The darkness enveloped me, screams pierced the silence. The screams were low and guttural almost like a howl of fury. The sound vibrated the air and forced itself into my chest, I shook with fear, trembling at the primal sound. Strangely the sound was familiar and very close. I turned, still shaking, and searched for the sound. But the void remained blank and desolate.
Suddenly a spark lit up the darkness, and my view was devoured by flames. They licked at me and illuminated the void. But instead of being warm, the flames were cold, the kind of cold that freezes blood and chills your bones.
Fear seeped its way into my freezing bones, I tried to move but my legs were frozen in place, soldiers flickered into view their faces hidden behind viscous serpentine steel helmets, their swords dripping with the crimson ichor of life... blood.
Laughter cut through the screams and crackling flames. It was mocking and psychopathic, as familiar as the screams. The soldiers parted to reveal one that was clad in black armor, his sword was long and curved like a fishhook. "There are cats in the forest," the figure cackled his voice distorted and stretched. I tried to scream, but the air caught in my throat, my vocal cords as useless as my legs.
"Help me someone!" screamed a little girl. Mari. I turned trying to find her.
The flames rose and consumed everything around me and then dissipated. The scenery had shifted. I was home. The hearth was crackling pleasantly and its warm glow thawed out my cold bones and frozen legs. My sister sat on the floor, playing with little bits of wood. She was trying to build a tower, her cheeks flushed from the effort, her long curls bouncing as she smiled broadly and hummed a tune I couldn't quite remember. "Come play with me Kaisen," she said innocently, her eyes wide and pleading.
I tried to get close to her but as soon as I took a step the floor crumpled and twisted slowly turning to ash. I reached out to grab Mari, but her face faltered, and her figure crumbled starting at her neck. Her small form dissolved before my eyes. "NO MARI!" I screamed but it sounded distant and foreign.
The floor collapsed and I fell into the golden fields of my village. The sun blazed high in the sky its light radiating heat and hope. The wheat swayed in the soft breeze. My mother was there. Her long black hair tied up neatly, her slender figure the perfect image of a gracious and majestic woman. Her hands moved deftly, twisting and plaiting the fresh reeds to form a basket. Her eyes were purple and kind, she glanced at me and smiled lovingly. "Kaisen dear go help you father instead of just standing there," she said teasingly.
My father stood nearby; his broad shoulders were bunched up as he reattached the wheel to our old wooden cart. He grunted in mock effort as he feigned frustration. "Get over here boy, you're useless." He smiled widely as he pretended to be angry. I laughed and rushed over. For a moment everything was warm and peaceful. The sun's blazing heat was more bearable and the earthy scent of the field filled my nostrils, its familiar scent overpowering the lingering smell of burning flesh.
But then the sky darkened. My father turned, and the scene shifted toward a more violent and bloody image. My father's eyes were replaced by two bloody and bleeding voids; deep crimson splashed against the earth and swept through the field. The blood rose and became a maelstrom of flames that surrounded us. "How could you fail your one job as the older brother?" my father said, his voice filled with sadness and regret. The flames engulfed him, and the scene crumbled to ash.
I was in a small bedroom; my mother lay on the bed her stomach rising and falling unevenly. My father sat next to her holding her hand and the village midwife rushed around the room getting towels and other things for my mother. I recognized the women as the one that had been beheaded in front of my eyes. "Kaisen go wait outside," my father said his eyes full of kindness, "I'll call you in when your sibling is out." I got up and waited outside the door.
I remembered what day this was; it was the day Mari was born. It was one of the best days of my life, the day I became a brother.
For the next few hours, I waited anxiously outside listening to my mother's cry of pain and hearing the muffled encouragement that my father was giving her.
Then it went quiet. "Kaisen, you can come in now," my father yelled. I went into the room and saw a small bundle nestled in the crook of my mother's arm. "Come here Kaisen, come meet Mari your little sister," my mother said softly. I went closer and looked down at the small bundle. It was bald with large innocent eyes and a delicate looking face. "You'll keep your sister safe, won't you Kaisen," my father said. I just nodded and looked down at my new baby sister wondering if I'd looked like that as a baby.
The memory shattered like glass, its shards digging into my skin. The screams returned but they were louder now, and I was back in my village with bodies littering the ground and flames licking every flammable thing in sight.
The bodies that had littered the ground got up and were approaching me. Their faces were hollow and sunken, their eyes empty and devoid of any real emotion. I recognized many of them. My father was at the head of the pack, black ichor leaked grotesquely from his eye sockets. Suddenly I felt a hand tugging on my clothes. I glanced down. "Kaisen." It was Mari. "Its okay you can rest now." Her voice was light and playful. Another hand reached out and grabbed my arm. "It's okay, you tried." My mother appeared behind her. She spoke gently, her voice soothing.
I glanced up at her face; it slowly crumpled and decayed revealing a grinning skull with scraps of flesh on it. I looked back at Mari, but she too had started decaying. Her jaw fell off with a wet pop. My mother caressed my face with jagged skeletal fingers. "You did your best, you must be tired." My father stood in front of me, his body burnt and bloodied. "We're proud of you son," he said gently his hand grabbed my shoulder.
The other villagers grabbed me and dragged me down. "You can sleep now Kaisen."
My family whispered more sweet nothingness in my ears as I was dragged down by the cascading bodies of the slain. "I'm so sorry." I sobbed, allowing the corpses to drag me into the abyss of death.
But it seemed that some sick deity had a sense of humor.
Golden light exploded from my body; the corpses that clung to me evaporated. The only corpse left was my little sister, her somehow reattached. In fact, it seemed as if she was healing. She looked up at me with her big, brilliant eyes and said in her usual sweet and cheery voice, "I'll wait for you brother, so please don't forget me." A tear rolled down her cheek and she started to glow, turning into a dazzling ball of light.
My eyes shot open. I sat up straight away only to see a girl sat close by a raging campfire. "Who are you? Wher-!" I doubled over as pain erupted in my chest. The girl shot out of her seat and spoke soothingly. I couldn't catch much of what she said, due to the pain, but I heard her say, "my name is Kyra." She reached out to touch me but I flinched away and lay back down myself.
Fear crept into me. Was she with that monster, Damian? Was she here to finish the job? What does she want? Doubts flooded my brain mixed with fear I was on the verge of panic... I should've been anyway, but I didn't feel anything. The fear was there, the doubt was there, and the panic had set in. And yet I didn't feel like I should do anything; my emotions felt like a blunt scythe attempting to cut through stone. Despite the emotions I was feeling, I felt hollow. Empty.
The woman was still looking at me.
I regarded her with my empty eyes. "What's your name?" the women said, her tone soothing yet careful, as if she was speaking to a wounded animal.
I looked at her properly for the first time. She had red hair that was cut short, was tanned and the firelight threw a strange glow across her seemingly angelic appearance. She had bright green eyes and she looked...nice.
She was both good and kind looking; she reminded me of my sister. In truth I couldn't find a reason not to answer her question, so I chose to reply to her. "I'm Kaisen." My voice came out like a polite whisper. Even to me, my voice sounded foreign, almost dead.
I only half listened to her response-something along the lines of, "you're safe now. God will protect you. Try to get some sleep." After a moment of mulling over her words (that I only half listened to) and deciding whether I could trust her or not, I turned over and closed my eyes.
Then, the darkness known as sleep claimed me.