From Shattered Darkness

Chapter 4

The rain fell hard, splattering on the roof of the apartment building and filling the roads like rivers. Strong winds blew large drops against the windows before they ran down the glass panes. Waterfalls rushed over the sides of gutters and splashed into the flooded streets.

Thana had reappeared in her apartment just minutes before water began falling from the darkened sky. She curled up on her bed and shut her eyes, covering her ears in hopes of drowning out the world.

Stone crumbled outside, falling from the few standing buildings. Thunder echoed, rattling the window panes and lighting struck the ground. The noise was so loud, Thana had given up on trying to ignore it. She crawled out of bed with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and walked across the room to a box the size of a picnic basket sitting on her dresser. The polished dark oak wood still had the same shine as it did many years ago when Thana first opened it. She grabbed the box and sat down at the foot of her bed. Inside, she found the remaining money her grandma had left her and the note she left with it. Thana read the note countless times and had memorized it. The note was all she had left of her family and it gave her a sense of security, as if her grandma was there with her. Her finger traced the carvings on the lid until she felt a small bump in the wood. Upon closer inspection, it was a tiny flap. Gingerly, she pulled the flap, revealing a hidden envelope in the lid.

Thana took the envelope out and let the lid fall to the floor. In her grandmother's flawless cursive handwriting, it read, My Darling Thana. She opened the envelope and pulled out a paper with gold trim. She set the envelope down next to her and unfolded the letter.

My Dearest Thana,

May I start by saying how much I miss you and how proud I am of you.

By now you will have learned about the Universe and his task. As my last words to you, I want to explain your story from my eyes, or rather, my dreams.

Years ago, on the night you were born, I had a dream that you would wake up on a cloud of smoke, a hundred and sixty-seven years into the future. The Universe would give you and four others a job to rid Earth of mankind.

In the box I gave you before I died, was enough money to live off of until the time came for you to carry out your task. I cannot tell you everything, for too much information about your future could change the course of events. However, I can tell you that in my dream, when Earth's light goes out, darkness recreates what was lost when five circle together

I know you have many questions and I will try to answer the bigger ones.

I, like you, was a representative of a planet. However, it wasn't Earth. I am from the third galaxy, trillions of miles from the Milky Way. I saw the future through dreams and after completing the Universe's job, I retired on Earth. Unlike many representatives, I was mortal. Power is not passed through genetics, rather one is born with it by random. Darkness is the only known power to be obtained in later years of one's life. I kept the truth from you because you had to find out on your own. I wanted to be there with you, but I realized this was your journey and I wish you the best of luck.

-Grandma

Silent tears ran down Thana's cheeks. She understood her grandmother's intentions, but now there was another person with expectations of her. When Earth's light goes out. She didn't know what that meant nor did she know how darkness, the power of destruction, could create anything. Too tired to think about it, she curled back up under her blankets and cried until the world went black and the sounds of the howling wind and thundering rain went silent.

When Thana woke up, the rain had stopped and sunlight was shining through the windows of her room. Looking out of the foggy glass, the remaining buildings we now on the ground, crumbled to nothing, though it was difficult to make out anything else without a clear view.