The night when the moon turned red

A scarlet blade pierces the black sky, as I hear his last gasp of life. His thick blood has stained my jacket and his empty eyes, like many, has stained my soul. I feel no regret, and no remorse… this is the way of the assassin.

The blade still drips of alcoholic blood, the room fills with a foul miasma of death. The courtyard is filled with wealthy guests drinking to their hearts content. Their drink-filled minds are too tipsy to even catch a glimpse of my shroud. Though I still felt eyes stabbing my back, but maybe it wasn’t theirs.

A withered spirit followed me, as his footsteps became louder mine became faster. I then went into the shadows. He demanded identification. He only heard the whispering wind. He drew his blade, and so did I. My reflection showed on the cold steel….his own was the last thing he saw. This man was loyal and brave, he deserved a soldier’s death and nothing less; this was not one.

As I wash my stains, I see a demon in the stream. He’s not smiling or grinning. Instead I see sadness in his eyes, as he stares at mine. I do not sympathize with his plight; he has committed a heinous sin, one which cannot be forgiven. Yet in him I see a noble person, kind and loving to both friends and family. When he lost both, he sought out the demon responsible. But in trying to slay the monster, he became one himself. It’s so tragic it’s almost ironic.
As I walk through the alleys, I notice children playing in the streets. I envy them, not for their youth, but because they are still pure, uncorrupted by the sins of the world. It’s sad to know that one day, that won’t be the case. “Excuse me sir, can we have our ball back.” A sudden smile crept on my face.”Sure”. As I return the ball what appears to be the mother raises her hand “Stay back! Don’t you dare lay a finger him, if you even touch him; I swear I’ll slit your throat!” I admire her motherly instincts, and how it went as far as to challenge me. I bowed apologetically and took my leave.

After a while I thought back to the woman. She reminded me of my own mother, willing to even kill the devil bare handed if it meant protecting me. Sadly she did…..or at least tried to. But then I wondered, why she thought I was a threat. My hood wasn’t on, my stains were washed and I was only returning a ball. Was it because she knew I was evil just by looking at me? And then I wondered if my own mother would recognise me after this. Or would she, like the former, see only a damned soul that god himself could not redeem. The rain hid my tears.

As I reach the exit I could hear a commotion headed towards me. Crying, yelling. It was as if something horrible happened, when in fact, nothing did. It’s mortifying, that how even from grave, that gluttonous boar still commands legions of deadly soldiers. As I retreat, I feel death’s shade cloak me. No matter which corner I took, no matter which roof I climbed on, no matter which way I went, they still followed, almost like hunting dogs, following the scent of the prey and closing in on the kill. They corner me off hoping to seal my fate. Instead they revealed theirs, covering the sky with blood. After the rain ended, all was quiet. Except for my heart, it mourned for my innocence, for it too fell to my blade.

Rescued

“Get away from me!” I managed to squeak. I knew I should have listened to mum. “Don’t use the shortcuts! People have been robbed there!” her words reverberated in my head like a resounding gong. Backing up into a corner I bumped into a bin and all its contents poured out, the smell wafting the humid air. Their sniggers echoing against the wall, their penknives pointed and ready to strike. Shaking, I slowly handed them my handbag when all of a sudden there was a shout. “Don’t give it to them!”

I could’ve sworn that I was alone. Barely anyone ever came to this place and those who did were usually drug dealers, homeless people and criminals. Several homeless people had often been known to reside here in this filthy alley. With feces and stenches scattered everywhere the place became almost a taboo to even mention at dining tables. However there stood a stranger who started walking towards us calmly. Both of the robbers put together were smaller than the man who was very well built. His voice layered with authority he stated “You should be ashamed of yourself targeting a poor girl like her!” The robbers cocked an eyebrow each and gave each other this confused look and then chuckled. “Well would you like to take her place? You seem to have some valuables on you” said one robber, his eyes darting onto the priceless watch the man had on his arm.

“You’re definitely not taking anything from me or her.” The man casually replied. Grabbing my hand he started walking towards the closest corner that led onto the open streets. The robbers stared gawking like a couple of goldfish; never had they encountered such a victim in their lives. “Do you want to die?” the superior robber said stuttering while the other flickered open his penknife. “Yeah!” his psychic joined in. My mysterious rescuer didn’t bother giving them any sort of response and continued walking. The robbers behind us overtook us and blocked our path. Jabbing the man’s chest the psychic said “You’re not going anywhere until you give up that watch of yours!” My mysterious knight in shining armor batted them an eye and with a little facial expression he shrugged and said “no”.

