After eating our fish, we got on our feet and continued walking. We didn't talk, as we usually would. It didn't disturb me, because my thoughts and my grief were taking up all the space in my head. So I just followed him mindlessly until the point when he stopped and I accidentally bumped into him, not paying attention. I gasped. "What's wrong?"
He shook his head and I came forward to see what was on his mind. He looked as cold as Drake could ever be, and, honestly, I've never seen him so serious. "I think we are lost."
"What do you mean? How do you know?", I asked in a very worried manner.
His eyes were fixated on something and when I followed his gaze, I gasped, covering my mouth. It was a pile of human bones, stocked under a tree, some of them old and dry, but some looked fresh. "Don't tell me that's..."
"Just... stay close. It is beginning to get darker. Not good.", he said tensely.
His steps from now on were quieter, and I tried to do the same. I didn't want to be found by Darkers or even worse, humans. Quickly it became even darker and we walked out to an open area, some kind of desert just in the middle of forest. We could see the woods over the horizon and we walked towards them, but staying on such an open area was quite dangerous. Despite that, going around would take extra half a day. I wondered what could form this desert right here. Radiation? Maybe an asteroid fell here during the Tragedy, yet I couldn't see any rocks around, just dry ground. Moon showed up pretty quickly because the surrounding turned pitch black.
"How do you still know where we are going?" I asked, trying to catch up with Drake.
"The Northern Star.", he answered shortly.
"I beg you pardon?"
"The Northern Star. The Ancients were using it to orient on the sides of the world. The star itself is located North, it is hard to miss, it is the brightest star on the sky. In front of it, on the opposite side, there's South. West is to the left and East is to the right." he explained shortly.
"And when there's no stars? When it is day?", I asked curiously.
"Sun rises from the East and sets down on the West. Pretty easy to figure out the rest.", he said.
I didn't comment further. He continued walking forward. The atmosphere of the desert was making me too uneasy. It was too open and there was no place to hide in case of attack. Winds here were faster and stronger as well, there were no trees around here to protect the territory from them.
A low, distant growl sounded out of nowhere. We froze, looking into the woods behind us for any clue or shadow.
"Damnit," whispered Drake. "Let's walk faster. Hopefully, they don't see us."
I obeyed and we picked up the pace. I was looking behind me, but I didn't see anything, yet my heart was beating in a fast, crazy tempo. We never faced a Darker alone in a battle, me and Drake. The closes we've ever come to it is hiding from it, but never get actually seen or even worse, attacked. According to the tales of those who've faced them, they fight ferociously, like monsters that they are. It made sense, because they fought for survival, plus they were scarier and stronger than any other creature on Earth. Sometimes it would take many men to take out one Darker. But even if you are in a squad and you meet multiple of them, consider yourself dead. I got chills running down my back.
We heard another growl, but this time it was unexpected. It was coming from above us.
"What the hell?", Drake instantly stopped. "This shit can fly."
He took out his swords and I aimed my blaster at the sky, looking for shadows. We stood back to back to each other, like battle fellows, expecting an attack at any moment. And suddenly, the ground was shaken by a powerful wave of its landing. It fell just a few meters away from us, enough to not come too close to our weapons. "Click-click-click-click..." Its shadowy, long body, with sharp claws and a large mouth, disgusted me. The monster walked on all fours, like the wild animal it was. At one point it stopped right in front of me, seeing the weapon in my hands. I could feel the coldness that came from it as the shadows thickened and the stars faded over my head. My heart pounded frantically in my chest, nearly breaking my ribs. Why is it standing there? Was it waiting for the right moment to attack, or was it choosing a victim? Drake stepped toward me, blades towards the monster. It snapped its jaws loudly, letting out a wrenching growl. Only its eyes, red as heat, glowed in the darkness.
YOU ARE READING
Let There Be Darkness
Fantasy"No. I don't want to," I answered. Our conversation didn't go well, because I wanted to be silent, and he wanted to talk. It seemed to me that it had become even lighter around, although the night was only deepening. It couldn't be dawn already, cou...
