To Name The Dark

officially crazy

We settle down on the harsh red sand, sitting in a lopsided circle. There is a gentle silence- not awkward, just serene. Up in the sky, the bloated red sun casts its alien glow over the landscape of dunes and distant mountains. A strange bird lilts a mournful tune, far in the distance. I scoop up a handful of the sand, let it trickle through my fingers. It is softer than I expected.

Arc draws in a deep breath, and lets the story pour from their mouth, a stream of words. 'When the world we used to inhabit was young, the emotions of the animals that lived there were few. Fear of predators, need to eat, sleep or mate. Relief at escaping the hunter's jaws, frustration at not catching the prey. These emotions dissipated like smoke, fleeting and insignificant.'

A breath, a pause.

'Then humans evolved, and with them more... complex feelings. Greed. Love. Dread. Courage. Heavier emotions, that seemed to weigh the world down. Over time, it built up. Layers and layers of emotion, never tangible. Loneliness, hope, depression. Too much for one world to hold. So, naturally... it began to spill over, form something new. Like lava cooling to rock, only it took decades. Years in which the humans continued to overflow with emotion, fountains of feeling. Paranoia, ecstasy, apprehension, pride, embarrassment. Hatred.'

Arc looks down, as if remembering something. Riana, sitting to the left of them, pokes their shoulder after the pause drags on longer than it should. They jump a little, startled out of whatever memory they'd fallen into.

'Where was I? Oh, right. This new emotion-world, at first, was still, held in a freeze-frame. But eventually, the new emotions seeping in began to warp, to change in the way that all things do. Similar types bonded: humiliation, embarrassment, shame. Some, of course were what we'd think of as 'good'; ecstasy, joy, happiness. But they were all demons, unnatural creatures with a sick need to control. They gained a twisted consciousness, and roamed the emotion-world. Until, that is, they got bored.'

Some part of me is silently screaming, something like: This person is officially crazy. You have now met an insane person. Well done, Thea. Get the hell out of here. Thing is, where would I go? And even if this isn't real, it's still a good story. So I might as well listen.

'The demons did not have physical forms, but were... hazes of consciousness. They reached out to our world, the place of their origin, and wormed their way into our minds. Most couldn't take this, the alien presence lingering in their head, and those that could... they died within days. Maybe died isn't the right word. Their bodies... ceased working. They didn't fit in the world anymore, and so the world pretended they weren't there. Rejected them, like an infection. The demons realised, after countless deaths attributed to heart attacks and the like, that the humans they touched would have to be brought back, to the emotion-world. So they managed, painstakingly, to drag their puppets through. Diagonally, almost, through the layers of reality and into their world. This killed many, and they grew to realise that they were too powerful to do it safely. Like humans picking up an ant. So they waited, and hid, and watched as our world spat out the ones who no longer belonged, minds tainted by demon-touch. They watched as we arrived. And this system worked- for the demons, at least. We, the puppets, got dragged around and battered, but the demons could play and the old world could let its emotion drain out.

Eventually, a hierarchy was formed: those with positive emotions banded together, calling themselves the Hope Soldiers and vowing to destroy us. They call us the Abrethaeg Noro- in the language they created, it means the 'Tainted Ones', or something. I mean, they're just as tainted as us! Anyway, they hunt us, and we run. A pointless existence, really. But at the moment we're travelling to a Tainted camp. We need protection now that- well. We need more protection now.'

Arc swallows, and I know these people are hiding something. Not that it matters. I've decided I'll run when they fall asleep. And where will you go, Thea? I squeeze my eyes shut against unhelpful thoughts. When I open them, everyone is staring at me.

'Sorry,' I mumble. 'Just tired.'

Riana grins. 'Don't worry about it. You can sleep soon, on our super comfy sand bed! So named because when I say sand bed I just mean we're sleeping on the sand. Anyway. Before that... there's something important we need to do.'

'Which is...?' My heart pounds unnecessarily fast.

Rohan bounds to his feet. 'We need to find out what power you have, obviously!' He turns and pulls Mika up, who groans with annoyance.

'I was sleeping, you idiot,' she yawns, halfheartedly glaring at him. 'I'd ask for some energy, but it'll make me stay up half the night. She looks like she could use a buzz, though.' Mika grabs my arm and pulls me over to Rohan. 'Do your thing, magic boy,' she says.

Rohan grips my hand so tightly the bones seem to grind together. He breathes in slowly, eyes squeezed shut in concentration. I'm just about to pull my hand away and start running, when I feel it.

A jolt that seems to shudder right through my bones, crackling, hissing, snapping- then, abruptly, the electric tingling vanishes, replaced with... Energy. Pure, beautiful energy. I didn't realise how bone-tired I had been, but this is incredible- I could run miles, scale cliffs, swim entire oceans. My entire body buzzes, alive.

I can't stop smiling.

Rohan grins, too. 'You must have been pretty tired, to have that much of a reaction. Feels good though, right?'

'I... yes. Thank you!'

'That's my power- I can energise myself and others. I'm a Lethargy, so if it wasn't for the power I'd probably be falling asleep or even unconscious with tiredness half the time.'

'Oh,' I say. This is too crazy. Right? I don't even know anymore.

'Riana is... well, you tell her, Ree, you explain better.'

Riana shrugs. 'I'm a Lies, so my power is connected to that- I can make people believe stuff with illusions. I'm also a great liar, but that may or may not be related.'

Mika goes next. 'I blast people and blow stuff up. Not exactly subtle, but I'm good in a fight. I'm an Anger, so yeah, it makes sense. Arc?'

'Mine is definitely the coolest,' Arc says. 'I'm a Hatred, and I can move things around... with my mind.'

'Telekinesis!' I say, happy to know something. 'Wait, how is that connected to, uh, hate?'

'We're not sure,' Arc replies. Our best guess is that, because hate is basically focused anger, my power is like a focused version of Mika's. Instead of blasting things away, I can control where they go more easily.'

'You can't blast stuff as far though,' complains Mika.

Arc just smiles, like they and Mika have had this argument before. 'I'm also the resident Storyteller,' they say. 'Instead of dreams, the way the world was formed plays over and over in my head when I sleep. My guess is that the demons want us to know, but it could just be my overactive imagination... still, it seems like as good as an explanation as any.'

'I guess,' I say, still unsure that the story was actually true. 'So... my power. How do we find out what it is?'

Wow, that got a bit mental. What demon do you think Thea's power is connected to? (E.g. Hatred or Grief or something.)