Pavel: Oh, no. No, no. No, no. No, no, no, no, NO…
Things only get worse. Ghosts crawl along the walls of the outside of the house in search of living spirit to feast on. The palm trees are full of holes in their fronds, eaten away by the invaders. Pavel starts across the bridge to the lab. It’s dark, like all the rest of the house.
Pavel: Please, please no. PLEASE. Goddess, PLEASE… Please. Please.
A lizard rears its head through the bridge, reaching for Pavel but kept at bay by the light. Ghosts wait at the railings, hovering in wait. A snake is curved over the doorway of the lab and several birds perched on the roof. The tree that grows behind the lab, which had been so green and healthy not an hour before, is nothing but bare branches and frail falling leaves. Pavel hurries to the door.
Pavel: Mom? Are you in h-
He stops short, staring. The lantern light reflects off the faces of so many ghosts he can’t make out defining features on almost all of them. They stare at him, moaning, and clear out of the way for the light to pass through. Vanna is lying on the floor, fluffy hair turned completely white and the skin of her arms alabaster and cracking with purple veins. The ghosts crouched over top of her, a skeletal dog and a few people with more definition than the rest of the hoard, look to Pavel in the doorway with their mouths hanging open and slack. They’re still hungry.
