Consuming Darkness

2- Hell Returns

Sirens rang throughout the whole city, like a thousand screaming people joined. It pierced my ears as I groggily sat up and looked around. It was just my bedroom - desk, bookshelf, dresser. The alarm clock read 5:00am.

Sliding my pale legs out of bed, the sirens continued to echo through my dark, dimly lit room. Outside the window, a sight unfolded before my eyes that I couldn't process within a thousand years. A void cracked through the sky right before the house, causing me to stumble back. I was half expecting monsters of some sort to start pouring out, to smash through my window and kill me in a heartbeat.

But oddly, nothing. Just the galaxy-like appearence swirling before my vision. Pressing my face to the window, the cool glass sent chills up my spine and my eyes thought they could make out a figure...

"FAE, HONEY ARE YOU OKAY?!"
The bedroom door burst open, revealing my mum running and almost tackle hugging me. Muffled words came out as sobs into my shoulder as she tightened her grip on me. Looking up, I met eye contact with my younger brother who just shrugged.
"I saw a flash and then I thought something had happened to you sweetie. Are you okay? Did anything happen?" She pulled away from the hug, her green eyes hard on me.
I gave her a comforting smile. "Nothing's wrong mum, I promise."

I shifted my attention to Luke (my little brother) who was staring out the window with wide-eyed curiosity.
"Is that a..." He didn't finish his sentence.
My mother followed Luke's gaze before shrieking. "Out! Out! Out!"

A strong force grasped my arm and hoisted me up - my mother dragging me and Luke from the room. She seemed quite tired out by the time we were in the basement, with locks tightening the door.

"Okay, so you can't go to school for a while, we have a lot of food in here, it's mainly just cans... Blankets, lamps..." Mum trailed off.
"Mum." I gave her a blank glance.
She continued to run around the dusty basement, running a checklist of everything she had.
"Mum!"

There was no way I could get her attention like this. Luke gave me a curious glance, his innocent blue eyes seeming to question me.
"Can you break her out of it for me?" My tone turned sweet. I needed my brother to do this, otherwise mum would be sucked into her own world completely.
Luke nodded.

He was the nicest kid I knew who was never hesitant to do something for me. If it were possible, I would give him the ownership of every toy store in New York and globally.
"Mummy," He voice was coated sweetly, almost as if honey speckled his speech.
She stopped for a moment and glanced at her son, eyes slightly wild with a contained panic. "Yes, Lukey?"
"Come sit with us? I feel scared."

I couldn't help but smirk. Luke was never afraid of anything. Always so curious and adventurous, all while being one of the most desired 8 year olds in New York. And since he had no fear, for him to be scared struck a chord in mum's heart that caused her to rush over and squeeze him into a protective embrace.

"It's okay, Luke. I'm always here. And if I'm not, then Fae is, okay?"

For some reason, that simple comforting statement made me sad.

Really sad.