The Mark of Ilman

Chapter 8 - The Realm: Part 1

In the darkness of unconsciousness I thought about the past.

When I was a child - before my father left- he used to tell me stories about people who lived in heaven and had saved Man from the terrors of the devil. It was my favorite story when I was little. Dad had always described all the ladies and the Angel that had come down with great detail. As a child I believed that the Angel would came to see me every night. That was who I thought the voices were.

Later on - after dad left - I found out that no one else was visited by the Angel and couldn't hear her voice. Whenever I told the story I became that strange kid that nobody liked. When Lutah got ride of the voice, I felt normal but when they came back I was sure I had lost my mind. Now that everything really had proven that I wasn't nuts, I gave in and listened to the voices. I just listened and listened and listened.

Everything I heard was a jumbled and I couldn’t understand one thing but as I began to relax and let go, everything became clear. 

The voices - the Yarra as Lutah had once said -  whispered of great terrors. I could hear and see the memories of children who watched their parents be slaughtered before their eyes. The prayers that were prayed in earnest but were never answered. I watched and listened as my head was filled with the knowledge of the terror of a people who had been abandoned.

I understood for a moment what it was like to be caught in a war as I continued to hear about a terrible time that had plagued a land. Slowly, very slowly, it all faded away and I was left with nothing but silence.

It was a very loud boom that jolted me awake. I blinked up at a dark sky. On the edge of my vision I could see the trees that surrounded me. Slowly, I sat up, wincing at the pain that shot through my body. I could feel that I had been hurt badly and it felt as if my tailbone was bruised.

I gazed around and noticed that I was in a grassy clearing with a pile of large rocks laying all around me. The trees on the edges moved with the wind, a few leaves blown from their branches. Above me the crack and boom of a storm startled me.

With all the strength I had, I got to my feet and trudged towards a tall gathering of rocks. I followed it for a while till I came to an opening big enough for me to crawl into. Feeling very lost, I quietly and slowly made my way in just as the thunder cracked and boomed and a heavy sheet of rain fell. I shuffled back farther to get away from the cold till my back came to the end of the cave wall.

I shivered as the cool wind blew in and I shuffled to where the wind couldn't reach me. I sat there with my knees to my chest, wishing I had my jacket and not just a sweatshirt. I felt my neck and the scabs that had formed on my wounds and decided not to touch them till I found some help. Time ticked by slowly as I waited. I started feeling drowsy and let myself lean my head against the wall of the cave and rest.

Snap!

The sound startled me and I looked toward the mouth of the cave like a startled cat. I watched the opening and listened for another sound. The next snap made me scoot as far back as I could to the back of the cave and then I started counting.

…sixty-seven, sixty-eight, sixty-nine, seventy...

I had read in books about counting. The hero would count between the sounds that he heard and if it was more than five minutes nobody was there. I didn't know if it was true but I decided to try it. 

… three hundred and forty-nine, three hundred and fifty, three hundred and fifty-one...

Once I reached six minutes I decided that it’d be best to at least look out to see if there was anything out there.Just in case it was Aran.