A knife darted straight to my rescuer’s face but was stopped in midair. With anticipation he grabbed the other hand that darted out from the shadows. Squeezing their hands tightly the man showed a sign of annoyance on his face then proceeded to flunking their hands in the opposite direction. Sternly he said “Leave us alone!” Persistently the robbers started circling the man like vultures preying on a dying animal. Pity was painted across all over my rescuer’s face; he knew he had no choice but to fight off these two oppressors. There was nothing much I could do but observe. The atmosphere was intense and there was barely any source of light except an old light bulb which seems to flicker on and off. The silence was deadly and I could have sworn that the robbers were smiling ear to ear and taunting the man. Tired of their antics the man grabbed the closest robber and flung him straight into a dried pile of feces. His partner’s smile seemed to have vanished in that instant and was now sweating again. Rushing towards his partner he helped him up and wearily kept an eye on my rescuer.

Their faces, scribbled with fear they started retreating back into the darker side of the alley like cockroaches. In awe I stood frozen with a warm fuzzy feeling of safety and gratitude towards my rescuer. “Thank you” I managed to stammer. He smiled and started leading me towards the exit. I turn towards the sky and muttered a quick prayer of appreciation.

Underground

From a rat’s perspective:

Grey slabs of brick entered my view. It had always been that way ever since I could remember. Even the slightest sliver shined momentarily. Until the darkness gobbled it up. You may call us filth that lives in filth itself. Not that you’d see it for yourself. Kekeke!!! Feeding time! Squeak! Squeak!

Food itself wasn’t a matter. Those humans supplied them every day. Want to guess? Rubbish! They can’t help but tip out a few dozen rubbish carts. And when they’re all swept along, they reach us here. Not that I don’t mind. In fact I’m grateful to the humans. There’s so much to last us a lifetime: no an eternity.

My mate; Rica and I jumped headfirst into the mountain of rubbish. All of a sudden the tiles of the ceiling loosened. A second later the ceiling roared like thunder. BOOM!! The entire ceiling collapsed. On top of our food. All gone. Buried. All our hard work washed away in 1 second. There might be some food we could salvage I said to rica. Let’s go. I thought that something was amiss. The ceiling was strong unless someone deliberately made it collapse. Most of the rats had gathered around the heap of tiles, bricks and flashing clothes. Wait; clothes? No, they wouldn’t dare come here. Would they? Without any warning it began to shake uncontrollably.

Run! My brain shouted out. It’s a good thing I did. Piles and bricks burst to reveal a six foot tall she monster. Ragged hair, bloodshot eyes and blood dripping from her face. It was a sight from hell.

She was probably a teenager; and unconscious at that. Too bad for her. Our food is no more. She’ll do perfectly for a substitute. She’ll probably live for 3-4 more days or so. Then I will eat my fill ….. I prefer the eyeballs. I left the scene of dismay. The last thing I saw was the girl. Then she was engulfed in the never ending tunnels.

From a girl’s perspective:

I’m 14. Just your average teenage girl. Nothing special. I have a normal family; if you call them that. So why am I retracing my steps. When I should be going home. Home….. once that word would have made me jump for joy. Home was supposed to be a place where you can return to. Recently it has turned into a place where my mum and dad can scream of each other’s ear 24/7. Who knows, a divorce might come next week. But I won’t be there.

I’ve made up my mind. All the plans were set. I just had to carry them out. There’s no use living anyway. It all happened last year.

Last year. It feels like a decade has passed. Dad, mum and me. Dad might not be rich but we were a happy and loving family. Unexpectedly Dad got a promotion and we moved to America! It was hard getting used to a new life. But we coped.

Dad couldn’t handle it. Eventually he made a fabulous entrance on the newspaper. For assaulting his boss. And thus there ended my rosy high school life. Dad was unemployed so mum ended up supporting the family. School turned into a nightmare. I was labeled as the daughter of a freak. Soon teasing morphed to bullying. Bullying to torture. I can’t even tell the difference.

That was my life. Mum and dad are literally biting off their heads. There’s nothing I can do. Not anymore. No one can help me. Because I’m done for.

I was sure I checked that everything was in place. Tomorrow the school would have a wonderful surprise indeed. Most of them wouldn’t even bother being sad to see mee go! The light changed. I moved. Maybe if I had considered where I was going then I might have had a flashier way to go. All I could see in front of me were white and black stripes that resembled a zebra. Or was it red and black. I don’t remember. But I kept on going onwards. Now that I think about I could hear people shouting in the background. Shouting warnings. Warnings about the construction site. I didn’t bother. I treated them like an annoying fly.

I do remember distinctly what happened afterwards. For a second my foot seemed to hover in the air. The road abruptly shined like coals in my eyes. A huge shadow loomed over me. It threatened to crush me if I didn’t move. I still could hear someone shouting to move out of the way. I didn’t. Perhaps this would be a nice way to go. From this forsaken world that I’m living in.

I do remember how I died. I didn’t move. 8 metric tons of metal fell from the sky. At that moment I thought I was watching a movie in slow motion. I waited for the impact and then I closed my eyes.

