Gang Wars: Dark Skies

Chapter One: Made of the Snow and Skies

"Once, in a place similar to our own, but not really ours, was a starlit sky. This sky was ruled by the Sun and Moon. The Sun was bright as she smiled at her little sisters, overshadowing them. The Moon got to play with her small shining siblings, loved by all as she shone with them, not over them. Because of this, the Sun was quite lonely.

"One day, she sought out a place where she could be loved and needed. So, when the Moon and the Stars were asleep one day, she began to fashion a small little world. It certainly wasn't as big as our earth my loves, but it was just enough for her. When she was satisfied with the rolling hills and the clear streams and the roaring oceans, she began to pray. She prayed, or better put I suppose, she willed herself to change. Each day she became smaller and smaller and started to drift closer to her little haven.

"By the time she was close enough to touch the earth, she was the size of a human, with beautiful golden hair, a warm smile and almost glowing skin. The Moon and Stars awoke to see that their bright sister had disappeared. They searched and searched for her to no avail. She was gone."

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Reyna closed the storybook from its open middle, looking at her four yawning boys. They rubbed their dark brown eyes sleepily as she set the storybook to the side. Her oldest, Lucius was trying his hardest to stay awake, his head bobbing as his eyes struggled to stay open, while Mikane held Solomon gently in his arms, acting as a sort of cradle to the youngest. Jeminai had laid his head in his mother's lap, drifting off to sleep to the sound of her enchanting voice. He glanced up at her. She was young, but under her eyes were what appeared to him to be little dark half moons, painted purple and blue.

She smiled down at him and gave his head a little pat before pulling the blankets up around her boys, doing her best not to disturb them. She looked around their little brown hut as she reached over to the table next to her to retrieve some thread and needles. It was small with only two rooms, a small kitchen, and this main living space, which had been built with the help of a few members of the community.  She picked up Lucius' holed pants, beginning to repair them. She was a meager seamstress in the province they lived in, and while it didn't bring in much, it was enough to support her and her boys. It was one of the more honest jobs that a person could have.

At least she hadn't enlisted with the long lines of men and women, young and old doing who knows what. The lines for jobs would stretch miles and miles, but not many of those recruited came back, or if they did, they were a husk of what they were. She shivered at the prospect of having to join them. She was a good mother, unlike what the whispers in the dark would have someone believe. No one really knew who the boy's father, or fathers were, but Reyna loved them all the same. They all looked like they belonged together, they had the same dark hair and dark eyes as she did, while one would have freckles and another may have a mole on his arm. They were good to each other, their little personalities mixed well.

She began to darn the pants by candlelight, the sun had set long ago. She looked out of the tiny window and looked up at the stars. This world was a living breathing fairy tale, but they were simply too young to know or see. She watched the stars begin to move around the sky, some even shooting across the sky in a brilliant display of light. As she looked to the horizon she noticed some new stars coming closer and closer. They were bright like the sun, and as some came over the hill, more began to follow in what seemed like a march. She froze, quickly blowing out the candle.

They were torches.

She shook her eldest. He moaned a little, sitting up slowly. "Momma...?"
He began to pat around for her embrace. "Hush my love-! Wake your brothers while I get some supplies. We are going on a trip." She tried hard to keep the panic out of her voice, using her best story-weaving tone to lull him into quiet obedience. While he did as she asked, she shuffled quickly, picking up food, clothes, and papers.

Mikane quietly rose when he heard his mother rise, picking up the smallest of the four, giving him a small kiss on the cheek to wake him up. Jeminai had to be shaken roughly by the eldest. When they were all told what Lucius knew, they began to quickly put on their clothes. To them, the answer was simple; this was an adventure like in the storybooks.

