The Fall of Eden

Chapter 7

                       Awake – Why? Femi's eyes burst open as if she was never really asleep. She looked over to see Damien and Aiden still soundly dreaming. It was still dark out, likely just past midnight. Her heart pressed an uneasy beat into her chest. She could tell that it would be useless to try to return to her slumber. Femi sat up and softly stepped out of the tent.

            She looked around the camp site. Only a few lanterns were still lit, and torches marked the location of two guards on watch. Both were sitting down, half asleep, with their arms wrapped in blankets. Femi then felt the chill of the night. She crossed her arms and began to walk closer to a dying – near dead – fire.

            She knelt down close to it. The faint heat of the flame warmed her skin. She looked into the red embers that burned beneath the grey ash of the fire. Immediately, the image of her house, engulfed in red rage, entered her mind. It was like a nightmare she could not escape, a splinter in her brain that she couldn't find nor remove. She tried not to look at the fire anymore.

            She looked ahead, passed the position of the two men on watch. It was obvious that their attention was on other matters. Likely the cold or the lack of sleep stole their focus. Femi stared out into the endless black of the night. The fresh dew in the air filled her nose. The night was quiet. Even the crackling of the fire had faded to a whimper. Only the sound of her own nose, breathing in the cold fog, occupied her ears. But one other sound began to whisper into her head. It was so faint, Femi struggled to confirm its existence. It seemed like the flapping of wings. She looked up and saw nothing but the stars. Only something was off.

            Some of the stars would vanish, as if something was passing over them. The shadow that covered them took on the slight shape of a large bird. She followed the bird shape until it passed over the position of the guards. Femi looked passed the guards once more. A small light ignited in the distance.

            The light was no bigger than a glitterbug. Femi wondered at it. It sat still for a brief moment, flickering gold. Then, a swarm of them abruptly lit up at once. They now looked like small flames. Like the flames of – arrows.

            Femi rose to her feet. Could it be another attack? She stood, frozen, hoping the lights would not do the one thing she feared. Then, in one beat, the swarm of lights launched into the air – like a barrage of flaming arrows.

            Femi turned back and screamed, "Wake up! Wake up!"

            There was little response. People were still asleep, either ignoring her or responding ever so slowly.

            "WAKE UP!"

            Femi dove back into her tent. She grabbed her mother's staff and lifted it into the air until it touched the top of the tent. A bright light then shined at the tip of the staff. Like a liquid bubble, a shield formed around Femi and her two friends.

            Aiden and Damien awoke. They stared at her in confusion until Aiden spoke up.

            "Femi, what - what are you doing?"

            Right on cue, the burning arrows fell. They pelted at Femi's shield and scattered around it. The silhouettes from the flames shined through the fabric as the arrows landed beside the tent. Aiden and Damien frantically looked around them as the sounds of the falling arrows filled their ears. Femi held her body stiff, struggling to maintain the shield around the tent. The arrows fell like rain. Every second they fell dragged and crawled ever so slowly.