The last thing I saw was grey slabs of brick. They would probably stay that way forever. The last sliver of light was engulfed in the darkness. My eyes shut for the last time!

The Dawn of my Death.

Tears roll down her weathered face as she collapses to the tiled kitchen floor, grasping at the red hand print on her left cheek. My hand print. I stare coldly at the quivering woman in front of me with disgust. Briskly, I take my leave, insuring to slam the door behind me, just for effect. I scan the cold, deserted street, as I begin to walk, far from that place I call home, and that woman I call wife.

The cool night air washes away the uncontrollable wave of anger that consumes me. I had to escape. After nearly 50 years, I know the routine off by heart. As soon as you feel that hurricane spiralling up from your toes, turn and walk away.

The smell of salt fills the air around me, the crashing waves against the sand echo louder and louder with every step closer I take. I remove my faded, battered shoes and breathe a sigh of relief as I bury my feet deep into the cool sand beneath me.

I walk along the shore, leaving slight indentations of footprints behind me. I take a deep, salt filled breath as my mind takes me back, to the day of our wedding. The memory is blurred, lost over time, but tiny, insignificant fragments remain. A flash of her rosy cheeks and her deep loving smile find their way into view. Her sea blue eyes fixed on me as she walks down the aisle. We were so young, so in love. I smile back; all I know is that I love her.

I snap back into reality as I sharply exhale. I look out into the black pitch that covers the ocean. Darkness stretches out so far that I lose my gaze somewhere out at sea. I walk on, lost in thought. I travel back to the birth of our child, a little girl, my little angel. Her blue eyes looking up at me, her mother’s eyes. Her laugh brought so much life to our home, and joy to our hearts. I loved my wife even more then; she had given me everything I could ever want. I still remember that cold, windy night. It was 2am when I awoke to check on her, I was surprised that she had not stirred, with all the gushing wind crashing against the house. I had reached into her cot to fix her blanket, she looked so peaceful, I thought she was just asleep.

The years that followed felt like time itself had stopped. It wasn’t long before I started to blame her. I remember the very first blow, it is the clearest memory I have, the one that constantly haunts my dreams.

The salt is getting stronger, I’m sure of it. My eyes are beginning to water. But not tears, never would I shed even a single tear over her. I had turned all my rage, all my anger and confusion into one powerful blow that had knocked her to the floor and left her in shock. The beatings came regularly after that, every smash fuelling my anguish. She never once tried to stop me, she wouldn't dare. It was on that first blow that my love for her turned into a powerful hatred.

I look at my watch, it’s almost sunrise. I can’t possibly remember the last time I had sat up to watch the sun light up the world. As I walk on towards a distance park bench I feel an unfamiliar compassion welling up side of me. Regret? All these years, have I been living a lie? Convincing myself that it was all her, when she too experienced the loss of a child.

A lonesome tear trickles down my cheek as I sit and wait for the sun to cast its rays across the glistening ocean. The first beam of sunrise stretches out bringing warmth to my body, through to my soul. I think of the smile she wore on our wedding day and her weary eyes that have devotedly watched over me. They now give me a sense of comfort and guide me to the pending tunnel, of white light.

Light and Darkness? Task 1, TheTroll

Deep within the mysterious lands of Falsaro, where the fog never seemed to vanish, where it seemed like anything which attempted to grow. Failed. Lay ruins of the once-known Kalirat Castle. It belonged to the king Galaporan Dantis III. For centuries they ruled with peace until one day an argument broke out and it engaged war with Dalanor. Dalanor won, the people of Kalirat unknowingly vanished along with its king. A strange fog appeared five months after Kalirat’s defeat and whoever enters it never made another appearance ever again.

A figure stood in front of an orb inside those ruins. A human. The orb shines and a dark, creepy voice came from it.

"Sojh..." the voice said, almost as if it's whispering

"Yes master, preparations are complete and my forces are already ready, Jake Balken will be eliminated and the prophecy will be overthrown." The human replied without hesitation

"Very well. Remember what I taught you... I want him dead this time..."

A sword swings around the arms of a young, seventeen year old teenager from Dalanor. Making contact with a dummy made from the hardest pieces of wood in Solatis.
"That's enough training for today, Jake." A man with long, straight black hair, a thirty-four year old but still looked young.

"When will I ever ready, Dan?" The back of Jake's left hand swipes through his forehead and ended with a thin layer of moist on it.

"You can't just know when you're ready, after all the Darkness is a powerful force and whoever is their leader would be unbelievably strong." Dan speaks with a minor smile. He took another breath, and continues

"After all, we don't want you dying easily to him or anything like that." Jake pushes his sword back to its cover.

"Well why can't you fight him? You are, after all the strongest out of all of us." Dan's smile faded and he shook his head calmly, he made no signs of any happiness or sadness in his response.

"Because you're the one that Fate chose, not me. But as your mentor, I will teach to one day be as strong as me."  Jake sighed and nodded his head once.

