Rekindle the Darkness

0.8

The rain continues, getting heavier and soon I start to shake from being drenched through and through, Kit continues to pull at me, taking us further and further into the forest until suddenly, we weren't getting drenched, but the rain seemed have gotten louder. Glancing upwards, I catch sight of a corrugated roof above me and immediately my expression melts to one of content. The sound of the rain pounding on the roof was somewhat soothing.

Kit takes off his hoodie, passing it over and I take it gratefully, putting it on. The chattering of my teeth subsides almost immediately and I look up at him, only to see him frowning back at the abandoned building we had taken refuge under. His cheeks were tinged pink from the cold and his hair was plastered to his face.

"What is it?"

He places a finger to his mouth. "Listen."

At first, I hear nothing; it was almost impossible to make out our own voices over the sound of the rain pounding on the roof but once you heard it, you'd be astonished on how you didn't hear it before.

Screams. Long, tortuous screams that left a ringing in your ears even after stopping, emit from somewhere deep inside the warehouse. Kit grips my arm.

"Stay here," he instructed, his head tilted towards me, his eyes locked on the entrance before also flicking and locking on mine. He seemed tense and I didn't dare disobey; Kit was never this serious so I knew he wasn't messing around so I just nodded mutely.

Kit stalks off, the darkness around him enveloping him pretty quickly. His figureless footsteps could be heard for a short time after I had lost sight of him, then nothing.

Fear suddenly gripped my heart; surely those who were torturing the poor soul inside wouldn't find Kit to be any different? The screams that we heard earlier were definitely masculine and without thinking, I retreated into the warehouse too.

"Kit?" Panic is evident in my voice as my body shakes; there's not enough light to determine which silhouettes were boxes and which were not. I step backwards, realising my mistake and attempting to retrace my footsteps so that I could call the police- when I run into a solid wall of muscle.

I can make out a thin outline of a person; most definitely not Kit and before I could start to scramble out of the warehouse, my arms were restrained, being held harshly against either side of my body.

"Look who we got 'ere." I hear a gruff voice behind me, followed by a chuckle, belonging to another.

"Let go of me." I try to keep my voice even, yet it betrays me as it comes out trembling.

They take no notice as they start to carry me over further into the warehouse.

"HEY!" I scream, thrashing relentlessly against his grip. "Let- go!"

The screams had started back again and there was a momentary pause on my behalf as I was shocked at how excruciatingly close they were to our current position.

"KIT!" I started to yell, over the screaming.

A stinging sensation erupted in my right cheek as I realise with a shock that I'd been slapped.

"You bastard!" I spat; before I react, I felt myself falling onto the cold, hard, concrete floor, holding out my arms to break the fall; however, that meant that my wrists had the responsibility of supporting my entire body weight and I immediately crumple under the pressure, a whimper escaping me.

I scamper to my feet to locate the two men, however, they are nowhere to be seen and neither is Kit. The screams continue to emit from somewhere ever so close.

My breath catches in my throat as realisation dawns and I come to terms with where they were emitting from.

Behind me.

I turned, the hairs on my arms rising as I prepare myself for the worst.

Strapped to a chair, under a single light is a male in his late teens. His eyes were bloodshot and wide as he locks eyes with me. The screams come from him.

Light beams form from somewhere in the darkness, travelling at close to light speed as they pierce through the darkness and to him, impaling him over and over.

And with every hit, he loses a little dark essence, which forms dark clouds around him.

He was a Necromancer and it was obvious there were Resplendent around.

The Necromancer and Resplendent races were at war since the start of time since they were polar opposites in terms of their manipulation abilities.

The Necromancer race tended to feed off darkness, destruction and death whereas the Resplendent thrive off light and radiance and purity.

To be captured by the other race would lead to the most painful kind of torture that each would only dream of; the Resplendent would 'cleanse' the Necromancer by filling him with light to rid his dark essence and essentially, killing him.

The Necromancer, believed in relishing the death of the Resplendent for as long as possible and so proceeded to impale them with shadow shards, their life slowly draining from them.

They were both slow and excruciating methods.

I had never seen a Resplendent and it took me a second to snap out of my trance. I scramble to my feet, my feet struggling to take my weight as I start to advance towards the male, promptly stopped by a grip around my neck, pulling me back.

I splutter, immediately calling on my shadows and they appear in multitudes, due to the bleak tenebrosity of the place.

They appear in their solitary serpent form, slithering along the cold concrete floor. Most of them were targeted towards the male, climbing up his chair, slowly creating a barrier which prevented the light beams from hitting him. They hit the barrier instead and are immediately absorbed, even though they weaken the point they impact on, ever so slightly before further shadows strengthen the barrier.

With every hit of the beams on the barrier, I start to feel small bruises forming on my body.

Necromancers are directly linked to their shadows. What affects their shadow, affects them.

A hand clamps around my mouth and prevents my breathing.

A hot breath hits my ear as I try to squirm away, with no luck.

"Watch your fellow Necromancer die." I recognise it to be one of the males who had oh-so- graciously escorted me here earlier.

I huff, bringing my elbow forward before jamming it into his lower abdomen and he immediately releases me, cursing at me in a vulgar language.

I run over to the male, helping him with his ropes as he looks at me with eyes wide with apprehension. He stutters a thank you, attempting to stand but is in no position to do so.

With a joint effort, I help him take refuge behind a wall of cardboard boxes.

I tell him to stay there until he heals and he nods slowly, clearly still in shock.

Then, heading out to my barriers to which the light beams have started to take a clear effect on me, I fall to my knees, as I call off the barrier.

The wall shatters.