The Last Light of Eden (Sky Children of the Light)

Chapter Eleven: Leon

     The child lay still and silent, his golden eyes never blinking as he stared sightlessly into the distance. His crimson cape fluttered slightly, though no wind blew through this strange, shadowy place. In fact, nothing seemed to move here at all. . . Stretching out in every direction, parting only for the motionless form of the white haired child, was a blanket of total darkness. 

     Suddenly, the child moved. His head tilted to the side slightly, and he winced--the first emotion that had crossed his face in quite some time. For a long moment, he simply stared out across the shadowy void, not quite comprehending what he saw. . . Then he closed his eyes and let his head fall back to the dark ground beneath him.

     This isn't right. . .

     The thought flickered through his mind, but then drifted away, replaced by a dull throbbing pain in the back of his head.

     Shouldn't be here. . .

     The child groaned softly and reached up, clutching his masked face in both hands, trying unsuccessfully to block out the waves of pain that washed over him. Nothing made any sense. . . He knew that he should be somewhere. . . That he had been doing something. . . But he just couldn't quite remember what it was. . .

     Leon. . .

     He paused for a moment, confused. He knew that name from somewhere. . . Suddenly, he sat bolt upright, ignoring the sharp jab of pain it sent through his throbbing head. "Oh. . ." he whispered softly to himself, his golden eyes widening. "I'm Leon. . ." he frowned slightly, cautiously glancing around the seemingly endless darkness that surrounded him. How could he have forgotten something like that. . .? He hesitated, shimmering eyes narrowing as he stared down at the inky darkness below him. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't remember much of anything at all. Though, there was one thing he remembered clearly. . .

     Falling. . .

     Leon winced and shook his head, his bronze mask glinting in the strange golden light of his eyes. He couldn't remember what had happened. . . Or why he had fallen. . . But he had the strangest feeling it hadn't been an accident. He shivered. It was probably best not to think about that. . .

     The child hesitated for a moment longer, then leaned forward, placing his hands against the ground. He carefully pushed himself to his feet, staggering for a moment and nearly loosing his balance on the strange floor of this dark, empty place. He took a wavering step back and regained his footing. Slowly, he returned his gaze to the unnatural darkness that surrounded him, searching hopefully for any signs of life. He couldn't really be the only one here. . . Could he. . .?

     "Hello?" he called out, cupping his hands around the bottom of his mask.

     For a long second, he stood silently, waiting hopefully for some kind of answer. . . And then his answer came.

     "Hello." a quiet voice called back.

     Leon's eyes widened, and his heart skipped a beat. . . But then his shoulders slumped in silent defeat. The voice had sounded exactly like his own. . . It had just been an echo. But, then again, it couldn't hurt to ask one more time. . .

     "Hello!?" he yelled, louder this time.

     "I'm sorry. Are you deaf?" the same voice snapped back, sounding mildly irritated.

     Leon went still. That voice. . . It sounded so much like his own. . . But now he was quite certain it hadn't been an echo. He spun around, barely even noticing the pain that shot through his head. "Who--" he started, then fell silent as he noticed a young figure resting in the darkness behind him.