She raised her head and frequently turned round and round but there was no one around her, she looked down again and the feet were still there.
She was frightened she started running on the trail, and she finally left those feet behind but she could still hear someone running behind her.
She kept running until she realized she'd been running in circles, she stopped running and the other feet also stopped, but they were not beside her feet anymore, she couldn't see them now.
It was quiet there was no hint of wind or light but she could hear whispers from time to time, someone touching her in the most uncomfortable manner.
Sometimes holding her belly, sometimes sliding a finger from her neck to the end of her spine, she started moving her hands in the air, to be able to hit whoever was touching her but there was no one.
When she gave up, four nails sharp as blades started gently sliding their way from the top of her neck, all the way down to the end of her spine, and stopped, the next thing she felt was the nails slicing hard through her skin and landing deep in her flesh.
She woke up with her mouth open wide, lost her voice, unable to scream, her eyes glazed white.
"Lisa!" Edgar yelled as he saw her pulling her own skin out from behind her back.
"What is happening to her?" Edgar yelled his lungs out.
Within a few minutes, Matt came out from the dark and got closer to the metal bars.
"Did you really think you killed the only Renatus?" He squinted, "Oh don't tell me that you don't even know the name of the thing you just killed!" He cackled.
"Do you see a woman in front of you?" He asked and Edgar's eyes jumped on the deformed woman who was hanging by her wrist.
"Do you see a small opening beneath her feet?" Edgar looked down there was a small opening beneath her feet just like the man said, it was like a small sink with a hole in it, then he noticed Lisa had the same thing under her feet.
There was water dripping down from their bodies "This is her soul liquefying out of her body and dripping in the bubbling hot pool you saw down there.
This woman in front of you came here a day before you arrived and within 48 hours she will rip every bit of herself and turn into the Renatus, the thing you met down there.
Just like your girlfriend, she will rip every bit of herself and then there will be nothing left but a loaf of flesh and bones, who loves to kill and collect bones and lick them, smell them, like how we feed on blood.
It will be painful to watch it but there will be no way to undo it, not after dawn, oh you don't have to worry, we don't do this to men, it's only women who are fun to be made into pets.
She won't feel pain once she's turned into the Renatus, there are too many perks of being a Renatus, she will run fast, she won't feel pain, and she can be reborn.
She will be immortal you just have to wait for umm…" He stared at the clock on the wall behind him "60 hours!" He smiled.
"And when she turns into Renatus please do call me I would love to watch her transformation, as she shreds every bit of her skin." He held the bars when they heard a loud bang, the man's eyes rolled up and closed and he fell down to the ground.
As he fell down they saw someone in the black cape exactly dressed as the one they met earlier, as the hood pulled back they saw it was Alicia.
"Not on my watch you misogynist bastard!" she spat on his body and extended her hands toward the bars, from a distance they saw her face was showing struggle but as she moved her hands away from each other the bars stretched.
She stepped in and as she pointed her fingers toward Ben's cuff it broke down and Ben fell down on his head "Ouch!" He moaned.
Then she did the same to Edgar's cuff and then to Lisa's, as soon as Lisa fell down her eyes closed. Edgar rushed directly to Lisa, Alicia held her face.
Alicia had so much pain visible on her face that everyone could see it, tears wouldn't stop pouring out of her eyes and this was weird for Ben and Edgar as she had just met her.
"I can heal her but you have to do as I say" Alicia stood up wiping her tears.
Edgar was very weak. Alicia quickly got to the table where Matt was sitting before, she picked up a cup and poked a hole in her wrist "You need your strength!" She offered it to Edgar first.
"I've never tasted human blood!" He nodded.
"Do you see her?" Alicia pointed toward Lisa "She will be dead without your help! She's depending on you! You have to keep aside your attitude if you want to protect her!" She kind of scolded him.
It was hard for him but he drank it anyway, this was weird for him but he healed faster, and without a wait, he carried Lisa on his shoulder while Ben drank Alicia's blood.