"Night is falling in. Best to get some sleep, I need to be out on guard duty in case any Darks approach this castle throughout the night" Jake agreed so. Both took separate paths down the hallways of Dalanor Castle.

The young warrior enters his room, does his usual routine of cleaning up before getting some shuteye and lies down on his bed. Looking at the ceiling, a flashback of his parents smiling at him replayed in his mind. His mother passed away twelve years ago by an unknown illness that couldn't be cured, fortunately wasn't contagious. She was the only one that had gotten deadly disease and nobody knew why. His father, on the other hand was a noble warrior, he was the King's right hand man. Dan was trained by him. He also trained his sons when they were young. But five years after his wife's death, he was killed in his sleep by his second son. Josh. Stabbed through the heart twice by someone he loved at exactly 3.00am.

Josh was one year younger than Jake, and rumors said he had defected from Light to Darkness. Nobody knew who or what corrupted his head that night when he stabbed his father. However he always held grudges against his own brother, jealous of how great he was in training and how he was 'Fate's Chosen One' and 'The One from The Prophecy'. Josh never got any great titles unlike his own brother.

"You should know better! We can't hold back the Darkness forever!" Jake remembered the exact words that his bother screamed at him with after welcoming his father's death. Jake couldn't stop him in time, after reaching his father's room he saw what coldness Josh had produced. Blood quickly stained the sheets of the bed. Soon it was dripping down and Josh's dagger was eager for another. One more strike went. A dark, cold smile appeared while eyes widened from Josh's face.

"I'd like to see you be 'Fate's Chosen One' now!" As he slid the window with a rope, he made a smooth escape.

The flashback ended and Jake was back in reality. A single drop of transparent liquid formed from his right eye and gravity pulls it down to the pillow, he forced both his eyes to close. The world slowly dims.

Not far off from Dalanor stood a sensory tower like the others. A young, brave guard stood still for hours, scanning the area visible to his eyes, slowly turning his head left and right for better observation around him. Until something unusual caught his eyes. Reacting immediately he alarmed the other guards.

"What’s that, there." The guard points out swiftly across the small, sloppy hills, a small dim light struggled to light up from the views of a sensory tower not far off Dalanor Castle.

"Report this to Dan whose on duty at the walls in the castle immediately, send a messenger hawk." Another guard reacted once he spotted what the other guard had detected. A few other guards standing by rushed to the table where the hawk was caged, wrote a message, slid it inside a small tube and tied it to the hawk's left leg. All happened in a matter of seconds after the message was written. 

Somewhere from the roof of the tower, came a pair of legs with sharp daggers attached to each side. Sticking out, the daggers penetrated through the armor of a guard still in watch. Right through his chest and back out then disappeared right before any others could notice, the noise made from the guard falling caused the others to look back and notice that he was dead.

"W-w-what happened" One of them asked

"He was stabbed... But how did we not notice?!" Another responded. All of them now start to lose their courage and struggle with fear. CRASH! The middle of the roof of the tower got broken through and a masked man came down throwing daggers. The hawk screeches. Before even reacting to the man's presence, the daggers coming from him went silently and as fast as a bullet could go. The knives completed the job easily and quickly. Five of them fell to the ground. Dead. One was left shivering, expecting his end would come. He immediately rushes to the hawk trying to make it fly with the message; another dagger had become visible to the living guard. But it wasn't aiming for him; it was aiming for the hawk. Feathers flew out of it's wings as it tries to fly out of the way. It couldn’t. At last it ended with another, loud screech, the animal laid there without motion with a dagger sticking out its golden shimmering handle. Next was the man. He knew it be over for him. All his lives were gone and this was his last one playing the game. The masked intruder stabbed instead of throwing this time,he made the guard stand with the blade stuck to him, and unraveled his mask. The man's eyes widened as his jaws lost grip and came open, blood drops down.

"Y...You're...!" as the blood starts reaches to his neck.

"Yes, I am." The man ended with taking out the blade he stabbed the guard with and cutting his neck at a spot swiftly where the blood was just reaching. Game over.

Morning came to Falsaro Lands. Jake had a hard time sleeping last night, a nightmare called upon his inner conscience about him failing to save Falsaro from the Darkness. He walked out of his room finding Dan rushing down the hallway.

"Morning Dan!" Jake greeted as if the dream never occurred.

"Can't talk now, King Dalanore IV summons my presence, I'll talk to you later on when I'm dismissed from him" Dan spoke in a faster tone than normal.

"Oh, ok then, I'll be waiting at the Training Hall." Dan nods and carried his face pace down to the Throne Room. Jake became worried of what the situation is at. He shrugged and headed to eat get some food to eat at the Dining Hall before training.

Dan enters the room with a rush and kneels down before King Dalanore IV.

