Endless Night

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  The castle was dark and quiet. Only the sound of ruffling raven feathers could be heard. There was only one person that lived there, it was debatable if you would call him a person. Damien was pacing the large ballroom listening to Scarlet's conversation with the boy. He laughed as he heard the wolf say he had to eat. He knew it was not going to end well for him.

  "He underestimates that girl, Kito."

  The raven that was sat on his shoulder cawed in reply. Damien smiled to himself as he listened to the sword slice through the skin of the wolf. Every drop of blood that hit the floor echoed in Damien's ears. He loved the way others were so easily killed.

  "She's fighting so hard to get here." The sly smile on his face grew. "It's too bad she doesn't know I plan to let her get her before she dies."

  The bird stretched its shiny black wings and flew over to the large cushioned chair that sat at the opposite end of the ballroom. As Damien made his way towards it, the sound of his shoes on the floor bounced off the walls filling the room with sound. Every move he made was graceful and gentle, the complete opposite of the monster that lived inside the beautiful outer shell that was his human body.

  This disguise hid what he really was. At first glance he looked like a normal seventeen year old, but in reality he was far from normal.

  No soul, no breath, no heartbeat.

  "But we can't make her journey too easy, can we? Right about now our other friends should be arriving."

  There was a howl from the wolves as they emerged from the trees into Scarlet, Nate and Ryan’s view back in the forest.

  "I am going to kill her, Kito." The bird turned its head towards its master as if it listened, like some part of it was human. "I will have my revenge."

  5

  Determination

   

   

  breathless Scarlet threw her sword to the ground.

  How could I? She thought, my hands, my body, my soul, all drenched in blood and there is no way to wash it away. She held her head in her hands in the centre of what had become a battlefield. The silence had returned and this time the first thing to be said would either make the situation worse or be at least a little comforting.

  Ryan stepped cautiously over the bodies on the ground and put his arms around Scarlet. His injury was still painful and he was afraid moving too much would break the stitches but if they could hold while he was trying to fight off angry wolves then they would hold while he hugged Scarlet. She needed someone to be there for her and he wanted to help anyway he could.

  "It was necessary," he said echoing Scarlet's earlier words. "Red, if we hadn't have done that then we wouldn't be here right now, and then what hope would there be for humanity? We are the only people left for them to look up to, for them to depend on. We have to get rid of Damien."

  Scarlet returned his hug without saying a word and buried her head into his chest. He held her closer to him, never wanting to let her go. In that moment everything about Damien, his keeper, the werewolves and even the darkness that surrounded them faded away. He was holding her and she was holding him, that was all that mattered. His heartbeat drummed in his ears so loudly he was worried she would hear it.

  He cherished the moments he could be close to her and for him it was all over too soon. As she pulled away he wanted nothing more than to pull her back and hold her in his arms as he confessed everything to her, but he couldn't, not now.

  She had been through so much already and he didn't want his feelings to be something else for her to stress over. He was hoping everything would be over soon so he could finally tell her everything.

  They didn't waste time, they were walking again but Scarlet was still upset. She couldn't shake the feeling of the blood on her hands spreading over her body, slowly destroying her as it went. She felt as if it was seeping into her skin, taking over her bit by bit, eating away at her like some kind of parasite. She was walking to the left of the boys looking at her feet and didn't even notice the brick wall of the house until she had walked into it.

  "Ah," Scarlet said rubbing the top of her head.

  "What's wrong, Scar?" asked Nate worryingly. He shined the light over to where Scarlet was standing, revealing a small house that couldn't be seen in the dark.

  "Where did that come from?" Nate said in a surprised tone.

  "Well I'm not sure but I think, I think, it was already here and maybe, just maybe, Red couldn't see it in the dark," Ryan said sarcastically. Nate punched him on the arm and Ryan punched back.

  "Hey! Don't start that now, we don't have time for you two to fight, now help me open this door, I should look inside properly."

