The Firmament Saga: Book I: The Rains of Sorrow

Chapter 14: Terror

Chapter 14: Terror (Kane)

Stormday, Week 1, Month Unus, Year of God 489

A crimson haze permeated Kane's dreams. It swept over the barren landscape where Kane's mind had drifted during his period of unconsciousness.

He dodged a blow from the shadowy figure before him. It was a man-sized entity made entirely out of dark grey smoke, and it was trying to kill him. Kane countered with another punch, this one connecting with his adversary's head. The figure, which had been silent during the prior segments of their fight, screamed. It was a bloodcurdling, fear-inducing, primal shout that sounded like a man, woman, and child experiencing unimaginable pain all at once.

Kane flinched. What was he doing? The smoke-figure recovered and aimed another punch at Kane. His temporary hesitation caused the strike to slam into his forehead. Now Kane screamed as pain flared through him. His vision went temporarily white as he fell to the ground. He splashed into a sticky liquid that he realized a second later was blood. He glanced around him, and realized with terror that he was lying in a field of blood. Bones, chunks of skin, viscera and other human remains poked out of the ankle-deep expanse. The smoke-figure aimed another blow at Kane's head, with both its fists.

Acting quickly, Kane grabbed the fist as it descended. It sent shockwaves through his arm, but he was able to grab it and wrench the attacker to the ground. The being fell to the ground, and Kane scrambled on top of it. He picked up a nearby femur and began to bash the struggling attacker's skull in. As he began to do so, the figure screamed in a terrified sound so loud and terrible it made the first scream sound like a lover's whisper. As the bone impacted the smoke, it turned into a pale-skinned head with red hair and terrified eyes.

Kane flinched. It looked just like one of the heathens he had killed during his Sun Caste battle. The blow had completely punctured the figure's right cheek, bone, blood, sinew and brain spilling out. The face whimpered, its mouth too ruined for a proper scream. As Kane watched in horror, the face changed into that of a young child, equally disfigured from injury. It looked like the child his father had abandoned many years ago. The face lingered in form for a second, then changed into that of an elderly woman that looked just like Lucie. The face changed into the forms of many painfully dying individuals, most of whom Kane didn't recognize.

Kane gradually grew more and more nauseous as the macabre display continued to change and evolve. Eventually, it evolved into Kane's own head, brown hair and beard stained crimson and eyes staring ahead in pure agony and terror. The real Kane turned away and vomited into the bloody expanse. The sight of the blood and vomit mixing caused Kane to retch and heave until he fell into the blood, coughing.

All of a sudden, a profound wave of emotion washed through him. This emotion was guilt. Kane felt immense remorse for some reason. Maybe it was because he had killed a person. That person would have killed him if he hadn't fought back, but that only made the guilt feel worse.

"Why?!" he screamed at the sky. "What is this? Have I sinned?" No response came. There was only the crimson mist, the bruises on Kane's body, and the brutally marred face beside him.

Abruptly, he woke up. His eyes shot open and he gasped, flinching a bit. He felt wetness beneath him, and he panicked for a split second before realizing that it was just sweat, not blood. He pulled his covers off and sat up on his mattress. He was safe and calm, surrounded by the peacefully sleeping forms of Eri's family lit by the dim reflections from the hallway. Some of them stirred slightly around him, sighing contently before turning back down.

Kane's heart raced, and he took several deep breaths to help himself calm down. He sighed and laid back against his pillow. The memory of his nightmare came back to him. It was so vivid, and he winced in its memory. His mouth felt dry, so he stood up and silently paced to the pitcher of water resting on a stool in the corner of the room. The mattresses were arranged in rows, so Kane didn't have to step over anyone to get to it. He fumbled in the darkness for a second, but was able to pick up the pitcher and gulp down a mouthful of tepid water without breaking anything. He slowly began to creep back to his mattress.