"What do you request me of, sire?" Dan asked kneeling down and facing to the ground

"Rise. Remember you do not need to bow or go on duty at night to serve me, you are, after all. My left hand man" The King insisted and Dan slowly rises from the ground.

"I do pay my highest level of respects to you sire and I do whatever I can to protect Dalanor" Dan smiles as he says those words.

"I know I know, back to why I summoned you. The sensor tower nearby Taruhan Hills had lost communication with our other towers. I sent a messenger there and while ago and he never came back since." The tower at nearby Taruhan Hills is twenty minutes from Dalanor Castle when riding by horse.

"Of course sire, I will investigate at once" Dan nods once and leaves the room. 

Dan went to the Training Hall where other warriors challenge each other and trained their abilities to look for his apprentice. Jake was at the northern side of the room, challenging with another warrior. Jake is more skilled than the other warriors other than Dan in Dalanor.

"Jake I'm afraid there won't be any training today with me, the King has just set a task for me to investigate the sensor tower by Taruhan Hills" Jake asked his opponent if there could be a break, his opponent agreed and said he would be back in five minutes. When he left, Jake turned to Dan with a surprising look.

"What's going on at the sensory tower at Taruhan Hills?" Jake questioned

"There has been some communication errors going on between the tower and the castle, I'll be back shortly"

"You better come back; I'll be here when you do." Jake spoke with confidence. Dan left to set on his task.

The King's left hand man sets off with his horse to Taruhan Hills. The day was still early but the Sun's heat was intense as if it was a dessert instead of green land. Dan went alone to solve the communication problem. 

When Dan reached there, he shouted out to see if anyone was there. No response was given. He then knocked on the door for the tower to see if anyone would open. Nobody did. Dan started to lose his patience; he grabbed his sword and kicked down the piece of wood that was blocking his way. The place looked dark. He spots the messenger the King mentioned that he sent. The messenger was dead. He had several stabs through his body and it lay on the ground motionless with blood stained clothes. Dan's eyes widened and he grabbed his sword with both of his hands now, preparing for any action or surprise attacks as he climbed the stairs up to the top of the tower. Reaching there he witnessed seven guards all on the floor with a messenger hawk still tied with the message. The blood leaked almost everywhere and Dan couldn't sense and aliveness from the tower. He opened the tube containing the message with his guard still on and read it.

"A small light?" He said to himself. A small sound destroyed the muteness of the room; Dan stands up into the same position with his sword on both hands.

"Come out, coward!" Dan shouts.

"Hello, Dan..." A dark figure slowly climbs up the stairs and becomes visible. He had a mask to secure his identity, but it was no use. Dan already knew who it was.

SHING! As both swords slide down making contact with each other, Jake struggles, his opponent was much bigger and much stronger than him. But strength wasn't always everything to win a fight, Jake made use of his agility and dodged most of the attacks, some were blocked as well but dodging seemed more of a better plan. As his opponent makes one final swing, with his might, after studying Jake's movements he swung his blade at a place where he knew he would hit him. Jake saw this coming and used his handle of his sword to hit his opponent's hand while holding the sword with blinding speed. The opponent's attack got intercepted and Jake raised his sword to his neck. Jake had won. Ending the duel, both of them shook hands to show peace to each other and congratulated each other for their impressive skills.

"You fight like a true warrior Jake, I can see why they call you 'The King's Second Right Hand Man'" the man said.

"Thank you, you fight with great strength as well!" Jake smiled back to him and gave another handshake. A guard stormed into the Training Hall calling for a name.

"Jake Balken the King awaits your presence!" The guard alarmed

"What is it?" Jake asked with a sudden serious face

"Dan Poran was sent to investigate the sensor tower at Taruhan Hills two hours ago and has not returned!" Jake's face turned even more serious when he heard what the guard had mentioned. Both of them rushed to the Throne Room and knelled down before the king.

"Rise both of you, Jake, I need you to be part of the small force set out to get to the bottom of that tower!" The King mentioned. Both Jake and the guard rose.

"You and four other of my men including Luke here will be sent out to the tower and figure out what’s going on. Luke will be your captain for the team. Shall you not fail me, my men." Both agreed and set off to the main gates of Dalanor Castle.

The other three of the force were already prepared and ready to go; Luke and Jake arrived a few minutes after.

"Let’s go" The first man insisted.

"Yeah I'm curious to find out what’s going on there..." The second said. Surprisingly it was the same man Jake challenged with right before he was summoned by the king. Both of them noticed each other.

"Hello Jake, I haven't properly introduced myself. My name is Harken."

"It is a pleasure to ride with a noble warrior like you, Harken" Jake kindly replied. However their conversation was interrupted by their captain, telling them that introductions can be sorted out later on after the task is completed. Luke gave the order to set out.

