Where The Shadows Rise

~ Chapter 1: Hellsworth Falls ~

There I was, sitting on the back seat of my dads car looking out of the window. As the car climbed up the steep mountain, I watched the rain slowly hit the window and drizzle down to the bottom rim.

The rain clashed its way onto the ground. The lightning struck, shining the sky every 10 minutes making the gray cloud clearer. The sound of thunder made the grounds shake, rocks from the peak of the mountain rolled to the bottom. I followed each rock with my eyes, my mind was absent, my ears couldn't hear. It was as if I had fallen into a trance by watching those rocks roll down. My body felt cold as the rain got harder. It was as if I could not sense anything anymore.

I was frozen as the faded memories with my mother flashed by me. There it was, a tear, that slowly rolled down my cheek and made it to the top of my lips. The salty taste of my tear took me out of the trance. I focused my eyes on the seat in front of me, and gradually regained myself.

I started to hear the voice of my father. It was gentle and soft, but broken in words, words that had fallen under my mother. Yet he chuckled, laughed and smiled as he talked to my brother, trying not to show sorrow. I looked into his eyes from the rear-view mirror, I could see pain, sorrow, forgiveness, guilt, and regret. That's where he saw me, he saw me looking off, and torn. After all, he was my dad and gave me a faint smile and continued talking to my brother.

After a while, the car started to rumble and shake as a bunch of rocks passed through the rolling tires. I took a deep breath and looked out of the window. The storm still took over the night but we had made our way to the top of the mountain. It was overlooking the dark forest and the valley up ahead. That's when I spotted the town, our new town. Glistening lights filled the area, though some areas remained dark and hidden.

Hidden from the people.

Hidden from those who we shall not know about it.

Or

Hidden from the shadows.

I thought. I noticed my dad settle back into his seat. He started to take the car down the mountain. I placed one hand on the side of the car door and settled back in my seat. I then felt warmth on my hand. I focused my eyes on my hand and noticed another hand placed on top of it. Slowly I followed the hand, to the arm, to the face and saw the smile on my brother's face. He held onto my hand tight as if he would never let go. It was the feeling of comfort that brought the pain inside of me to a calmer level.

The car rolled its way down. My dad had a straight face and remained still. My brother and I held hands, closed our eyes and let out a sigh. It felt like this was the end like everything was now and that this was all a sign, a sign of death.

THUD

I quickly opened my eyelids and let go of my brother's hand. The only thought that flowed through my head was whether we were alive, whether we were still breathing. I blinked a couple of times to regain my focus. I looked around the car, and let out a relaxed sigh, my nerves cooled down as we all made it safely down.

My brother looked at me for a while, I was confused at first. He gazed into my eyes, making me feel uncomfortable but he then saw the fear in my eyes and said "We're here, always here" and gave a smile.