Shadow Part 1, Genesis

Chapter 3

Shocked and in disbelief, she couldn't believe what had just occurred. Kneeling silently whilst trying to come to terms with what she had just seen, she stared ominously into the distance for a brief moment.

She was snapped back into reality when she heard a yawn. To her amazement, the babies woke. With a thunderstorm unable to wake them, yet a calm breeze being able to, Aeliana became even more confused. While holding them in her arms, she felt a great sense of bewilderment, although, as she looked into the baby's eyes, she was overcome with the feeling of joy.

The big innocent eyes which stared right back into hers filled Aeliana with comfort. Each baby boy had brown hair, the one in her left arm had blue eyes and the other brown. They both had cute chubby cheeks and chubby arms, they had a smile which only made her smile with delight, and were both wrapped in a brown warm cosy blanket which even started to keep Aeliana warm.

Bringing the little tykes closer, the baby in her right arm stretched out his hand and grabbed her buttoned nose with a smile. While the little one squeezed and poked, Aeliana moved in closer, bumping her nose with his.

"Hehe!" The baby laughed with an adorable grin and wiped his tickled nose.

While Aeliana pulled funny faces with her tongue touching her nose, criss-crossing her eyes and mumbling funny gibberish words, the other baby even giggled in delight.

Now overwhelmed with cuteness from the babies she held, she wrapped them up tightly and rose slowly to collect her lantern. While bending over and taking hold of her light, she wondered out loud "How are you still burning?"

After gently lifting the lamp out of the sand, the temperature within the desert began to drop.

"I think it's time we get out of here," she told the children.

Turning around, Aeliana then proceeded to walk back home. Pushing off the soft sand which ran between her bare feet, she reached over the steep hill ahead of her. However, a shivering Aeliana walked out of the gigantic bowl of sand only to realise that she had no idea where she was.

Aeliana was completely blinded and could hardly see anything that passed her lanterns light, but she knew she needed to move.

Continuing to walk in random patterns, second-guessing herself every step of the way, the children began to cry. Aeliana had no idea what to do. She was trapped, lost and disoriented.

"Why?! Why on earth would you give these babies to me in the middle of a desert?! What good am I to these boys if we all die out here?!" she exclaimed.

The temperature proceeded to drop. She could feel cold air coursing through her joints and bones as she fell to her knees. Placing the lantern on the sand, she brought the children close to her chest, digging her fingers into the baby's blankets, and twisting and turning her knees into the sand to keep warm. Trying to tend to the children by gently swaying her arms from side to side, her supple checks and soft youthful lips started to freeze.

"How do I get out of here?" she spoke worryingly. Not a single thought came to her mind, it was as blank and empty as the desert she was stuck in. As Aeliana searched around her for any signs of hope, she looked to the sky, her eyes open wide, and hope was found.

"The eclipse!" she screamed. The sight evoked her memory back to the man with the scar. "The eclipse is ending" she remembered him shout.

"That's it. The eclipse is blocking out every last speck of light!" she cried, as she tried to comfort the children.

Keeping her eyes on the the moon in the sky, she began to see the shimmering light slowly coming to pass. Bringing the lantern close and trying to keep warm, all she needed was to keep herself and the babies snug until the eclipse ended. Unfortunately for her, the little ones became even more agitated due to the plummeting temperature. She realised that time was not on her side. She couldn't wait around any longer. She needed to get moving.

Aeliana rose from her knees. Not knowing whether she would end up fading into the sand or finding her way out of this unbearable place, she pushed forward. While her legs began to quiver and her arms began to shiver, the children started to tremble and weep uncontrollably.

"It's okay, we will make it! I know we will!" she cried with determination as she stared into the distance. "I'm getting you two out of this miserable sand bowl if it's the last thing I do!"

Picking up her pace and racing frantically towards the sandy mountain ahead of her, she looked to the eclipse in the sky to see the moon's glow steadily form over the land. When her hopes became a little stronger and she clawed her way to the peak of the hill, she stumbled over again and again, until she finally reached the top. While she began to sigh with relief, she gasped unexpectedly to realise that another nightmare was just beginning.

Flames. Spotting her town in the distance, Aeliana watched from afar as people were frantically trying to put out a horrific blaze. She could hear people yelling in the distance, "Quickly put it out before it spreads!" And "We need more water!"

"What the hell happened?" She said aloud as her mind jumbled together.

Holding the babies close to ensure their warmth she marched forward. Running faster and faster towards Marantine with the sand flowing between her toes as she sprinted down the hill, she suddenly stopped when she realised.

"No".

Her stomach churned as her jaw dropped. She had reached the outskirts of the village to only realise that the flames were coming from her home. She shook her head over and over, thinking that this whole night had to be an awful dream. Shocked and terrified, she then heard his voice explode within the village, and as she started trembling, he screamed only her name.

"Aeliana!"

Please vote or comment if you liked this chapter or my story :) gives me extra motivation to write! Thanks for reading!