The Darkness, fierce and cold, one who is trapped in it can never return to where he/she once came from. If one is able to escape he/she is branded with a curse that will devour there body and soon end there life. Anyone who is branded with the curse will soon become apart of the darkness. There has never been anyone who has escaped this path…..
“Huh!” Where am I?” I said in fear looking around the room.
I was in a dark room, at least the size of a class room. In the room there was a table in the center. I looked closer into my surroundings but it was too dark to see anything around. It was as if I was in a basement.
“You are where you belong, in the darkness,” someone said.
As I heard the voice I started wondering, how did I get here, who was the person talking to me, and what did he mean by the darkness. Could this be my fate to end up in this cold, dark world. If it was why am I the one to suffer all this pain.
“You can’t escape your destiny, you will succumb to us no matter what,” the voice said violently.
“I don’t understand, first of all who is us? And who are you?” I asked running toward the other side of the room were the voices came from.
The darkness started to get thicker at the point that I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. I looked around scared for what was going to happen next, then suddenly I felt something moving around my feet. I looked down but I couldn’t see a thing. The Creature or what ever it was, was climbing higher up my body, and soon wrapped my whole body.
“Let go of me!!” I screamed for my life scared, what was going to happen.
IT started to come up and the soon more came and they all engulfed my body, I couldn’t breath or do anything, I was so helpless…..
chapter 1
“ The Darkling Curse”
“Help! help! it’s eating me, I don‘t want to die!!” I screamed with fear.
“SHUT UP!!” A angrily neighbor said.
“Huh, Dang! It was all a dream, but it was so real. Who was that person I wonder and why me, is that actually my fate. OH I‘m sorry about that Ms Clarkson.” I apologized.
“Yeah you better be sorry for waking me up so early in the morning, shoot screaming it’s eating me, what were you watching last night,” she said screaming her lungs out.
I was sleeping on the cold floor because it seems that I must of fell of the bed sometime during the night. My room was small but it could hold a couple. But dang Ms, Clarkson, my neighbor was much more louder than me. She was an old lady way passed her prime who would pass her time preferably all night watching soaps to then wake up late in the day to continue the cycle. She was the worst neighbor you could ever have, she would put her TV on theatrical blast, so since the apartment building complex that I live in the walls weren’t so thick, you could hear what was happening in the other rooms. I would have to pass the night hearing all of her soaps. There was one day that I actually had a dream about one of them. My name is Ken, and I am fourteen years old. I have black hair, short and spiky and I am 5,7 in height. This was one of the smallest town in Condria the country that I live in. Condria is a huge kingdom on the continent of Sanen, our neighboring kingdom is Toren, we were at war but now we are at peace because of the treaty that was settled 10 years ago. The war back then was fierce and ended in many deaths but we were still able to collaborate and come to means, since then we have worked together.
I walked toward the bathroom (that was in my room) to brush my teeth. My bathroom was small it had a single shower and toilet. It was a normal sized bathroom considering the apartment size. As I brushed my teeth I wondered about the dream, was it just a dream or was it true reality. Either way it was so real I could actually feel the darkness and those creatures devouring my body. Those creatures felt so cold as if they had no soul to them, as if they were wandering looking for one.
Today was Monday June 1st and the year was 2020. So since it was Monday I had to go to work, but my job wasn’t a simple one. Since the town was a small one and didn’t have many soldiers to protect it so they were looking for people to do hourly shifts at the gate. So I figured I could help the town and get paid at the same time so I took the job, and also a friend of mine did to. But I didn’t get paid as much as everyone else did, but even still that didn’t bother me at all since I was helping out. After finishing brushing my teeth I put on my regular clothes like I do everyday for work. I wore a Black t-shirt, with blue jeans, but also over my t-shirt I was required to wear a breast plate. I truly wanted to do another job than this but since I was the outcast of the town this was all I could do. My friend think I’m to young to be fighting as a soldier but since I was living alone I had to pay the bills. A year ago I lost my memory so I don’t really have anywhere else to go and the only thing I could remember was my name.
It’s was now 8:00am, I had everything in order. My life was to boring and there was never anything to do, I have always been treated as an outsider hear. I have always wondered why but I have never been able to come up with the solution. I have only two friends in this town and they are Sakura, and Kenji. We have been friends for as long as I have been in this town. We have been through a lot together and for that we are like family.
