Bound by Hellfire

Chapter 24

A chill crept through the air, turning the hairs on my arms into fine pointed needles. My eyes opened in shock as a pained faraway scream drifted through the barracks! The firey thread above us had long since faded, leaving the cold darkness of night to blanket us in its depths.

I couldn't see anything. Nothing except the smoldering of the fire in front of us, its ashes leaving a pungent aroma to plume from its midst.

Another scream echoed softly into my ears as though it had come from miles away! I pushed myself to my feet, stumbling forward as my legs readjusted to the sudden movement. My skin felt cold; the heat in my center offering no comfort as the bloodcurdling scream turned my spine to ice.

I looked for the others who had been resting just next to me, but the absence of light made it difficult to center myself. Until out of the corner of my eye, a white light slithered into our room! It took the shape of an orb and its radiance was blinding as I shielded my eyes. My friends on the ground were now in view, sleeping soundly on the cold ground.

I turned my head to look at the light; my hand still covering my face, but just as I spun to look, it had slinked up the stairs. It took me a moment, but something told me that it wanted me to follow it, so I did, walking quietly through the clutter toward the steps. I reached the base of the stairwell, looking up to find the orb hanging at the top of the flight. It bobbed from side to side, calmly defying gravity as it floated deeper into the hallway we had come from.

I quickly chased it, reaching the top of the steps in a matter of seconds, but the orb had already moved further, hanging like a spotlight at the end of the corridor. 

"This has to be a trap right?" I thought to myself. 

It was leading me outside in what seemed to be the dead of night. This strange orb that I hadn't bothered questioning up until now. My mind was still in a haze from the sleep I had been woken from, but I was still in the right mind to know this wasn't a smart decision.

I stepped into the room on my left, where Tim had confronted us before. My hands were out in front of me as I felt around on the walls until they finally gripped what I was after. I pulled the spear from its place on the rack causing the others to tumble loudly onto the floor as I stepped back out into the hallway.

The globe still waited for me, swaying from side to side as I pondered the decision I was about to make.

Should I get the others? Do I want to put them in danger? Should I just ignore this thing?

These questions racked my brain, but were quickly silenced as an ethereal voice whispered from within the orb!

"Adam..."

My breaths halted as my skin grew colder. It was the same voice I had heard from the other night. A familiar voice that beckoned me forward like a siren's song. It called to me just as it had done before, and like last time, I struggled to adhere to its wish.

Another scream echoed into the tunnel, carried by the wind that blew through the open doorway! The light bounced vigorously from wall to wall, displaying an impressive emotion of urgency, despite its lack of features. 

"This is crazy!" I whispered as I bit my lip.

Yet my feet pushed me forward, following the orb as it fluttered into the stretch of snow and bones. My shoes crunched on the snow as I stepped further from our refuge; the light, now wandering closer to the treeline. Snowflakes showered lightly down upon me as I watched it flicker into the wood before it finally vanished into the darkness. 

I was alone; deprived of light as clouds rolled over the planets above. The wind tossed my hair to the side as another gust emptied into the field. I clenched my fist around the spear, trying to stop myself from my impulse decision, but a sudden crunch of the snow behind me released my hubris as I spun around to face the sound.