The Dawn of Eclipse

Chapter 2

Click. Clack. Clank. Echoes upon echoes of wooden sandals clanging against stone paths pierce through the still, night sky. The moon hangs high within the air, but the boy-brute's mood is at an all-time low. Something is bothering him. Perhaps it's the reminder of how he used to be in the exact situation the boy he beat half to death is in. But at least Torus still has his family. His conscious gets to him. He makes the fatal decision that he should go back and apologize. What Torus doesn't realize is that chivalry has been dead for centuries.

He journeys back to the pile of brown warmth, where the smaller boy remains in blood-covered tatters. Torus goes onto one knee as he extends his hand as a peace offering. His low voice resonates, "I'm sorry." There is sincere regret in Torus's eyes. But he's not the one being offered the apology.

Aaron no longer has the will to go on. He can't even hear the tormented words of the bully. His eyes gaze down, half open, yet they seem to be looking off into the distance. The brute waves his hand in front of Aaron, trying to trigger a reaction that proves the boy is still alive. No matter the effort, this fails.

But suddenly, a spark of life strikes the boy as he elevates his head. There is a sudden rush of coldness as a nearby wind blows by, bringing the feeling of ice. Aaron's glare of death meets Torus unexpectedly and bores a hole into his soul. Powered by hate and loneliness, Aaron's eyes are completely engulfed in blackness.

Pressure wraps around Torus's throat like two large hands as his body lifts a couple of inches from the ground. The lungs soon ignite with the feeling of a thousand suns burning inside. The warmth spreads to his face as he burns scarlet. Water forces their way into the wells of his eyes and trickle down his face like little pearls. Nothing but crickets can be heard other than the gags of a victim staring at Death, face to face.

A person, cloaked in shadows, watches from a distance. Someone riddled with amusement.

Crack! The neck gives in to the increasing build of pressure and poor Torus's neck is snapped in two. Far from painlessly. With a thud his warm, lifeless body is released back to the whim of gravity as it hits the dirt-paved path.

The miniature quake startles the boy, snapping him out of his previous transe. His innocence and life returning to him. He blinks a few times before he sees that his tormenter had been executed right in front of him. But from what, he can't remember. All he knows is that he is drained. Aaron's eyes heavy and slowly slide down and cover his sight. Fight as he may, it doesn't help. Soon he is cradled in the arms of the night.

********

The rosy fingers of dusk breach the sky as the daylight falls upon young Aaron's eyelids. Through a window.

With soft groans, Aaron rises from his bed. No winces. The pain has subsided. His wounds are cleaned and dressed. They are wrapped with fresh, white strips of cloth. His legs are splinted, each with two slabs of wood on either side of them, wrapped in the cloth. His right arm is kept in a sling. None of this prevents him from perking up when he the aroma of beef stew seeps into the room.

A pipping hot, wooden bowl filled with rice, potatoes, carrots, celery, and of course the beef stew is placed in his lap. Despite the scalding heat, Aaron is more grateful than anything else. He becomes hypnotized by the massive amount of food that seems to be given to him by the graceful heavens. His mouth waters uncontrollably. Even though he is dying of starvation, Aaron has not forgotten his manners. He looks up at the elderly man who placed the bowl in his lap before moving. The pale man nods, "Go ahead, son. It's not poisoned. I didn't save you from that heap just to kill you."

Answering the cries of his gnawing stomach, he grabs the steaming bowl and gulps it all down at once. Never mind the burning sensation in his mouth and on his taste buds. It's worth the sacrifice. When finished, Aaron slams it back down onto his thighs, then inhales sharply, realizing he's still injured.