Deceiving The Shadows

Chapter 1 - Her Last Wish

It had been 8 years since the war and in the aftermath, a plague had riddled the town of Bodie, and the population whittled down to only 2 people. One of the survivors was Damian Swift. He was in his mid-twenties, and was well-built for a man of his age. His face was chiseled, with sharp features, a fearless smile and he had deep blue eyes that held an ocean of secrets within them. His most notable feature was his flowing, fair, chestnut brown hair, styled into a quiff and always seemed well groomed. He moved with an air of elegance and authority, which showed people he was not one to mess with. He had an emotional connection with the only other survivor, his mother.                                                                                                         

Even though she survived the plague, or so Damian thought, she had fallen seriously ill two months ago, and only had her son to look after her. Not knowing what her condition was, Damian had to go through these last two months completely unaware when his mother's last day might be. He struggled through every day, having to search for food in the wilderness that surrounded his town, which seemed like an almost impossible task for him to do. However, he knew that this was necessary to keep his mother alive, as it was certain that she would die without him. Deep down, Damian was worried about more than his mother just dying, but more about how he would live with no-one else to talk to, to make him smile, to get him through each day. He was scared of being alone.                                                                                                                

But eventually, it came to the fateful day. It was as if nature knew that this day was the one which it had to happen on, as the weather seemed drearier than usual, clouds filled the sky and rain plummeted to the ground, not bouncing of the worn tarmac that used to make up the roads of this once bustling city. All of this created the atmosphere that foreshadowed the sadness about to occur. Oblivious to these signs, Damian's morning was the same as usual, he woke up with the same unawareness as before, not knowing what this day will bring him. He was lucky he did not foresee the event about to take place, as if he did, there's no denying that Damian would use his articulated mind to prepare to deal with this situation, and maybe even prevent it. But unfortunately this could not be.

It was half two when it happened. The unprecedented moment that would be the source of the motivation, that would be in the back of his mind for all of his life. Moments before it happened, he was preparing a snack for his mum in the kitchen downstairs, when something stirred inside him. He felt apprehensive, and didn't know why. Deep down, he knew something was wrong and a multitude of thoughts swirled inside his mind. Suddenly, he thought of his mother and edged towards the staircase to go upstairs. He grew increasingly concerned and this was reflected by his movements, which were no longer elegant nor authoritative. He grasped the handle to his mother's room and turned it with a sense of urgency and flung open the door.

"Damian", said his mother wearily. His mother was pale of face and lay there tiredly, and enclosed something inside her hands.                                                                                                                       

"Yes mum?", Damian asked.                                                                                                                                            

"I knew one day it would have to come to this, I have foreseen this since day one.", declared his mother.