if all natives have reached the other shore.

-What?! MadRey what are you talking about?! If you move forward I will be on the other side, I-

-All natives can only reach the other shore if all natives have reached the other shore.

-MadRey answer me! I never did anything to you! (The pestiferous man, completely enraged, his relief from before forgotten, he appears to be filled with deseperation, bitterness and a soft madness)It's all your fault! If you hadn't done... if... You owe us a debt! You caused this nightmare, this endless cycle! Take me to the other side I respected all your rules MadRey!

There is nothing left but white, everything is white.

The Ferryman is no longer visible, but his voice, a little more human than before, responds one last time:

-You did not understand. "All natives can only reach the other shore if all natives have reached the other shore. ","I will come back as long as people want to cross, as long as there are travelers alive and as long as none of those are on board."

As a result, you failed.Now that Travelers have climbed into the boat how could I get all of our people to the other side?

The man in the hat only understands too late. Lost in a white immensity he asks without shouting, without screaming, without crying:

-Does this mean that all of us who have gone through each new cycle have failed?

This time no one answers him.

The mist finishes spreading completely, the natives themselves, like soldiers possessed on the shore, lose all free will, returning to the forest enveloped in

white smoke in neat row.

They are only some simple pawns returning to their post, their eyes nothing more than black marbles stripped of all soul.

Some of them walk over the corpses on the shore.

There lies Handsome's body, his face already sunken by the weight of all the crowds who trampled him during the debacle to reach the lake.

The arch of his nose is shattered, his mouth opened in horror reveals his broken teeth. His rolled eyes look at the sky, while his already blue tongue hangs out.

there is nothing beautiful anymore. It looks like a crushed insect.

Under his top there is a shudder, before hundreds of spiders emerge from the hole in his stomach. The mother of all her arachnids emerges triumphant from the organs.

" Nightmare: Level: Unknown.completed! Surviving Guest of the horror congratulation! Please awaken and rise!""