Arriving at the tower, Jake quickly took notice of Dan's horse tied, the horse made no sound. As if something had gone terribly wrong. Jake could see the animal's emotion through it's eyes, staring back at him. Jake turns as the others awaited him to join them. The tower door was broken down and wasn't cleaned up. It looked like it was knocked down recently. The five men armed their swords and proceeded into the tower. It was silent; the only sound was coming from the shaking armor each step taken and the horses outside. There was nobody in sight. No other bodies were spotted other than themselves.

"You two, stay down here and go for watch." Luke commanded. Pointing to Harken the other man, both of them made no objections. Jake and the other two including his captain took the steps up to the tower.

When taking the final step. The man in front, Luke froze. The other two were suspicious of what happened to their captain, as if he suddenly turned to stone. Making them both wrong, he took another step and made way for the other two to arrive up at the same level. They had understood why Luke had no motion for that moment. Nine bodies were on the floor. Seven guards, two messengers. Luke had a flashback when he finished counting the bodies. He remembered that each tower only contained seven guards. He was in the Throne Room when the King had sent a messenger not long ago and mentioned he never came back. Then he sent Dan to figure out what's going on. The first body he suspected looked like the messenger from before. The second body, had no clear view, he had a mask on. Dan never used masks.

"Wait a minute..." Luke's eyes squinted and took another step towards to the unknown corpse. The other two turned around and walked behind him. With closer view, he noticed the body had no crest and the most obvious thing that a dead body cannot do. Breathe.

"He's a living trespasser!" Luke exclaimed as he raises his sword and tries to stab the body. The 'dead' body rolled over backwards and stood up, arming his golden handled daggers within a split second. The other two behind Luke rushed towards his aid, standing beside him, wielding their swords.

"What did you do to Dan!?" Shouted Jake angrily, his usual kind face wasn't noticed anymore, his rage had countless of questions. The man responded with throwing three daggers rapidly, all in different levels one high one middle one low. However the daggers had the same aim. The other man standing on the left side of Luke. Unable to escape the man tries to block all three but only managed to block one, the lower one. He ducks for the one aiming his head but he took too much time that there was one more heading for him. The dagger pierced through him, as if the armor was no help at all and he dropped to the ground, motionless with blood leaking out. Luke reacts and charges towards the man, using a curvy path in case the man took more daggers out. Luke attempts to slash him once, but the masked opponent dodged his attack with ease. Directly behind him, the man took out a dagger and stabbed Luke through the chest and left it there to drag Luke down to the floor. The skilled masked person was back to facing Jake. The same method that was used to kill the other man first was used against Jake. The three daggers came out rushing towards him; Jake had faster reflexes and barely dodged the daggers. The man took out another three similar daggers, Jake charges with his sword pointed towards the man. He missed, the man was behind him now, he remembered what the man had done to kill Luke, he was about to use the same method against him! Jake quickly swiped his right foot behind and without notice; his foe had fallen to the ground with Jake facing him. Without delay, Jake stabs his own blade at the enemy on the stomach so he couldn't move.

The man struggles to open his mask but eventually did. Shock came to Jake's eyes, the face of the one that had been jealous of him. The rumors were true. The one who had stabbed and is about to kill was his own brother Josh.

"Jake...you can't...win....against...the Darkness..." Josh's mouth erupted blood. The flashbacks come back to Jake; he had witnessed what Josh did. He couldn't forgive him.

"You fought well, brother. But I can't forgive you for what you did."

"I am only...the apprentice...of the Darkness Leader...my power…is just a small ounce...of what...he can do..."

"I believe I am ready, whoever the Darkness Leader is, and I will defeat him and bring peace." Jake, still in his serious tone.

"Once...you see him...you won’t be able to kill him....isn't that right…?" Josh points behind Jake towards the stairs.

"Yes, that is right Sojh. Or should I say Josh. You've been a wonderful pawn to me but I'm afraid your time has come." Another familiar voice went to Jake's ears coming from the stairs, but it seemed deeper than before. Josh took one final laugh at Jake before falling into great, utter, silence.

Jake slowly turned his head behind and looked. His heart sunk into major depths. He dropped his sword. A small laugh came from the man standing there. The man who stood by Jake all this time, the only one who was the closest thing to his family. The man who was his mentor.  Who encouraged him to fight against the Darkness. Dan.

"D-Dan?" Jake's sadness took over him and he grew emotional.

"Yes, Dan, more like. Galaporan Dantis...V" A cold smile formed within his face.

"I am the Darkness Leader. The one that planned all this" Jake noticed Dan's armor; it had turned black with small skulls and the Darkness crest on it. Jake suddenly turned cold and shakes.

"W-w-why...!" Even though he already knew why, Jake still asked the question.

"The defeat of Kalirat two generations ago? I am the last of my people. Galaporan Danits III found a sacred orb containing dark magic; it took over him and his people. Seeking revenge over Dalanor he planned this day to come. The day when Dalanor falls!" Jake couldn't move even when attempted to. His dark discovery of his own teacher had taken almost all of him. Dan swipes out his sword, a black blade with engraved symbols were in his right hand. He walks towards Jake, which didn't move at all.