“Ken lets go or we’re going to be late,” Kenji shouted from outside the building.
As I heard this I suddenly ran to the window and jumped out to the street. The building was five-stories but I lived on the second floor so it didn’t take that much effort to get down. I have always jumped out of the window, I barley ever used the door, the only time I used it was when I came home.
“Hey Kenji, where’s Sakura?” I asked him concerned, because every morning they were together, since they we‘re going out.
“Oh, This morning I went to go pick her up but she wasn’t feeling well so I left her home to rest,” he said in a concerned tone.
“ Oh, okay I thought she broke up with you and just didn’t want to come because she would have to see you,” I smiled.
“Why don’t you ever use your door to come out instead of jumping through the window,” he said unconcerned.
“It’s because I’m lazy and why do you always change the subject,” I said yawning.
Kenji was two years older then me and just a little taller. He has short blue hair with blue eyes. He wears a red t-shirt with black and blue pants. As you can see he doesn’t have a style sense. Every time I would start a conversation about Sakura he would change it and go to another I wonder what is going on in his head. Sakura and Kenji have been going out for a year now and have been pretty stable.
As we walked along the street toward the north gate the people started to give me abnormal stare. It was like this every morning so it had no effect on me anymore. The buildings around town where all small but they were pretty tall. Every morning this part of town would be packed of people but today for some reason seemed empty.
“Ken, I don’t get it how you can stand the adults. They all treat you bad, they treat you like if you were a killer,” he said in a concerned tone.
But I truly didn’t care what they thought anymore because I got used to it but before that, I used to feel sad as they called me bad names and threw rocks at me. But that’s when Sakura and Kenji stepped in helping me get through those times.
I gave him no response, the only thing I did was smile at him while we were walking down the street I bet he thought I looked like an idiot.
We walked along the street road and the sun was pretty high so it was still to early to go to the gate so we stopped at our usual Inn to grab some break fast. This Inn was one of the smallest in town but it had the best eggs in town. But also Kenji would like to flirt with the waitresses and customers, because this small inn was an all women dormitory. We walked a couple of minutes down the street and there it was the small but beautiful inn, It had flowers all around the rims of the building with an ark of flowers over the entrance. Before we went in Kenji stopped me.
“Okay, Ken, you remember what to say right,” he said anxiously.
“Yes, I remember, you want me to tell them that you fought off hundreds of enemy solders and that you’re a famous soldier in the capital,” I said with no concern, because for him this was a daily routine.
As we entered this small little inn that was full of flowers I suddenly felt a weird but strong force within it. This little Inn has been a spot to many gatherings but for someone to have such a strong force.
“Wait,” I gasped grabbing Kenji’s arm.
“What is it Ken?” he asked but by the expression on his face it seemed it didn’t matter what I said, he would still enter anyway.
“Never mind,” I said letting go of his arm, but still worried to who was in there.
As we entered through the small door under the arc Kenji was greeted by all the women there like usual. I still didn’t get how Sakura could put up with him I know she knows he comes her but it seems like it didn‘t matter to her, I wonder how far there relationship has gone for her to trust him of all people. The Lobby of the Inn was small and was still decorated with more flowers, but they could fit some tables in here to eat. There was at least ten tables in the lobby for the customers. As I looked around the restaurant I saw a couple of people but much more than usual. They where occupying six of the ten tables but usually there would only be three occupied, In the one in the back there was a person in a dark robe that covered the whole body. He seemed to just be watching the entry’s of the building. The rest were normal towns folk sitting by the twos at each table. I didn’t pay much attention to Kenji because he was well liked and he wasn’t the type to get in trouble or start it. There was something even more weird about this place, there was usually a guard in here waiting for us, but he wasn’t here what could have happen to him I wonder.
As we were shown to our table suddenly the man in the robe left his spot and started to come closer this way. I wondered was he just leaving or did he just have to go to the bathroom because we were sited near the bathroom in the far left part of the room. Or does he have against me, could he actually want to hurt me and Kenji, can this be the man with such a huge force.
“Hello again you two what would it be?” the waitress asked with a happy tone, smiling.