Rayna donned her cloak, picked up their only blanket, and swept them out the door. They fled into the dead of the night, their breath a white ghost in front of their faces. Rayna held Solomon tightly with one arm, her fingers of her right hand around Mikane's wrist leading him as Lucius ran ahead of them, using a stick to beat away the brittle vines that blocked their path. Jeminai came in the rear, doing what he could to throw down dead leaves to cover their tracks. But snow tells lies to no one.

They ran as fast as they could, a feeling akin to flying. Soon the dark wood gave way to a clearing, blocked by a behemoth gate and barrier of iron and stone. Only a single panel of glass the size of a brick gave them an idea as to what lay on the other side. Rayna set down Solomon, handing him to the quiet Mikane. She removed her cloak, wrapping it around her boys, as the thin blanket that they had wouldn't give them much warmth. She gathered her strength, a breath and banged on the gate.

"Lorna!!!! Edith!!!! Please!!! Let us in!!!" She beat against the door, her bones rattling. The massive door refused to budge. She began to weep, using both hands, painting the door partially red. "PLEASE!!!!!" She slumped onto the ground, her hands weak and bloody.

The air hung cold and lifeless, as her tears froze on her frigid cheeks. "Mama?" She turned to look at the bundled little faces, peeking from behind the blanket. "Mama, what's wrong?" Solomon ventured to ask. She couldn't bring herself to say a word.

But in place of her voice, the voices of many rose in the distance. "The tracks lead this way!!" She felt her throat tighten and her gut turn to acid as she heard what sounded like a group of men getting closer. She quickly pulled her boys to her, knowing they could go no farther.

It didn't take long for the crowd to catch up to them in that quiet night. The light from the torches cast an eerie glow over their faces, painting the mob in colors of a dying sun. At the head of the group was four men. One portly with ruddy cheeks and taking gasping breaths, one was at the back of the four, making a diamond, he was taller than most with bags under his eyes and his bones pressing against his thin skin. The third stood tall to the left of the leader. He was quiet, seemingly healthy, perhaps only overshadowed by the dogged tiredness on his face. And finally, a man decorated in gold and royal hues grinned a pearly smile.

"Reyna...Reyna...you didn't truly think you could escape did you?" As he speaks, his eyes dart to her young, shrouded in the blanket. "And your...brood..." He stopped short, looking at Lucius, rearing his small body like a snake, wanting to strike. "Stand back-!" he squeaked, swiping at the man. The mob began to laugh as the leader kicked the child down. "Stop-!!!!" Rayna yelped, pushing herself in front of her children. Jeminai shoved Solomon towards Mikane and ran in front of his brother and mother. "My lords, what aid could we possibly provide to men of your esteemed nature?" He had heard this in a story once, so perhaps they were magical words. Whether those words had power in them or not, they seemed to quell the men.

The man in purple puffed out his chest. "At least one of them has enough sense to know respect." Jem swallowed hard, a bead of sweat running down his nose. He was trembling, his neck prickling with goosebumps at his siblings whimpering. He swallowed deeply as the men at the head of the group surrounded their small band, each man eyeing a different son. Rayna clutched them close, all but Jeminai, who was just out of her reach. Her breath danced in front of her vision, the tears on her cheeks prickling from the frost.

She was still a child in her own right, given the responsibility of four children when she hadn't even reached her twentieth year. She couldn't protect them. They were too young to fight back. But Solla forbid they take her babies from her without a fight. She wobbly stood, thrusting three of her four behind her. With a cry, she yanked Jem back, growling like a beast at the crowd. "STAY BACK!!!" She roared. The mob froze in shock. Solomon began to cry.

The silence was broken by a soft voice from one of the men. "I'll take one that spoke." The healthy one stepped forward, eyeing Jem. Reyna didn't dare move a muscle. The crowd had gone silent, looking to see what would happen next.

Somewhere, an owl called out a melancholic song. It seemed to weep for the party who hadn't gotten far. Jem took a deep breath and trudged forward. His brothers cried out, their mother pulling them back. The snow was cold and unforgiving that night.