She ran as fast as her long legs would carry her through the eery darkness of the late night. A thin veil of mist surrounded her as she plunged through the back alley, her foes drawing ever closer, and her chance of escape looming farther and farther away. Her old and beat-up trainers slammed against the hard pavement, her breath coming in gasps as she stopped at a dead end. A foreboding brick wall was planted inches from her face; its surface cold and hard under the fingertips that clawed at it.
"No, no..." She mumbled helplessly as the shadows surrounded her.
It was the end. That much was evident. She stared up at the star strewn sky, and felt hot, heavy tears slide down her cheeks. She'd spent so much time and energy running, hiding, fighting against it all. She couldn't fight any longer, however, and there was no where left to run or hide. She could feel the weight and pain of it all slowly enveloping her, and she knew it was time to face her demons.
She whimpered as the magnitude of it all was laid upon her in heavy waves of pain and despair. Her eyes were clouded from tears, but through the fog she could've sworn she saw the outline of a gruesome woman staring back at her. She trembled and clutched at the crucifix around her neck; she felt a rush of pain the sharp edges biting into her palm. The pain was numbed after a few seconds and she knew what was coming; she had lost the ability to feel.
A memory of an old friend's words echoed through her head, and she yelled out the phrase she had heard so long ago.
"Where is your god now? Where is your god!"
She hollered until her voice grew hoarse and her throat dry. She sobbed, broken, empty, shivering, curled up in a ball on the hard, cold cement. The fog had completely obscured her vision by now, and all she could see was swirling gray. She stared into the nothingness for a long time, or what seemed to be a long time could've been a few moments. Thinking back to the times of happiness, she found she could barely reach them. What was once a loud song that carried for miles, was now no more then a faint whisper, soon to be lost forever. She glanced down at her wrists, surprised to find them bare, for she could feel the heavy weight of chains binding them. She lifted her gaze back to the swirling fog, and saw a dark figure approaching her.
The figure moved closer, and the fog cleared enough so that she could see it was a woman, clad in black, mysterious but oddly beautiful. She had long dark hair and eyes that seemed to hold eternity in their depths. Around her neck was an odd shaped cross that she recognized as an ankh. The woman reached out her hand and caressed her cheek, her touch was soft and comforting, sending a warm calm through her. She knew who it was, the realization brought a sense of fear and relief.
Lady Death.
The woman took her hand and guided her to a standing position. The sense of calmness increased as she stood in Death's presence. Funny, how her pain and despair seemed to leave her, they became the same whisper as her happiness. Lady Death looked at her with something akin to pity in her fathomless eyes.
"Come with me, child, and never hurt again."
And she did.