"This is the end. Jake. The prophecy has failed. The King will believe whatever I say and the whole of Falasaro will soon be under my domain." A war cry roared as Dan stabs Jake through the heart with his blade. Coming from outside, skeletons with shields and swords surrounded the tower as the awaited their precious leader.

Jake falls to the ground and closed his eyes, everything went pitch black.

The Man, The Warehouse.

"Hello child do you want some candy?" His voice calm and innocent.

"Umm.. yes please." Her voice tiny and cautious. The smile on his face brightened.

"Follow me then..." They start to walk down the alley to the candy shop. "wouldn't it be quicker to go through the warehouse?" The old man requests.

"But that's trespassing." The little girl claimed. "It would be smart to go around on the street,"
"NO!" The man snaps. "I mean, there's nothing to worry about. wait. you can hold this," he gives her a little pluffed teddy bear. "You can keep him if you want." She takes the bear and and they creep into the dark, splintering cold warehouse. The girl grabs the teddy bear and tucks it into her arms. "Do you think people live here?" she asks. As he answered. They paused, a strange noise coming from underneath a large fallen down bookcase. The curious girl being 'Sherlock Holmes' goes to see what it is, but the man grabs her arm and moves his finger side to side. She doesn't obey and pulls away from his grip. She moves closer to the bookshelf. It shoots out like a bullet running straight towards her teeth sharp as knifes aimed straight for her tiny face. She falls to the ground. Pinning her down wet drool running off it's face down on to her shirt. It growled at her but the old man smacked it on the nose and it scampered off "SHES MINE!" He demanded. Petrified as she was, she managed to get back on to her feet. "What was that?" she stuttered, looking at her shirt and trys to wipe it off with her hands.

"Who knows, at least your safe right?" His voice became lower, deeper, more inhuman. The girl looks up at him and asks "What happened to your voice?"

"Urr.. The cold its getting to my throat." He coughs to try hid the tone. They carry on advancing through the twisting icy corridors looking for an exit. "So do you know where we are going?" She questioned. He looked down but did not answer. just kept walking further into the freezing black warehouse. You can feel a bitter chill on their faces as they make there way through the darkness. "Are we there yet?" she asks, grasping to his hand to warm her's.

"Not yet. "

"But you said it was the short way,"

"It is." His sentences getting shorter, to mask his demonic voice he coughs or try's to clear his throat. They walk onto a small loading dock, and she can smell the candy flowing into her nose. The warmth lifted her up giving life to the room. She try's to unlock the door but it wont budge. "It wont open." she goes to give it another go but this time she stopped, from the corner she can see the black figure come out from the dark somber room. She freezes. She turns to see if it there, and it vanishes. "Did you see that?" she asks feeling relieved.
"No." His voice fully changed but coughs and points at the door.

"Are you okay? you seem sick." she assumes he is and just walks to the door to try it again.

"It's locked. What do we do now?"

"Nothing."

"What do you mean? Is there another door somewhere?"

A voice coming from the room next to them where the black figure disappeared to. "No need, you wont be leaving." There it was, the beast. She runs back behind the old and stays there head popped out the side, watching the figure morph into a human. "Hello... Master." the beast looking straight at the old man.

"Master?" she questioned herself. She backs up, moving away from the old man and the beast. "ahh hello.. Courtney" replied the old man.

"Who are you? What do you want with me?" She hits a wall, the old man turns to look at her. His eyes turned fiery red "We have been watching you.. Autumn." Paralyzed. She looks up to the man.

"Why do you want me? Let me go. My mummy will be looking for me." The fear pouring out of her eyes and betrayal stabbed through her heart. The two men laugh. "What mother? We know everything about you." The old man steps forward.

"Go away!" She looks around and finds a small rusty knife. She points it at him "Stay back! What do you want with me?"

"We want you dead." The old man takes out a pocket-sized bottle of chlorofoam. "This will help with the pain." He steps towards her and she try's to strike him with the knife but she it slips through her hand and cuts her palm. She lets out a loud scream and he covers her mouth with the cold cholorofoam-soaked handkerchief. She struggles but the old man was too strong for her so she gave up. A couple of breaths and she was knocked out the old man caught her just before she hit the for and said "oh, and my name is Alfred". Her tiny body lay there still as can be.

"May I be the first one master?"

"NO! I found her. We must take her somewhere else to start, or someone may come here after and report the dead little girl." He suggested that they should take her to a near by graveyard 2 blocks down so they can depose of the body after, so it would seem like nothing happened. "I utmost agree with you, master" As he nods, Alfred kindly pats him on the shoulder.

"Cover and carry the body." Alfred commanded.

