Catherine stood still on the winding path bordered by broom shrubs. Just around the corner lay the chapel. She gazed toward the chapel entrance, partially hidden by garden trees, then looked back. Through the pitch darkness, the silhouette of the colonnade was faintly visible.

Venturing alone any deeper seemed dangerous. Just as Catherine decided it would be better to return and bring someone to investigate, she heard it.

Clap.

An unexpected sound reached her ears—the sound of hands striking together. It came from behind her. Catherine turned reflexively, raising her lamp toward the source of the sound. Nothing was visible. Clap. The sound of hands clapping came again, this time from her side.

The lamp’s light shifted toward where the sound originated. Nothing was there. Clap. Catherine pivoted on her toes. But before she could move the lamp, the sound continued. Clap. The applause kept coming. Clap. Now from the opposite direction. Clap. The sounds followed in rapid succession.

Clap. Clap. Clap-clap. Clap-clap. Clap-clap-clap. Clap-clap-clap-clap…

The sounds accelerated. They came from all directions. The lamp’s flame wavered precariously as Catherine moved it to follow the sounds.

Her heel caught on a stone. Cold breath brushed her nose. Only then did she realize she was gasping for air. Breathing became difficult. Her eyes burned. Dizziness overcame her. Catherine covered her ears.

Clap-clap-clap… The rapid hand-clapping continued unabated. She could no longer tell where it was coming from. Faintly, she thought she heard the sound of running footsteps. The wind blew. 

From all directions came the clapping along with sounds like underbrush being overturned. Woof-woof. Fierce barking followed. Catherine jerked her head up.

“No, no…”

Half-entranced, Catherine staggered as she turned around. Clap-clap-clap. Woof-woof. The sounds blended together—hands clapping, the sharp rising barks of beasts in pursuit, and the wind overwhelming everything.

“No…”

Catherine mumbled. Ancient memories were resurfacing. She stepped toward the source of the sounds. The nightmare that had gnawed at her for so long seized her shoulders and pulled.

Clap. In the distance, the sound of hands striking together came once more. Woof-woof. The barking grew gradually more distant. No, please don’t. Catherine moved toward the sound. She took one step, then suddenly pushed off the ground and began to run.

The thought that this couldn’t possibly be happening again never crossed her mind. She couldn’t think of anything. She had to stop it. Consumed by this single thought, Catherine ran. Clap. She chased the increasingly distant sound.

Clap-clap. With each step following the applause, Catherine forgot everything—what she had lost long ago, even that she was no longer a child. Having forgotten everything, the young Catherine sprinted after the tangled sounds.

Crack. The sound of something breaking faded into the distance. Though the light had disappeared, Catherine could see a figure flickering far ahead. Clap-clap. The sound of hands meeting continued.

Stop, stop it! Gasping for breath, Catherine screamed. Or thought she did. No voice emerged. It didn’t reach. The clapping still wouldn’t stop. Woof-woof. The fierce barking too was rapidly growing more distant.

She couldn’t possibly keep up. No, no!

Despite her frantic running, the distance wouldn’t close. Strong winds blocked Catherine’s path. Bare tree branches swayed, trying to grasp her.

Catherine waved her hands. Stop, stop! As she cried out, her feet tangled and she fell to the ground.

“Hah… hah…”

She couldn’t breathe. Her chest ached painfully. The scent of damp earth brushed her nose. Everything spun. The world seemed to shake. Ugh. Something bitter rose up, and Catherine covered her mouth. Her dry mouth hurt like it might tear.

Clap. But that sound—the desperate sound of hands striking together—persisted. Catherine jerked her head up in alarm. She had to follow. She had to stop that sound. That foolishly stupid man would never stop on his own.

I must, I must go and stop him… Muttering dazedly, Catherine tried to rise. No, she attempted to rise. She couldn’t get up. She froze, holding her breath.

A low growling sound reached her ears. Instinctive fear crept up her spine. She felt her nape stiffen. She couldn’t move. Thud. Threateningly, something struck the dirt ground. Catherine’s gaze slowly slid downward.

