A World With/Out Home

Chapter 16: Nightmare (Part 3)

Like that Kyle waited by the edge of the hill. On one side he had a near perfect view of the incursion ground and on the other, rows of cameras and people stood ready to begin at a moment's notice. It was an odd sight and almost made what was happening seem fake. Then in the distance Kyle saw the Eternal Hero enter the grounds and his heart lurched. The plan had been for a small a parade to take place but now it was all war.

"The Eternal Hero's arrived," Kyle spoke out loud as the cameras were already rolling. "The incursion will begin soon." With those words the false night grew darker and a sudden churning began to stir in the wind as if vibrating through the very stone they stood on. Many of the crew winced and only the knights who were used to the noise remained calm. As the seconds passed the noise became clearer scratching at Kyle's ears with painful remorse.

"Traitor."

"Help me!"

"Mummy?"

"Run!"

"You said you'd save us."

"I don't want to die."

"No, stop!"

"If we can just-."

"I'm so sorry."

"Let it end. Just let it end!"

"You've done this to yourself."

The barrage of words continued endlessly. The sentences were disjointed and random, each whispering in despair with voices that changed and merged. Kyle's heart began to beat heavily as if it was pressuring his brain to burst.

"That noise?" he groaned as he tried to shake off the constant subtle tone. "Is it always like this?"

Rin nodded having stepped closer to him, "It's something you get used to. Eventually you won't even realise the groaning is there."

"Groaning?" Kyle looked at her confused.

"We call it the demon's cry. It's annoying but not something that can hurt you."

Kyle blinked unsure what was happening. To him it was definitely not just groaning as the fully formed words were clear and discernible. "Mr Devro what do you hear?"

"Me?" the director looked up from behind the camera. "It sounds like my wife when she snores." Several of the crew giggled at his sudden joke.

"Is it just me?" Kyle whispered to no one.

"Is something wrong Kyle?" Rin asked. "If you're feeling unwell our priority is you're safety."

"No I'm fine," he quickly straightened himself. "I'm just not used to it." Although the constant mesh of pleas and regrets were painful, among all the noise it was the voices of children that caused his heart to lurch the most.

"In a few seconds it won't be on your mind. Look the incursion's began." Rin pointed towards the centre of the grounds which had begun to boil into a black muck that popped and bubbled.

Kyle's eyes widened, "Those are demons...." The first had appeared. Barely holding up their shapes they were a mass of black ooze that clung together to form a makeshift body. He had seen pictures before but seeing it in person, if even from afar, was another matter entirely. "Type A demons, close range attackers." They walked on two legs but as they hobbled forward their legs would shift and be replaced by another. Before the demons could even make it a few metres however the sound of cannon fire exploded into the air and in an instant the demons had been splattered apart by the high yield explosives. Within seconds another appeared only to face the same fate. Rin was right. Over the noise of the cannon fire Kyle could barely hear the muttering any longer.