Darkness Descending

Chapter 17

WARNING THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS DEATH PROCEED AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION

As night approached Oliver let out a sigh shaking his head when he saw Sam curled up on the couch shivering slightly. Ollie said, grabbing a blanket from the closet" Harrison, Richard if you want there's an inn down the road about four buildings down that you can stay at. All you have to do is tell them that Sam sent you, you won't have to worry about any hassle. You two can stay there until we get a house built for the two of you." The hazel-eyed man covered the sleeping thief with the blanket as he bent down he said:" that wound on his face is going to leave a nasty looking scar." Harrison said, setting the med kit next to Oliver opening it up" I want you to learn how to keep it from becoming worse before we go." He pointed out several things such as the disinfectant, a small pack of pain relievers, the gauze, a needle, and thread for if the wounds open more, and finally aspirin. He said as he stood up" if he complains of pain, has a fever, or you notice inflammation I want you to give him the aspirin. Don't give him the pain relievers unless it's far to bad for him to handle if that happens you need to get ahold of me quickly."

Oliver said, smiling a bit" thank you, Harrison, I'll keep an eye on him don't be afraid to stop by every so often." The two taller men took their leave as Ollie let out a sigh heading to his room a small smile on his face. The night seemed to be going peaceful however just on the outside of the village in the dark a silhouette came out of the treeline into the moonlight.

The voice was unmistakable as it spoke with the cruel tone of Destrian" I'm tired of fighting for this village if that fox wants to live in it then let us burn the damn thing out. I'm tired of hearing the complaints and having my gold stole out from under me it's time to put an end to this all. Burn the village and everything in it leave nothing more the ashes in our wake!" Guards burst from the treelines charging for the village as an alarm sounded when the first house was set ablaze.

Sam woke with a jolt as he heard the people's screams for help getting up he rushed over to the door Oliver just coming out of the room when the cyan eyed man ran outside. Outside villagers ran towards the river to escape the blaze Sam's heart nearly twisted completely as he stared in horror watching as guards set building by building on fire. The screams of children and adults made his blood run cold before he shouted, ignoring Oliver's attempts on pulling him towards the river" everyone hurry don't look back get to the river!" Those who were in just as much shock as the thief seemed to have snapped out of it before rushing to get their families to safety. Sam grabbed Oliver by the shoulders before saying, with eyes that seemed to burn like the fire around them" Ollie get them to safety you remember my old scouting spots when I had to leave for longer missions. I'm relying on you to lead them you need to get to the front show them the way I'm going to insure the others get at least a chance to escape." Oliver went to protest before his oldest friend snapped" get your ass moving Oliver I will not allow them to die here, go!" He shoved the taller male away those cyan eyes though appearing to burn it became quite clear that it was of determination to help the others. Despite wanting to stay the hazel-eyed man turned running as quickly as he could towards the front of the group.

Sam watched for a brief moment only to turn quickly rushing towards a burning building when hearing what sounded like a child's cries coming from it. Reaching the house it was clear that there was no full way of escaping the blaze from the entrance looking around he spotted a window above where the sound was coming from. He leaped up grabbing the edge of the windowsill pulling himself up enough he shouted:" kid do you see anything you can break this window with if so do it!" He let himself droop just a moment before a book broke through the window leaving shards of glass in its wake. Pulling himself up once again he cleared the sharper pieces by shoving on them coughing as he inhaled some smoke from the outside. Once clearing most of it away he pulled himself up before dangling over the edge to grab the kid. His heart seemed to stop as he saw the parents near the door both dead by a well-placed stab to the chest, or he assumed that was the case it was rather hard to make out since his eyes were starting to sting from the smoke. He saw the child who was about five years old by the looks of it leaning down as far as he could he said, in an unusually kind tone" come on little one let's get you out of here." The little boy reached up as Sam grabbed the kid before pulling him up and onto the windowsill. He said, making sure the boy was still" I'm going to drop down when I hold my arms out jump I promise I'll catch you." The boy gave a small nod as tears started to drip down the poor boy's face Sam wasn't one that wanted kids hanging around him but he did hate seeing them cry nearly doing anything to get them to cheer up.

When dropping down he held out his arms as the little boy gulped looking afraid however still pushed off the windowsill letting out a yelp of terror. Sam caught the little one with ease as he lightly rubbed the boy's back shushing him before saying" it's okay you're alright I told you I would catch you." The boy quieted down while Sam asked:" how about we play a game do you want to help me be a hero?" The boy looked excited as he said:" ya we can be heroes like in my books mom and dad would read." Sam chuckled a bit before he said:" I'm Samuel Reeds by the way." The ash-covered boy said, smiling a bit as he coughed" I'm William Elton though I like Will better." Sam said, smiling" well Will lets go there are more people to rescue however stay away from strangers and the fire got it. Your job is to help me hear or spot anyone in trouble that's all you have to do little one, you think you can do it?" The little boy gave a short nod before the two set off hiding from guards and locating anyone left in the village. By the time they set off the two had found three other people a woman, her daughter, and an elderly man. Sam lead the way towards the river going to a bridge so they could cross easier knowing the guards were still enjoying their time with burning the village Sam wasn't really worried about being spotted.

It took about an hour when we finally came upon a clearing where the villagers that were there tensed until they spotted us. Sam held William in his arms the young one had fallen asleep half the way to the scouting spot when they fully entered the clearing Sam let out a sigh of relief. He said, moving over to one of the vacant areas" I'm glad you all managed to get to safety." The cyan eyed man laid the sleeping ash-covered boy down on the grass careful not to wake him before Sam went over to Harrison coughing a bit. He said, struggling to keep his eyes open as exhaustion and pain finally started to set in as the adrenaline rush faded" I'll head into town tomorrow see what I can recover until then we should try our hardest to help the others." Richard came over before he said" I don't think so Sam you need to rest you aren't even fully recovered, to begin with. We'll figure out what to do later right now the most important thing you need is a good long nap." Letting out a sigh knowing he wasn't going to win this argument the pale-skinned man went over to a tree before sitting down his back pressed against the rough bark. Unwillingly he let his eyes closed as the darkness dragged him back into slumber while not too far away Ollie kept watch over the group of twenty villagers occasionally glancing back at Sam with a worried look in his hazel eyes.

TO BE CONTINUED?