Sharp claws came into view. She saw the teeth of a beast growling while gripping her skirt. Its hot breath fell on the back of her hand. A pair of eyes gleaming in the darkness stared directly at Catherine.

A hunting dog. The moment she recognized what it was, the creature pushed off the ground and lunged at her.

“Aah!”

Catherine screamed and waved her hands, but she couldn’t stop the attacking beast. She fell helplessly to the dirt ground. 

A black shadow covered her. For a moment, the weight pressing down on her entire body left Catherine unable even to scream. The beast’s sharp claws pressed down on her shoulders, digging into her collar and gripping it.

The fierce barking rose so powerfully it drowned out even the wind, disorienting her.

Catherine choked, unable even to breathe. The beast’s hot breath, seemingly capable of melting skin, poured over Catherine’s face.

The beast’s gleaming eyes and sharp teeth shone in the darkness. Catherine could barely struggle. Only the futile sound of dirt being pushed away beneath her feet could be heard. The beast opened its mouth.

This is the end. The moment that pitch-black throat came into view, Catherine squeezed her eyes shut.

But immediately after, Catherine opened her eyes. The beast’s muzzle had been thrust forward relentlessly, swallowing Catherine’s breath. It was because something soft and fleshy had cut through, invading between her unprepared teeth. She couldn’t breathe. Catherine flailed.

She arched her back and twisted her body to escape from beneath the beast’s sharp claws, but the weight pressing down on Catherine didn’t budge at all. The force pinning her shoulders and restraining her legs as they struggled against the dirt ground was tremendous.

Her vision spun. The pushing force lifted her chin, making her feel like her throat was being constricted. Some unknown lukewarm liquid poured into her mouth. A sudden fear gripped her. 

Catherine instinctively shook her head violently to spit it out. But even that wasn’t possible. The hands holding her shaking cheeks were firm. With nowhere to retreat, pinned to the dirt like a mounted butterfly, Catherine nearly fainted from the force pushing against her.

Her vision seemed to turn white. Liquid that hadn’t been fully swallowed trickled down through a momentarily misaligned gap.

The spilled liquid wet the hands holding her cheeks. At that moment, Catherine felt the soft flesh invading her mouth pressing down on her tongue. Ugh, she couldn’t breathe. It was her limit. 

Gulp. Without realizing it, Catherine swallowed the unknown liquid pooled in her mouth.

“Ugh. Cough, cough.”

Unable to contain herself, Catherine twisted her head and coughed violently. She exhaled forcefully, trying to expel whatever unknown substance had gone down her throat. But even that was quickly cut short.

Before Catherine could regain her senses, hot hands gripped her cheeks once more. Her vision was blurry, making it difficult to see clearly. While dazedly looking wherever her head was turned, Catherine’s chin was lifted again.

The hot flesh once more parted Catherine’s teeth. Another stream of lukewarm liquid flowed along that flesh.

Under the pressure that made breathing impossible, Catherine could barely resist. She couldn’t regain her composure. With her mouth pressed down again, cutting off her breath, Catherine instinctively accepted and drank what poured into her mouth.

After Catherine coughed again, the same sequence repeated. She couldn’t tell how many times this happened. Indeed, Catherine didn’t know if this was reality or what was happening to her. She just wanted to breathe.

Finally, only after receiving and drinking everything poured into her mouth could Catherine breathe again.

Hah. Huh. Breathing heavily enough to make her chest and shoulders heave, Catherine gazed blankly up at the dark shadow still pressing down on her. She blinked. Hot tears that had welled up flowed along the corners of her eyes, wetting her ears.

She felt warmth touching the tip of her nose. Moist breath pushed against Catherine’s thinnest skin. The distance was very close. Because of this, even in the dim shadow pouring over her, Catherine could see the golden-gleaming hair and the deep lake-like eyes visible between the strands.

It was just as Catherine weakly moved her lips to say “David.”

“Dav…”

But that call was crushed between two pieces of flesh before it could fully form. Once more, hot breath invaded Catherine’s mouth. Soft flesh entangled and explored her wet mouth, but this time nothing poured forth.

There was only the pulling and pushing of entangled flesh, with gentle breaths exchanged through deeply interlocked spaces. That was all.