“You know, the usual I’ll like the special with no onions, and Ken will have the omelet,” he explained to her.
I paid no attention to the order but watch the man come closer to us by each second. While he was in the back of the room I didn’t feel any kind of presence from him but suddenly I feel a strong force coming my way. I wondered, am I the only person who can feel his power, his rage. When he was in the back was he suppressing himself, or was it that he was to far away for me to tell.
As he passed me I felt a could chill run down my spine, Why am I so afraid of this man? Does he has something to do with my past or is it just a coincidence why I feel this way.
“Um.. Excuse me I wanted to ask, who is that man?” I ask while watching him walking to the bathroom.
“Oh, This is the third time he’s been here, we don’t really know who he is, but he seems to be looking for somebody,” she said frustrated maybe because of the lack of information.
“Thanks for the help I appreciate it,” I thank her smiling, but I still wonder, who is he.
I looked at Kenji but he paid me no attention as it seemed he had been focusing at the entrance. It could be that someone was causing a ruckus out side or maybe that someone was entering but no matter what it was I gave the time to look over, so I turned to see what he was so fascinated with. As I turned around I saw a beautiful maiden, she had brown luscious hair, with beautiful blue eyes, she glistened with the sun as it shined on her. She walked from the door and headed to the counter, she was stared at by many people and as I looked behind her there was a trail of men outside waiting for her. As she passed by for some reason she gave a glance at me. Could it had been I has something in my teeth or was she fascinated with me. She had a lonely glare in her eyes, I wonder why.
“Ken, I see you are starting to be noticed by the opposite sex,” Kenji smiled.
I felt bad about his smile actually I always feel bad when he smiled, but this time it was like he was going to give me the father and son talk about the birds and the bees.
“Naw I don’t think so,” I said with ease.
I then tried to block out everything that was to come because if I know Kenji he’s going to give me his lecture. I looked at him and he was just talking but since I’m the master of blocking his nonsense out I only saw his mouth moving.
A couple minutes passed, and it seemed as if Kenji finally stopped talking, our food came to us just after
“Here you go darlings,” she smiled.
I looked down at the meals that we had ordered and it seemed as if they were cooked to perfection. You could smell the aroma of the food making me even more craved for it, I felt like a fat person who has been starved for a day.
“Thanks!” we both replied.
We both finished our meals in no time, I looked back to the counter were the girl had come to and it seemed that she was sitting down to a meal her self.
“Man that was great,” he said.
I have never seen anyone eat the way Kenji does, he doesn’t eat his food he inhauls his food.
“I’m surprised that you tasted it, it seemed as if you just threw it in your mouth and swallowed it,” I laughed.
He ignored my comment, he was staring at the girl in the back. I truly didn’t care about his female interests, I looked at the wall were they kept an old fashion grandfather clock. I looked over staring at it not noticing until the last minute that we were somehow late for work.
“Oh no were late,” I said looking at the clock.
“What!!, that can’t be my watch says were a hour early,” Kenji explained, while looking at his watch.
“Oh, the hour went up last night so right now it’s 10 am,” The waitress said.
“TEN!!!” we both screamed.
Our job started at 9 am but since this place was so empty in the mornings we would stop taking a half an hour but now where an hour late.
“Oh, dam Crystal put it on my tab,” he rushed out of his seat.
Everyone was staring at us even the girl that walked in earlier but there was nothing we could do, we had to rush to work so that we don’t be even more late. We ran out of the store giving our proper good byes to all the waitresses.
“Have a good day,” Crystal said while we were running out of the store.
We ran down the street as fast as we can not saying anything to each other, both of us aiming for the prize to see who could beat each other in the race of wits. It took us five minutes to get to the gate since we where running but if we had to walk there it would have taken us twenty minutes but finally we reached it in a nick of time.
“We made it,” Kenji said exhausted.
“Yeah good thing this towns really small,” I said with relief.
I looked around the gate not seeing anyone around, there was something even weirder there’s no guards.
“Kenji doesn’t it seem weird, were are all the guards,” I said grasping for air.
“Yeah, today is Monday so that’s when we get the shipping’s so all guards are supposed to be on duty today,” he said.
