The Devil Walking

- VANESSA -

Matvey doesn't look familiar, thank God. But his shadow still is. 

The room has darkened with his entry even more than before when he was approaching, and the amount of horrifying voices is so much worse than Ivan's. At first, it's hard to focus on anything he is saying, and there is another brief moment of panic when I think it's going to be impossible to focus on this act when I can't even hear the man speak. 

How am I to respond and have a conversation when his shadow is overwhelming every sense that I have?

But then something truly amazing happens. An invisible shield rushes in to surround me like a protective embrace, blocking out the voices and the dark emotions entirely. The invisible world around me goes silent, and the room is filled only with the people standing here.