The dark smoke did not wrap around Red's body. It didn't swirl around him or linger in the air. Instead it flowed directly into his head as if it had found the exact place it wanted to reach.
Within a few seconds the last thin strands vanished completely into his eyes, nose, and mouth. Then the room returned to silence.
To the dying woman lying on the ground, it looked like nothing had really happened at all. Red was simply standing there in the middle of the room. His mouth hung slightly open and his eyes were wide as if he had suddenly frozen in place.
He didn't move. He didn't breathe loudly. He didn't say anything. For the woman who was barely clinging to life, the sight sparked a faint and fragile hope.
Maybe something had happened to him. Maybe he had suddenly died while standing there. If that monster of a man was dead, even if she was still bleeding on the floor, maybe someone else in the camp would find her before it was too late. Maybe she could still survive.
