The Darkness Within

Chapter 3

Jano stumbled from her bed and grabbed her saber. Her room was on one of the top floors of the dorm building, as was Ren's. Cautiously she opened the door and the noise grew louder. In her chest, Jano's heart was beating wildly. She walked to the balcony railing and looked down. It was pitch black and raining. There was a red beam and about ten blue or green beams. Ren. I must find Ren. Fear gripped her as she made her way to the door of his room. It was never locked, and Jano burst through. In an instant she knew he wasn't there. Something tugged at her mind and she was drawn back to the balcony. The last blue beam was snuffed out before her eyes. Only the gleaming red saber remained. From the light, Jano could see a masked face towering above a huddled being.  The masked man looked seemed to look up towards her. There was a light on behind her and she knew that if the figure looked up it would see her. The light behind her went out suddenly. She could see the figures on the field below more clearly. Master Luke was kneeling by R2-D2. The masked figure pointed towards the building and four figures behind him started towards the building. Panic raged in her mind, but she couldn't stop watching the figure and Master Luke. She was soaked to the skin and she pulled her hair away to see better. The masked man seemed to be talking to Master Luke. If only I could hear them, she thought. There was a loud bang on the floor below her. It had distracted her and as she looked back down, the saber's beam of light was gone and so were the two figures. I've got to hide. She ran to Ren's bedroom, and tried to hide somewhere. His room was more like an apartment, because he had become a Jedi knight. He had demanded to become a Master, because he really was strong enough and willed enough to pass the exam for Master. But Master Luke had been strict on that issue. There were heavy footsteps nearby, Jano pulled the floor board up and slipped down into the small space between the levels of the building. Placing the board back as best as she could, Jano focused on calming her breathing. She heard lots of banging and shattering down the hall and somehow knew that they were tearing apart her room. Then it was suddenly quiet. The footsteps began again, and they grew louder. She had expected more loud crashes as the group of strangers tore apart Ren's apartment. But it was silent, the only sound was heavy breathing.
I'm safe. she breathed, but instantly regretted the thought. The footsteps moved over to just above her hiding place. The boards were yanked away. And looking down at her, was the man in the mask. This person seemed to be the leader.
"Get up." The mechanical voice coming from the masked man ordered.  Jano thought for a moment and decided that she had no choice but to comply. She pulled herself from her hiding place and stood up in front of the man. She was covered in a mix of dust, dirt and water, but she held her head high.

"You attacked us. Why?" She said glaring at the mask where she thought eyes would be.

"Because the light is weak. It must be snuffed out. Why are you hiding here?"

"The light is not weak."

"It is weak enough for a Jedi to hide." The mechanical voice said with a leering tone. "Now answer the question."

"This is my apartment."

"No. You and I both know that you are too young to have this as your own."

"I excelled in training." Jano glared more fiercely at the masked man.

"Answer the question." There was a whirring noise as the gleaming red light saber was drawn.

"It was my friend's apartment. I thought he was here. I thought that he could help me, or protect me." Jano's eyes began to sting, for what reason she did not know.

"What was this friend's name?"

"Ren. Well... Officially his name was Ben, but I called him Ren. He prefers it."

"I think you mean preferred. Your friend Ben, is dead." The voice spoke so simply, like its response was common. Jano's tears made sense now.  Deep down an ache began.

"No. You lie." She said through clenched teeth.

"What proof do you need?" The monotone voice spoke.

"His saber." Yes. I want his saber. I'll only believe it then.

The masked man reached behind him and pulled out a saber, holding it out to her. It had the unmistakable marks that he had made. There were nineteen. One for each year of his life. There will only ever be nineteen. And that's when it happened.