"How are we gonna get past the guards?" Ben asked, "Not to mention that feather, we have to get back that feather!" He added.
"Are you talking about this feather?" She smiled and opened her hand, there was that artifact floating above her palm.
"How did you manage to sneak out anyway?" Ben asked.
"First we have to get out of here, then I will answer your every question!" She took them out of that cell when Ben saw Matt's face for the first time.
"It's Mathias!" He gasped with shock.
Alicia looked at him with tears in her eyes and lowered her eyes "We don't have time! Ghoals will be here any second." she had some more cloaks just like the one she was wearing.
Edgar managed to dress Lisa up and then himself and held her in a way so she wouldn't fall and keep standing.
Their heads were hidden under the cloaks, and Alicia quickly sprayed at them.
"I thought you said it ended!" Ben whispered.
"Do you know where it is made?" She whispered, "It'll be nice if you stay quiet for a while!" She whispered again.
Edgar wasn't participating in any discussion, he was disturbed and his first priority was to get Lisa out of there as soon as possible.
As soon as Alicia stepped her toe out of the gateway, they heard a mumble "If you had loved her you wouldn't have taken her from here, if I were you I would have watched my love live and not die, no matter on what conditions!" It was Matt.
"What do you mean?" Edgar approached him.
"Don't listen to him…" Alicia tried to stop but Edgar wanted to know why he said that.
"That hourglass, you think no one knows anything about it except for you 4 but the truth is, the entire underworld knows about it except for all 4 of you.
Means it doesn't do what you think it does, 41 days are your only chance to feed her human blood or she will die!" He whispered in his breaking breath.
"You are lying!" Edgar couldn't believe him.
"Am I?" He smiled while still on the ground.
Edgar was left in shock, he was standing still staring at him without blinking.
"I am sorry!" Alicia approached Matt and pointed both of her index fingers toward a wall and a brick came out of the wall in her hands, she held it tight and smashed Matt's head.
"Alicia!" Ben called out to her, she covered her mouth and walked out of that place making them follow her, she held back her tears with a lot of struggle.
They went down a lot of stairs, there were guards fainted sitting by walls so they easily got past them and the front entrance was open so they rushed directly towards it.
Just on their way out, they saw a vampire guard approaching, as soon as he saw one of the guards tilted to his left he yelled "Halt!" He raised his hand.
"Long night huh?" He asked, "What did he have?" He winked.
Alicia did something to him that caused him a severe headache "Okay, okay! Go on, I won't stop you! But please don't complain about me!" He didn't only step out of their way but also opened the door for them.
As soon as they walked out of the Maw of Havoc, Guard's eyes fell on the ground where there was blood, he saw the blood trail was going toward the main gate.
"A ghoul never bleeds!" He whispered then turned around "Halt!" He yelled again but Edgar and his friends started walking fast until they disappeared into the thick clouds of fog.
"Carry her!" Alicia suggested and Edgar did what he was told to.
"Run!" She yelled and they all started running toward the stairway, from where they came, she took off her cape and threw it in the flame while getting close to the stairway.
Alicia pulled back her hands while pointing toward the ground and moved them in a way as if she it throwing a bowling ball, a big chunk of Ice appeared under their feet and they started sliding on it to the end of the stairway.
She opened her hands and pushed the air in front of her which turned the Ice under their feet to its left and they stopped right at the edge of the bridge.
She folded her arm and raised her elbow higher to her head then acted as if she was throwing something, and a long wide stick made of rock came down the sky and fell on the area from where that bridge was broken, it made a path for them.
They ran on it and heard loud noises as if there was a big army following them, as soon as they crossed the bridge she turned around and bowed down and opened her arms which turned the entire stone bridge into a wooden bridge.
She stood straight and pinched out her fingers that raised a fire on the bridge and by the time the army reached the edge of the bridge it was already turned to ashes.