The Darkness that Rises

Luna

My feet pounded on the soft dirt ground, the soft leather of my boots molding around the stones and twigs that lay in the worn and trodden path before me. Trees bent with the force of the wind, blowing leaves from their limbs and into my face.  Branches bent and snapped off as the wind whistled between them, tearing them from their thick brown trunks and throwing them haphazardly elsewhere. Tears poured from my eyes, the harsh bluster feeling like sandpaper rubbing over them.  I felt a tug at my too-long, pulled-back black hair, like someone taking hold of it and pulling me backwards.  I supposed that could be the case.  The Darkness was behind me, moving forward, wanting to eat everything in its path.  I risked a glance backwards, and what I saw terrified me even more than when it first started eating the small encampment I just escaped.
In a way, I was glad. The camp took girls from their homes and enslaved them, either selling them to men that occasionally came to the camp, or if a girl wasn’t pretty enough, she would be put to work.  Some buyers came and looked at me, interested in my hair and face shape, but once they saw my eyes, they immediately backed off.  I didn’t understand why. My eyes aren’t the most common, at least from what little information I have. I’ve seen girls with eyes ranging from icy blue, to amber, even a few with striking purple eyes.  I’ve never seen anyone with silver eyes though. Nobody except me.
At the camp, the slavers gave you simple undergarments, a tight fitting shirt with some old jeans, and a pair of leather boots.  For some reason, they let you choose which pair of boots you get. I saw most girls choose simple and torn ones, which I suspect is because of fear that they might get punished for choosing anything better. I however, figured that if I’m going to be imprisoned, enslaved, and likely worked to death, I might as well have a nice pair of shoes. I chose a pair that were a bit higher on the shelves, almost hidden from view. When I asked for them, the man handing them out looked surprised for a moment, then glanced at who I assumed at the time was his superior. The two men talked back and forth for a few minutes, and then finally set a pair of shoes in my hand.  They were a soft but tough black leather, with no laces, but tight zippers on the sides.  They felt scaly, almost like lizard skin. I put them on, and they fit perfectly.
I ran for my life in those boots.  Along with my torn and dirty shirt and pants, I wasn’t dressed the best for running in woods full of unknown dangers.  Well, they weren't all unknown.  I knew an inky cloud of nothing chased after me.  Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t like it was fast or anything.  In fact, it pursued me about as slowly as thick mud dripping down a hundred foot tall cliffside.  Far more dangerous were the wretched winds it created, capable of ripping an entire castle down to the foundation in mere seconds.  I saw it happen to my very home.  It may not have been the best home, in fact it was horrible, but it was a place that I could sleep. I’m glad it’s gone now though.  The men that ran the place all got pulled into its vast cloud the second it entered our clearing. It was almost eerie. All of the men got sucked up, and of the girls that saw them die, well, many of us had been wanting the same fate.  I think I’m the only one who saw it as an opportunity and ran. I was not even sure where I was going.  The only thing I had in mind was running, and getting away from the wall of darkness that flooded the woods behind me.  I think the girls that didn’t run willingly to their deaths were so frozen with fear they didn’t start moving until it was too late.
I figured I could go on a few minutes longer, and then I would have to find somewhere to stop to catch my breath.  As much as I didn’t want to risk it, it was better to stop somewhere safe than keep on going and run out of breath right near a pack of frightened wild animals.  I couldn't remember how long I had been running.  Ten, twenty minutes?  Possibly more.
After keeping my eyes peeled for a place to rest, I finally saw a old redwood tree that looked like it had a doorway carved into it.  I knew that the safe option here would be to keep moving and puzzle over it later, but curiosity got the best of me. I stopped, placing my clammy hands on my dirty knees, gasping for breath.  I stumbled towards the tree. I figured that at this point I couldn’t run any further, so I might as well take a chance and hope it was abandoned. However, the second I placed my palm upon the red bark, I felt a prick in my shoulder, and turned my head ever so slightly to see a small object sticking up out of it with a purple feather attached to the end, fluttering in the still-strong breezes from behind me.  I felt my eyes grow heavy, and not knowing what was going on, fell to the ground, half asleep before I had time to panic.

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I awoke with a pounding head and eyes that would not open.  My entire body felt sore, especially my legs.  I didn’t know where I was. The bed underneath me felt so soft, and so inviting that I was tempted to let myself drift back to sleep.  It reminded me of before. My mother always made sure that my bed was soft and comfy, just the way I liked it. I bet she’s making dinner right now.  Some nice, roasted ham, along with fresh baked potatoes topped with cheese, butter, and bacon pieces. If I’m lucky I’ll even get some bread caked in brown sugar and cinnamon from the small shop down the paved street.  I could almost taste it.
The sound of a slamming door jolted me back into reality, and I heard a grumbling voice return to the room I slept in.  Mom isn’t here, I told myself.  She’s dead, and your father abandoned you.  The shop down the street burned down, and you’ll never taste your mother’s cooking ever again.  That’s just the way life is. Oh, so cruel to others, but giving some the best it can offer. It doesn’t care about right or wrong, only those it deems worthy.
I struggled to open my eyes and squirm out of bed.  The only thing I succeeded in was falling out of the blankets propping me up, and banging my already throbbing head on the wooden frame supporting the mattress beneath me.  One of my eyes opened, and I believed that the other might have been swollen shut. I didn’t like this, my depth perception was way off, and sight was my best sense I had. I had exceptionally good hearing too and my ears seemed to be working fine, but I wasn’t as dependent on my ears as I was my eyes.  I let out a groan, not wanting to try to move again.
“Now look what you’ve done! You’ve gone and made a mess of the nice bed I put you in, and you managed to get yourself even more hurt.” I glanced over to see a very annoyed looking goblin standing over me, looking down the brim of his nose to show me very dark brown eyes.  If I could have moved at the moment, I would have been running as far away as I could. It wasn’t that I was scared of the thing, it was the fact that the house was so tiny.  I’m probably the most claustrophobic person you could ever meet, and here I was, stuck in a tiny house, no more than six feet tall.  Some people ask me why I’m so scared of small places, because I'm small myself.  I’m only about five feet and three inches tall standing at my full height, and I also don't have a significantly large chest size.  I'm not gaunt, but I definitely could stand to get some more meat on my bones.  The most striking feature about me was my hair, and my eyes, according to all of the other girls at the camp.  Or that were formerly at the camp.
I needed to get out. My breathing got shallow and fast, and I couldn’t focus. Between my hyperventilating, and the fact that I was already woozy, I ended up passing out again. Great.