The eyes moved.
But the woman to whom these eyes belonged could not move.
She broke out in a sweat. At first, it was only a thin film on her skin; thick drops ran down her face now.
The man knew why she was sweating.
He also knew why her face was gradually turning blue under the mask. He looked into her wide-open eyes - the only thing he could see of her face because the black mask covered everything else. It was like a surgical procedure where only the surgical area could be seen.
The pressure inside her skull caused the blood vessels to burst. The whites of her eyes turned red. Like the eyes of a demon, the man thought, watching her struggle with all her might against the inevitable. She tugged at the restraints until her wrists were bloody and red rivulets ran down her fingers. Desperately she tried to lift her body, but the shackles held her in a merciless grip.
Dumbfounded, the man saw a look of comprehension appear in her eyes as panic flitted across her face. She realized the hopelessness of her situation.
You won't make it, the man thought, even if you try. No one can stand against the power of fate. And no one can help you.
Stunned, he watched as the woman struggled - He had to watch; he couldn't help it. He waited for that moment when it happened. That's why he didn't take his eyes off the blood-red eyes for a second, although it would have been better to spare himself that image. But some things you do even though you know you shouldn't do them. Like watching a horror movie even though you know you'll have nightmares all night.
But this wasn't a movie, this was reality.
Spellbound, he gazed into the woman's eyes. Blood red eyes. Demon eyes.
He didn't know which of them was the demon.
By now, the woman was twitching in violent convulsions. He heard her desperate sounds, muffled, choked because her mouth and nose were closed by the mask.
All at once, her body shook so violently, as if she were trying to shake off the death that was taking possession of her more and more, faster and faster.
Now it's only seconds, the man thought.
The few seconds in which the will to survive could still assert itself against the power of death.
One last agonizing moan, then the woman's gaze broke.
It was that indescribable moment that the man had come to this place to experience.
The moment when he wished to die himself.
The moment of death.
But it wasn't over yet.
Death is only the beginning; he had been told.