We looked around the area but no good, there was no sign of any one around to be able to talk to or report to. The gate was a door where people would travel through to usually get into a town or city or many times towns are linked to the main road so it would be a border town and it wasn’t that big to begin with (at least in our village it wasn’t). Next to the gate would be a little guard station it was as big as an outhouse it could only hold one person but the thing is this station had to be filled 24 hours so what happened to the night shift.
“Ken, I’m going to go look for the chief,” he said running off.
We haven’t seen anyone since two days ago when we got off work last. So what could of happened, were they killed, or did they just leave there post.
“AHHHHHHHHHH,” I suddenly heard a shout coming for the station, it was from Kenji.
I ran to where I heard the scream and I saw Kenji standing there with a shocked look on his face. I ran to him to see what he was looking at but that wasn’t a greatest of ideas. I looked in and everyone had been massacred, sliced to pieces.
“What happened here,” I asked disgusted of what I was viewing.
“Who could have done this,” he said frustrated.
I entered the room getting closer to the chief’s body that was lying on the main desk trying to examine it, it have seem to been there for two days. How could no body notice this I wondered and who has entered the city in two days. Someone has to have seen this, or maybe someone is near by watching the people who enters and kills them as they leave.
“Kenji, the bodies have been here for the passed two days as it seems.,” I said with a low tone.
As I said this, I looked at him he had a shocked reaction to what I have just said.
“Ken, don’t you remember, that guy in the dark robe has been here for three days meaning that he entered two days ago meaning that he had to be the one who do this,” he said running to a file cabinet.
When one enters a town or city he/she must be registered in to regulate the amount of citizens. He got a file out of the cabinet and ran to me, giving me the file.
“Ken, see he’s not here, how could he get in without being noticed,” he said.
I looked at the file and examined the list of people that have came into the city in the past two days, it seems that our mask man has not been entered in the records but I just remembered something, if he wanted to keep quiet about him entering the town and what he has done he would have needed to dispose of all the guards in town that regulate the daily shifts. There was one book that had all the names of the soldiers that are assigned daily shifts that was kept by the chief.
“KENJI!!!” I screamed.
I ran to the chief desk and notice that the book with all of our information in it was gone and had been taken. The only person who could have taken it was the murderer in question.
“What is it ken,” he said, frightened of my expression.
“He took it, he took the book,” I said, scared.
“What book?” He asked me not knowing anything.
“A book the chief had with all of our personal information, it has been stolen from it’s spot,” I explained.
“Is he trying to get rid of all the guards, but all of them are right here,” he said, thinking.
And at that moment it just hit me, if he already killed the guards that regulate the shifts, what’s next is the people who regulate the watch shifts. There where two shifts the guards and the watch shifts they are usually towns folk who care about the city or who need the money.
“Kenji he’s going after Sakura!” I shouted.
“What, what did you say?” he asked me.
“Okay if he killed everyone that comes in on the daily bases what’s next the citizens guard,” I explained.
As I said this he was shocked of the truth, he didn’t say a thing, but after a couple of minutes of silence he rushed out with full force.
“Where you going, Kenji?” I asked him. While running after him.
He didn’t answer back but I figured where he was headed so I also tagged along.
We ran down the street heading to where Sakura was, we where running about the same speed so he couldn’t outrun me in a million years. We ran trough town, as we came close to Sakura’s apartment we saw a huge flame coming from the same direction. As we saw this we looked at each other sharing our gazes knowing that just had to be the apartment.
As we got there, the whole building was on fire, as the minutes go by the fire got larger and larger but there was no one around to help or even to calm the fire down.
“Ken, I’m going to go get the fire brigade, just wait here,” he said, running off.
The fire brigade was a unit that was meant to stop fire’s but in this case they were going to be to late to stop the fire from killing Sakura or anyone else in the building. Sakura and Kenji where like family to me my brother and sister, I’m not going to let a fire take them away from me. I ran to the side of the building looking for an entrance because the fire has already engulfed the first floor including the entrance. I remembered that there was a secret passage that Kenji would use to get into the apartment a late hours to see Sakura. As I looked around I saw a small opening in the bushes.
“Haha here it is,” I said with relief.