  Scarlet had looked through the windows whilst the boys showed how tough they were but saw nothing but cobwebs and dust. The three of them yanked the door open.

  "You guys wait here, I'm going to check if there's any supplies in there." Ryan and Nate opened their mouths to protest her going alone, but Scarlet knew what they were going to say.

  "Don't even think about saying I can't go in alone because you both know I can protect myself," she snapped. The boys closed their mouths and Scarlet gave them a quick smile before fighting her way through the cobwebs that covered the entrance.

  She checked every room for anything that they could possibly use, weapons, clothes, food, but there was nothing. Every room was completely empty. The only place left to check was the attic. She climbed the long staircase carefully, hoping the old wooden stairs wouldn't collapse under her weight, each step creaking as she went. When she reached the attic she breathed a sigh of relief and started to look around. There were grey sheets covering everything that Scarlet assumed had once been white. Scarlet started pulling them off revealing old chairs, chests of drawers, coffee tables, all the usual things you would expect to find in an attic. There was only one thing left to uncover.

  Whatever it was, it was small, about the size of a ring box, and it was placed on a table in the corner of the room. She grabbed the cloth and put it on the set of drawers to her right. On the table in front of her sat a music box and Scarlet carefully lifted the lid wondering if it would still work. It did and the music that played was soft, like a lullaby played on violins. It had been a long time since she had heard music and she had been so preoccupied with other thoughts she had forgotten how much she missed it.

  "It's been a long time since I've had a visitor here," a voice said from the corner of the room.

  "Who's there?" asked Scarlet shining the light from the lantern in the direction the voice came from.

  An elderly woman was slumped in a rocking chair in the opposite corner of the room, but Scarlet could have sworn there was nothing in that corner when she walked in. Grey hair covered her face and a pair of glasses hung from a chain around her neck.

  "Don't worry, child, I'm only here because you opened the music box. Sort of like a genie and a lamp," said the woman.

  "So, not to be rude, but why exactly are you here?"

  "I am an oracle and this house is only visible to those with a good soul. I tell people something about their future as long as they want to hear of course, but with the current situation nobody passes through here anymore," the woman explained "So dear, what'll it be?"

  "What do you mean?

  "Do you want to know your future or not?" The woman's tone of voice was now very serious.

  Scarlet thought for a minute. Did she really want to know her future? Would she end up going out and doing something just because someone who claimed to be an oracle told her she was going to? But what if she was what she claimed to be? She could tell her something that would save everybody. Scarlet knew whatever the woman would tell her wasn't going to be good, but if it could save everybody then what did she have to lose?

  "Alright," Scarlet
said finally, "I want to know."

  "Take a seat." The woman gestured to a cushioned stool opposite the rocking chair and Scarlet sat down.

  "You're not going to like this." Well that was a good start, Scarlet thought.

  "Your feelings towards someone are going to change, in fact they've already begun to change and you haven't even noticed, by the time you do it will be too late." The woman's face dropped and she changed subjects completely.

  "You're walking into a battle you will never win. There are too many things in your way."

  Scarlet didn't understand what the first part was about but the latter was definitely about Damien.

  "A warning to you and your friends, stop now. Don't go any fur..."

  "Just stop!" Scarlet shouted, clenching her fist as she stood up. It's not true, none of it. I am going to win this fight and crazy ramblings from an old woman aren't going to stop me." She stormed down the stairs and out of the house.

  The woman, still sat in her chair, with only one last comment before she returned to the darkness that filled her days until the next traveller visited. “There is no creature as foul as he who walks the earth like a man and kills like a beast.

  "What's in there?" Nate asked as Scarlet came out.

  "Nothing, just some old furniture."

  She knew she shouldn't have snapped like that, but someone telling her she couldn't win against Damien wasn't what she needed to hear. She was still trying to convince herself she could beat him and the last thing she needed was someone telling her it wasn't going to happen, especially not someone she had never met before. She pushed aside her doubts as they set off. Scarlet was more determined than ever. That woman had pushed her harder.

  6

  Questions