Chapter 4: Escape

Leticia tensed, feeling the mist around her thicken. Its movement grew more chaotic, as if something within it was awakening. Cold tendrils wrapped around her legs, leaving an unsettling sensation of clammy dampness. The humid air clung to her skin, seeping deep into her bones.

— Leticia… — Aya’s voice trembled. — We… we really need to run.

Leticia cast a quick glance at the girl. Her fear was almost tangible, but there was still a fire of defiance in her eyes. She wasn’t someone who would give up without a fight. But something inside whispered—this mist was not just an ordinary phenomenon. It was alive. It was waiting. And now, it had begun to move faster.

— Agreed, — Leticia nodded, making a decision instantly.

She reached for Aya, but Aya suddenly shoved her aside, stepping in front of her.

— Run! — Aya shouted.

Leticia gritted her teeth and turned, bolting forward. They ran, but it didn’t feel like moving forward. Their feet sank into the dense fog, each step stretching into eternity. Time seemed to slow. Around them, there was nothing but a viscous haze, pulling them deeper into its silent snare.

"Why can’t we escape?" Leticia thought desperately. "Is this place… not real? Or are we trapped in it, like in a loop? We run, but remain in place, as if this is a punishment, a trial."

Her heart pounded like a frenzied drum. One step. Another. And no change in their surroundings. Her breathing grew heavier, but she couldn’t afford to stop. A fire of resistance burned in her chest, even if everything around them felt endless.

— Aya, do you feel it? — she shouted without looking back.

— Yes! — Aya’s voice cracked into a scream. — It won’t let us go!

The mist constricted around them, forcing them to move even faster. It felt like they had been running forever, yet nothing changed. Where was the exit? Was there even one?

Suddenly, Leticia felt her foot snag on something. She lost balance. The ground beneath her vanished, and she fell, hitting her knees against an invisible surface. But nothing—no pain, no sensation of solid ground. As if there was nothing beneath her at all.

"Why doesn’t it hurt? What the hell…?"

Leticia turned and froze in horror.

The mist was no longer just moving—it was roaring, like an avalanche of snow, surging toward them. A massive wall of thick, white terror devoured everything in its path. It wasn’t just following them—it was closing in, ready to consume them completely.

Aya stared at the looming force with grim determination. Her heart pounded wildly, fear tightening around her lungs, but she knew—they had no time. She glanced at Leticia, saw the shock in her eyes, and without hesitation, stepped forward, putting herself between her and the oncoming nightmare.

"I won’t let her die!"

Fear tore at her chest, but she wouldn’t back down.

The mist crashed over them with terrifying force. A wind, born from its depths, struck them like thousands of icy needles, piercing to the very core. Leticia felt her body lose weight, her feet lifting off the ground. Her breath turned hollow, unable to fill her lungs. The cold—endless, impenetrable, merciless—swallowed her whole.

The last thing she heard was Aya’s voice, filled with determination—

And pain.

***

Leticia opened her eyes.

For the first few seconds, her mind refused to grasp reality. The ceiling… it was so familiar that her heart clenched. Cracked plaster on the ceiling of a cheap room. Tattered curtains, lazily swaying in the breeze from an open window.

The cold hadn’t fully left her body yet. The memory of the mist still weighed on her chest. She breathed harder, jolting upright. But instead of icy wind, there was only stale, suffocating heat, and the scent of dust and decay filled her nose.

— Aya!

Her voice echoed in the empty room, but no one answered.

Only silence.

"Where is she? Where’s Aya?"

Shaking, Leticia ran a hand over her body, trying to feel something real. She was here. Alive. But that nightmare… had it been a dream? Or was it not over yet?

Footsteps.

Faint, but unmistakable.

Leticia held her breath, her heart tightening.

— Who’s there?

Her voice still trembled.

The door creaked open.