I ran to the bushes and saw the opening, it was just a small whole that was used for a vent but now it was a hassle to have. As seeing this and how far it goes it must connect to the kitchen where they should have a dumbwaiter that goes to the other floors. I crouched through the small whole entering the kitchen from the bottom up. As I looked around the kitchen I saw the fire working it’s way up slowly but efficient. I looked around the kitchen but everything was already burned to ashes. The kitchen was small but able to hold at least a dozen cooks it was as big as a cafeteria kitchen. I looked against the wall for the dumb waiter. The fire was all over the kitchen making it hard to see but after a couple of minutes of searching I finally found the dumbwaiter behind the cabinet it was just calling out to me. I pushed the cabinet to the side and jumped in noticing that it was used for manual purposes making it that I could pull myself up to the third floor where Sakura was located. I reached for the lever pulling myself up to the third floor, as I got there I got out from the dumbwaiter that ended up in the center of the hallway.
“Sakura!! Sakura,” I shouted running to her door.
I started to bang on the door but I heard no response then I remembered that if I went to the bathroom it was connected to her room. I ran to the right corner of the hall an entered the bathroom as I reached for the handle of her door it was burning hot so I kicked it down entering into her room.
“Sakura!!” I said, looking for her.
But when I entered the room it was half to late he had already beat me here. He had Sakura wrapped around his arm so that she wouldn’t be able to escape. But it was weird, did he know that I was going to come and save her or did he just want to hold her.
“Let her go,” I said with force.
“HA HA HA, it seems that you figured it out, Ken,” He laughed.
“Who are you? Why are you doing this?” I asked him.
“I came here for you and doing this it was just to waste time and have fun,” he laughed.
“You think this is fun killing innocent soldiers, burning buildings, taking lives,” I said, angered by his actions.
“What would you know but that’s over now, your mine and I don’t need this girl,” he said throwing Sakura to the ground.
“You basterd,” I said rushing at him.
He stood there doing nothing, maybe he thought that I was rushing to him and that he could counter but actually I went to save Sakura. As I got closer to him he jumped out and tried to reach me but as he did I dived onto the ground grabbing Sakura and sliding to the other side of the room.
“HA HA Ha, just as naive as ever,” he said angrily.
I walked toward the side window because since he was blocking the only way out. When I reached the window and looked out the fire brigade was already outside trying to control the fire and have all ready set up a trampoline for the people inside to jump down.
“Sakura, we may not see each other again, but it was nice to have a family,” I cried
“Saying your good bye’s,” he laughed again.
I took the curtain of the window wrapping her in it and then throwing her out of the window. But as she was falling I saw her crying, was it because she was afraid of heights or did she care for me that much
“Good, now that all the distractions are out of the way we can move on to the main event,” he said, walking closer to me.
There was nothing I could do, it was just like my dream. I was so scared that I couldn’t move my legs, they where as if they were nailed to the ground. Knowing what was going to happen put shivers down my spine.
“Now prepare to die,” he said.
Suddenly a darkness came from him engulfing me, at the moment it did the building exploded on the inside because of the fire, probably because the kitchen had propane can.
“It’s so cold,” I murmured, wandering in a dark room
It was so dark that I couldn’t see a thing but it was as if I was floating in an empty space. I looked around but nothing, there was nothing to look to or to find.
“Is this how it all ends, am I just as worthless as that,” I said with regret.
This place was humongous, it was filled with all the darkness in the world, with all the evil. It was what they called the DARKENESS…
“K..E…N,” I heard someone say.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“I am, just say your guardian….you can’t give up now,” it said.
“Your right but what can I do.” I said with anger.
“I have seen inside of your heart, you are pure and you want to be able to save the world and all that inhabit it. So if you want that to come true you can’t stay here to rot,” it said.
I agreed to what it was saying but how could I get out, how could I find the small hope in the darkness.
“If you want your small hope it’s over there, but lets state this right now if you come out to live again you will be branded with the curse of a darkling. You will have to overcome a lot of obstacles to live, so will you take it?” he asked me.
“Yes I will take it and overcome anything that comes my way,” I said with the op most confidence. Suddenly…. I saw a light in the darkness so I tried reaching for it. The light, looked like a tear in the darkness. As they say in the deepest darkness comes the smallest of hope. I wondered, will be able to see my family again real and real. Even if I have to take on the burden of the world I will not give up…..
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