Terror of the Shadow

CHAPTER FORTY

Aristarchus stooped down next to Laban.

"Laban," he said. "Can you hear me?"

The most he could do was moan in response. The pain had blinded him, He was so sick that he felt like his insides were on fire. He felt Aristarchus' kind hand on his shoulder. It wasn't much comfort, but it was something.

The wind began to howl. Sand pelted against the metal walls of the building, drowning out the sounds of the battle happening just outside. The electric lights that illuminated the vast room flickered out. They were left in darkness.

"Sandstorm," Aristarchus mumbled. "Just what we need... You," he said to the other man. "Do you know anything about medicine?"

"Um... no... I'm afraid I don't..." he stuttered.

"Then figure out a way to barricade that door."

"Yes, sir."

Laban could hear him fumbling with the tables and shelves of tools and shoving them up against the doorway.

The sandstorm intensified. Even the sturdy walls of the hangar began to shudder in the wind.

"Will they be able to find their way back in this storm?" the man asked after several very tense minutes of silence.

"We will pray to Those Above that they do," Aristarchus said.

Someone came pounding on the door only a few minutes later.

"Aristarchus!" Kol's voice cried, screaming over the roar of the storm. "It's me! Open the door!"
The barricades were slid aside and the door opened. A handful of dust-covered people spilled in, coughing and gasping for a breath of air that wasn't filled with smoke and sand.

Kol removed the fabric he had wrapped around his face and nose.

"How is he?" he asked.

"Worse," Aristarchus said, trying in vain to pour a trickle of water into Laban's mouth.

"My word... he's gone whiter than a ghost," one of the others said.

"Give him some space," Aristarchus said. "Please. Let him breathe."

"No!" Laban suddenly screamed. For a moment, it felt as if he had lost control of his own body. His muscles tensed and convulsed wildly.

"Hold his head!" Kol exclaimed. "Keep him down!"

Hands grabbed at his ankles and wrists, pinning him to the ground. Kol's own hands cradled his head in his hands, preventing it from smashing against the concrete.

"No!" Laban screamed again. "No! You can't! You have to let me go! I can't stay here! It hurts! He is hurting me! Get me out! Don't let him get any closer!"

"Who, Laban?" Aristarchus asked. "Who is hurting you? Is it the Shadow Man?"

"The shadow... he is come to save me... to take me home... the enemy approacheth... I... I can bear the light... no more..."

"What is he saying?" one person asked. Laban recognized the soft kindness of her tone.

"I don't know. Is there anything you can do to help, Nairaiah?" asked Aristarchus.

"I don't know. I have never seen anything like this..."

Something shook the door. The sound echoed over the metal walls.

"Let them in!" someone cried.

"No!" Kol said. "It could be Territes."

"Who goes there?" Aristarchus asked the unknown trespasser. "Identify yourself!"