Courtney walks off to fine something to wrap the little girl with. He comes back with a torn moldy brown blanket. Alfred picked the tiny body and wrapped it with the blanket. "Okay let us leave this place."

"Yes master." They get to the graveyard at about 10:30 pm and had to knock the little out with the chlorofoam some more times because it would wear away quite quick. "we must get started now." Alfred said to Courtney.

"Yes master," A few days past and Alfred was prowling his next victim, quietly waiting, listening, he goes to making the move, he walks to her and taps her on the shoulder. "Hello child do you want some candy?" His voice calm and innocent.

"Umm.. yes please." Her voice tiny and cautious. The smile on his face brightened.

"Follow me then..."

1 Hour

Her hands were trembling as she held the piece of paper up to her face, they shook even more as she put it down. A pale lifeless face emerged. Her eyes were flooded with tears "One hour" she mumbled, every one in the hospital room looked at each other confused "One hour. One. Hour. One hour!" she said boiling up to a scream. People were still confused but I knew. I knew my life was over.

Every one left the room leaving my parents and I lone in the silence. My mother was crying her heart out while scrunching the piece of paper in her hands. The tears gushed down her pale cheeks staining the blanket. She was kneeling near my bedside with her head resting on my bed.
"It's alright mom, every thing happens for a reason and when I do ill be going into a better place" that's what I told her and what I kept telling myself. I comforted her, as we all knew that the seriousness of my injuries would never heal and it was only a matter of time. "At least we can spend my last days together" I said hiding my tears with a false smile. My dad held my hand looking at me with soft gentle eyes and shook his head. I looked back at him puzzled. "One hour" he said holding in his tears.

I felt my heart stop beating as it finally hit me that life and all its wonders would suddenly stop in a mere sixty minutes! I didn't know how to react I couldn't help but stare into space. My parents hugged me and kissed my forehead goodbye. The next thing I knew was that the priest was next to me sitting on a chair I stared at him still partially in a daze.
"Child? Hello child? What’s your name? Look, I'm father Morris and I want to help you." he said calmly
"help me?" I said thinking, that sounds oddly familiar.
"Yes, tell me your sins and may the lord do the rest,” he said smiling, glad that I responded. Help me that sounds so familiar but this is not the time to be wasting time thinking about little things. Thus I immediately started to reflect on my whole life starting from the point when I was Baptisted. However as I was thinking I could feel my body deteriorating, I felt it getting weaker and weaker. I quickly thought of everything and anything that I have done and regretted and that I knew that it was evil. The abundance of it all overwhelmed me, I was truly remorseful for everything I had done even if it was something small. I felt like I had just murdered someone. The grief felt as if it was boiling inside of me, burning my soul away. It was too much to keep inside so let it out just as every one else would do, in tears. I told the priest every thing I thought of, he gave me penance and absolution, prayed and left the room. I felt extremely relieved after that.

I was alone in the room to do my penance. Still feeling very weak I was able to think about what the priest said that sounded so familiar "help me" I knew that it had something to do with my injuries. But all I knew was that I have been really sick for the past month due to high blood pressure, but I know that there was something more to what my parents had been telling me, and "help me" was the only clue I had to figuring out what had happened. As I thought more about it my head went into a daze I could see myself a month ago not bedridden, but free, playing with my sister in the garden suddenly I felt a staggering pain in my head like some one had pierced a spoon into my brain and scooped a piece of it out. I saw myself scream and grab my head struggling to find something that could support me as I lost my balance and fell flat onto the floor. Then in my dream I saw a flash of white and saw little glimpses of what had happened in he past month, I saw myself crying in the hospital room screaming “help me”, I saw my parents arguing about money, I saw the doctor giving me anesthetics, I saw myself in school again, and then falling to the floor. When another bright light and I found myself back in to the hospital room.

Every one came back into the room. They had thought that I had died when I had my dream
"I know what you did for me" I whispered to my dad he looked at me puzzled "you borrowed money for my surgery didn’t you?" I asked,
"how did you know?" he questioned
"I found it out" I answered with a cheeky smile. He called my mother and whispered something into her ear she shook her head and looked at me.
"I am so sorry I caused all this" I apologized
"It's alright. If it meant having you for even just a while longer it was worth it" they replied,
"so what was the surgery for?" I asked tiredly
"you had high blood pressure and an artery in your brain broke because of it, but the surgery didn't do much because we found out too late, after a month you still didn't get any better and you fainted“ my dad explained as a tear rolled down my mums cheek again. I started to feel too weak to even speak, I nodded to tell them that I understood everything and they let the other family members to say goodbye to me.

When all the goodbyes were done the priest blessed me and left. I only had two things to say left which were to my parents "thank you" I said tiredly and finally "I love you" I whispered draining all my strength to smile and with that I closed my eyes and fell asleep but this time when I wake up I was in paradise waiting for them to join me.