Fire At Dawn

Prologue

Two mountains flanked a lonely village. Their peaks reached toward the clouds, as the sun made its way to the west. The graven earth, deep in slumber, turned the blue sky gray as the sky shed its tears. Its tears landed on the mountain. They made their way down and settled in puddles on the cobble trails of the village. They told the village of the sorrows of the sky. The mourning of the mountains.

Nature's tears were not alone. They mingled with the tears of the people, who cried out in grief. At the center of the grief lay a body. A body wrapped in blood. His, blood the heart of their grief. The body sat by a fountain its head tilted to one side. The neck snapped. To his right lay a sword, and while the body was soaked in blood and the fountain dyed red, not a drop of blood touched the sword.

Around the body stood the people of the village. Some had rivers flowing down their cheeks. Others looked away, skittish at the sight of blood, and the rest stood in a tight circle questioning what events might have led to such a death. It went on as such until the sun had reached its bed, and turned the sky pink. At that time, the people began to disband. They left the soldiers of the village to pick up the mess as the sun fell asleep and pulled a starry blanket over the sky.

"Did you see his body?"
"We all saw it."
"But what beast could have done that? It couldn't have been human?"
"I don't know but I don't want to talk about it."
"But-"
"Goodnight." and he slammed the door shut.

John jumped, startled by his friend's hostility. He turned back down the road and began to walk home, checking over his back every now and then. Fear kept his imagination running as he imagined every foul creature that could be waiting in the shadows. He quickened his pace a little. The streets were empty and he did not want to be found alone at night.

He arrived at the house just an hour to midnight. It was a small cabin that lay at the very edge of Elder Valley just a few yards away from the river. It was quite sturdy and had been built a few decades ago by his father. John had grown up in the house as a child but this night something seemed different.

Approaching the house, he noticed a large bush that once covered the house's side, burnt. The branches were charred, the leaves lay scorched on the ground and wisps of smoke were caught by the wind. They danced in the ashes and rejoiced among the embers even as the night seemed grim.

John leaped towards the bush, stomping out the embers. Behind the bush lay a pile of rubble and a small hole in the wall. John did not wait another second. he ran to the door but it too was already torn apart. A large hole was at its center the edges were burnt black. Looking in the house he saw chairs and tables flipped over most of the furniture was burnt as were the walls and floor. But as he walked through the house his mind was only on one thing.

He began searching the house frantically until he found her. A girl sat cowering in the corner of the living room hiding under a coffee table, her eyes tightly shut.

"Are you ok?"

The girl opened her eyes and upon seeing her father ran up to hug him.

"Don't worry. Everything will be ok." He said. He took her in his arms and took her to her room. Though her eyes searched the dark in fear, they could barely stay open and sleep seemed to call. John walked to his room after he was sure she was asleep. But something haunted him still. His daughter's eyes. They were glowing.