The Worst Kind of Darkness

Her Worst Fear

"Gray! Come on! Hurry up, we're almost there!" Grace's older brother dragged her along with him, teasing her with the name he had oh so graciously gifted her when she was a baby. She remembered not wanting to go into the woods with him that time. Feeling as though something bad was going to happen.

    "Please don't make me Connor, please! Something's going to happen! I don't want to go! Please! Please!" She screamed as her brother pulled her closer and closer to the edge of the woods. In an attempt to escape, she managed to kick Connor in the shin, HARD. He yelped and let go of her hand.

    "Jeez! Gray! What the heck? There is nothing in those woods. I promised Katie and Charlie that I'd bring you today! Do you always give them this much trouble?" Grace shook her head vigorously and backed away from the woods. Connor walked over to her, limping slightly. Grace shrieked and scrambled away screaming
"NO! NO! PLEASE NO! NO NO     CONNOR PLEASE NO. The woods aren't good today! There's something in there!" She stared at the blurry image of her brother through salty tears. She didn't really know why she thought that something was going to hurt someone today, something in the woods. She'd been in there before, walking in the pitch black of the roofed canopy. It was a sanctuary, sheltering her from the world outside. She had loved the woods, feeling a surge of strength in the darkness. Years later she realized she had had her first feeling of true sight, a vision that only came when her sanctuary was threatened. That's why she had been so afraid that day. Because a vision told her not to. She had a lot of glimpses into the future now-a-days. They were never good, enveloping her in the darkness she had once loved. Showing her the Shadow Lord, sharp teeth piercing her neck, reminding her that she would fail. That she would always fail. Although she could sometimes see the visions when she was awake, they  mostly came to her in nightmares. That was what happened to her that one day, years ago. She had only been 9 years old. The youngest out of her three siblings. Her brother had walked closer to her, hands out in surrender.

    "Gray, Is this about the nightmare you had last night? We've all explained this to you. That's all it was, a nightmare. There is nothing in those woods. You've been in there since you were little and you've got all of us in there with you. Not to mention our Father. The bravest one out of all of us. If anything comes for you, I promise he will kill it with his silver knife. We won't let anything happen to you. I promise." She found comfort in his voice, though a voice in the back of her head screamed I'm not worried about me, I'm worried about you. She kept this to herself, though for years to come she thought that maybe if she'd shared this thought, what happened could have been changed. 9 year old Grace allowed herself to be pulled to her feet, though behind her brothers back she saw a glimpse of her torturer, playing in the shadows. Waiting ever so patiently for her to come closer. She held her brother's hand tightly and they stepped into the darkness. It wasn't long before she saw her sister Katie's grin as they stepped into the clearing. Charlie, her eldest brother scowled at them as they stepped through.

    "What took you so long?" He growled, his face grim. Connor rolled his eyes and strolled over to the weapon rack.

    "Don't blow your top. Grace just got a little scared. That nightmare from last night must have really shook her up, though that is a completely unreasonable fear." Now it was Katie's turn to roll her eyes in exasperation

    "Yeah right Connor. How many times when you were Gray's age did you come running to my room when you had nightmares?" She smacked her younger brother on the back of the head before walking to Grace. "Gray, I promise you. That nightmare was just a nightmare. You can sleep with me tonight if you want, but nothing is going to hurt you." Grace nodded and hugged Katie around the middle.

    "Thank you." She muttered quietly as she ran over to the weapon's rack and pulled out her tiny iron dagger. Some people might question giving a 9 year old a weapon, but her family liked to train their warriors early. Charlie glanced at her questionably.

    "Katie, we both know that dreams aren't always 'just dreams'." He crouched down in front of Grace. "Grace, what did you dream about?" Grace shook her head, she didn't want to talk about it. Not now. If she talked about it maybe the monster in shadows, would come for her. She could see it, Eye's glimmering in the darkness, waiting for her words to make it a reality. Before she could answer a familiar voice bellowed from the woods. Connor dropped his sword and screamed

    "Dad!" As he ran to the darkness. A man appeared with dark chestnut brown hair, not unlike Connor and Katie's. He was tall, about 6'3 matching Charlie's height. Grace's father scooped her up in a hug, sending her into a fit of giggles. Even Charlie's frown disappeared when he saw his father. 

    "Hey Dad." He said walking over to his father and giving him a hug. Katie smiled at him and hugged him too.

"Dad, how was your hunting trip? Did you get anything good?" Connor asked. Their Father's eyes lit up as they always did when he was about to tell a story.

    "Yeah I did! I saw this bear, lumbering along in the shadows. I had my knife with me, but just as I was about to slash," He paused for dramatic effect. "The Shadows started attacking!" He yelled making Grace shriek with laughter "I bravely fended them off, but soon they overpowered me and I was on the ground. The King himself crawled over to me and I pushed him away and with a quick movement of my knife! He was dead and I had single handedly saved the World!" Their father finished with his hands held in the air in triumph. Katie rolled her eyes at him, yet smiled.

    "Dad, the Shadow King isn't real. That's just something they tell kids to not get them in the woods alone." She finished with her arms crossed. Grace looked over in the darker parts of the woods. The movement she had seen earlier was still watching. She turned to her dad.

    "Dad, I had a nightmare last night." she looked him in the eye.

    "Oh yeah? Sweetie that was just a nightmare." She thought about this. Everyone had said that, but now she was finding it hard to believe.

    "Dad, It was about the Shadow King." She said looking warily into the woods. Charlies frown returned.

    "Gray, What did you see?" Charlie laid a hand on her shoulder, making her flinch.

    "I don't want to say. I c-can't he'll come out from over there." She mumbled pointing to the area where the monster was. It smiled, pointy teeth glinting in the darkness. Charlie's eyes followed hers. Then he saw it. A creature in all black stumbled into the clearing. Teeth as thin as needles and as white as snow formed inside a  cruel smile. It had been the scariest moment in Grace's life. Her Father reached for his knife holding it out bravely. The creature stumbled a few more steps with long arms dragging on the ground. Grace couldn't move. She stared the monster dead in the eye and it's smile became even more cruel. A whisper began in her head so loud it hurt. The King wants you dead. Why not kill you now and save everyone the trouble? The monster crawled closer to her frozen body.

    "Help, please somebody help me." She whispered. Her world around her unfroze immediately and with a mighty roar her father slashed through the monster that was near her. Everyone could breathe. For about 2 seconds. More monsters poured out of the woods. Her father's face was white.

    "Connor, Take Grace and Run!"  Her father yelled. Grace shrieked watching her eldest siblings stand with their father as the creatures of night overtook them. She could barely see out of her tear filled eyes.

    "Connor! NO! DAD! KATIE, CHARLIE!" She screamed after them but her brother had picked her up and ran while had she buried her face in his shoulder. The run out of the woods was just as short as the walk in, but when you leave your family with a death wish, it'll feel like forever. She just sobbed into her brothers shoulder. She hadn't even noticed when sunlight burst into sight.

    "Grace, It's okay! It's fine. They'll be fine. It's okay." He rubbed her back as she hiccuped, unable to words.

    "It's my fault. I should have told you sooner. I'm sorry. I should have known It would have come out if I'd said anything in there." She shook her head and glanced over to the edge of the woods, expecting to see something that would take her life, or come back into it. Nothing. No dads, no sisters, no brothers or creepy creatures of death. There was nothing there, but her fear levels were off the charts, and they wouldn't be down in a very long time.