Damian Black - The Order of the Night (English Version)

Darkness - Prolog

It was broad daylight when the world was engulfed in darkness. The boy felt his way along the walls of the house, he couldn't even see his own hand in front of his eyes. Everyone knew what this darkness meant, for years it had appeared in villages all over the country and hundreds of people had disappeared without a trace. Nobody knew whether they were still alive or already dead.
Now his time seemed to have come, and that of his hometown. He pressed his slim body against the wall of the house where he was standing, while screams could be heard from everywhere. What was on the other side of this darkness, death or life?
He didn't really want to know, his life had never made great sense. He closed his eyes and imagined the colorful meadows in front of the city walls to suppress his own fear. The river that flowed slowly from the nearby forest, which was surrounded by flowers in every imaginable color. The children who played in the meadows while the sun shone down on them from the blue sky. Birds that chirped and the farmers who grew food in the nearby fields. The large castle walls that gave both shade and protection, the two large towers in the north and south. Everything had been so peaceful until that moment. Slowly he opened his eyes again, but there was still nothing but darkness and the feeling of slowly suffocating inside. In the distance you could still hear the river splashing. Otherwise, the screams gradually ceased and a frightening calm returned.
When suddenly out of nowhere a breath of wind flitted past him, a scream got stuck in his throat when someone grabbed his wrist. That hand, it was warm and strong and just pulled him without saying anything. He wanted to open his mouth to scream, but not even a sound came out. Was that the power that silenced and disappeared people and did that mean that his parents might still be alive?
He was dragged faster and faster through the streets of the city, a few times he almost tripped over his own feet because he could not see anything. The person in front of him began to breathe faster and faster, but didn't say a word to him either. How far had they already run?
He couldn't assess it, his orientation was no longer there and they kept walking on and on. It was unbelievable how fast they came forward, as if this figure could still see even in total darkness. On and on he was pulled and he followed as if he had no will of his own. Either way, that would be the end of it, so why should he fight, there was no point in fighting. But, suddenly his legs just stopped, he wanted to live, he tore himself free and shouted at the top of his throat:
"I will live!"
Without seeing anything, he wanted to turn around and run away when a punch in the pit of his stomach forced him to his knees and took his breath away.
"Idiot!", he heared a woman's voice in front of him, in the next moment he lost consciousness.