Page 6 of Beyond the Darkness

“Well that’s nice to know,” Blaise approached them, studying the corpse. He was right. They had just learned vital information that would make their journey much easier. The hounds wouldn’t attack them as long as there was some form of sunlight. The reassurance of that would only allow for them to travel easier from then on. She turned back to the town, trying to brush off the events. They needed to get to safety before the night came.

The cobblestone path was overgrown with weeds and uneven from the way the stone disintegrated. They carefully walked through the empty village, taking in their surroundings. The stories of the plague replayed in her mind as she examined the ghost town. The plague had spread so quickly that nobody knew how to stop it. All of these people probably had ended up dead or escaped to Orissia since they had been the only kingdom to find a cure for the disease. The town was full of things that looked like they had been abandoned quickly. Carts still sat in the streets and doors remained open swinging on its hinges. Aerilyn was lost in thought when she saw the bones lying beside the pathway. Her entire body froze, seeing the human skull along with a variety of other bones lying in the grass. She placed her hands over her mouth, letting out a gasp.

“Holy fuck,” Brinley whispered, stopping beside her to see what she had been looking at. She felt a hand on her lower back as Everett glanced over her shoulder. There were more. Beyond the path lay several sets of bones. She felt a pain in her gut from the sight of it all. These people had all died so long ago, but she couldn’t help but feel sympathy for them. They hadn’t received a proper burial, they had been left to rot on the side of the street. “What if….” Bastian finally spoke, cutting off his thought before it left his lips. Aerilyn glanced at him, trying to urge him to speak. “What if these are other Chosen?” His voice was shaking,his wide eyes trying to take in the destruction. The thought he placed in all of their minds made them uneasy.

“We should find a building that gives decent shelter and try to relax for the night. We’ve been walking nonstop and sleeping in the dirt for several days now, we need the rest,” Everett spoke up, trying his best to sound confident in his words. Aerilyn could tell he was as uneasy as the rest of them. “I agree. We should take some time to look at the old maps and find a plan to get to this damn sword so we can go home,” Brinley said as she started walking the path again. They all tried to push the sight of the bones away from their minds as they looked for a building that would provide them with some shelter for the night. After the first night’s attack, they all barely slept the following nights. The exhaustion was written across their faces. Aerilyn had been given no time to rest after her injury, but she refused to slow the others down.

Many of the buildings were worn down from natural causes, leaving them unsafe for the group to enter. The sun that had been warming their skin was slowly slipping down closer to the horizon, signaling that they needed to find shelter quickly. Once they lost sight of their full surroundings, walking around the unknown area would be much more dangerous. Even though they had been in darkness for days, it was the sort of darkness that allowed enough vision for them to find their way. Once the sun slipped away in the old town, she was afraid it would be too dark to see.

“This one seems clear,” Bastian called out to them from the doorway ahead of her. All of their attention moved toward the building that he stood before. It had a roof, which many no longer had, and the structure of it seemed stable enough. The building would’ve been cute before time destroyed it. The paint was peeling, leaving it with an odd coloring. She wanted to imagine that a sweet family had lived there. Someone had livedout their long lives in such an adorable place without a plague or hounds around to ruin it. All she’d ever known was the time after, but she was always curious as to what life looked like before tragedy struck.

“Looks decent enough,” Everett shrugged in agreement, stepping beyond the doorway into the home. She followed close behind him, taking in the sight before them. The place was one large open room with several cots and scattered blankets. It seemed that a family had lived here, but they were most likely poor compared to the rest of the community. Even though they had such a small home, it still stood longer than the other buildings that had contained the richer families. She wanted to smile at that thought.

They all filed into the room, each of them taking in the surroundings. She moved to the corner, letting her pack fall off of her back as she sat down on one of the cots with a groan. Her feet burned in pain from the distance they’d traveled. The slight relief of sitting was more enjoyable than she had imagined it to be. As Blaise did the same, there was a soft squeak before a small rodent ran out from the corner in an attempt to escape the man. They all gasped, staring at the animal as it disappeared once more. “There aren't supposed to be any animals beyond the wall….” Brinley paused, her mind running with thoughts. She sat down beside Aerilyn, letting her pack fall to the floor as well. They all stayed silent for a moment, all having the same thoughts. If there was a rodent still alive, maybe there were more animals that they could find for food.

“I think we should focus on this first,” Everett changed the topic as he slid his pack off, removing a map from its depth. They only had a short time of daylight remaining, the light already disappearing. There were a few open windows in the home, giving them a view of the town and fields beyond. He spread out the map on the floor as they all huddled around him, examiningthe size of the continent. It was hard to tell how far they’d made it in the time they’d spent traveling.

“This is where the sword is expected to be. The tales state that it was the last place Aleksi was seen with it. As long as the tales are accurate, this is our best bet. I’ve watched the compass and we’re still heading north. I guess we continue until we find the coast and then we can try to find the city of Vale,” Everett explained, pointing on the map to the city that marked the top of the continent. Aerilyn’s eyes scanned the map, taking in the entirety of it. “Let’s pray those tales are right. Otherwise, this might be an impossible mission,” she remarked, running her hand over her face. She felt the sleep calling to her, but she made her attempt to fight it so they could finish their conversation. The others looked at her as she spoke the words they all didn’t want to think. “That’s if the Sword of Aleksi is even real,” Blaise shrugged. The possibility of this entire mission being bullshit was quite high, but they couldn’t just give up. They weren’t allowed to return to Orissia empty-handed. They had to continue until they found the sword and were able to successfully control the hounds.

“For the prince’s sake, I hope the sword is there,” Bastian whispered, his soft voice always surprising Aerilyn when he finally did put his input into the conversation. “I know this entire situation is unfair and cruel. If it were up to me, none of you would be here. You’d all be home in your beds with your families. I’m sorry this had to be your fate,” Everett finally admitted to the guilt that he had brought up to Aerilyn previously. The rest of the group looked at him with a softer gaze than they had before. “It isn’t your fault, Everett. We can’t blame you for this. Besides, you’re stuck here with us,” Brinley nudged his arm playfully, bringing out a sad smile from the man. They were all sent to the hounds without choice and now they still had no choice but to fight for their lives.

“We need to get some rest. None of us have slept in several days,” Aerilyn pipped in, watching as everyone else nodded in agreement. “I’ll take the first watch,” Bastian volunteered before anyone else could. None of them protested. She didn’t wait for them as she crawled onto the cot, plopping down on her back. She stared up at the ceiling as she heard the others moving around to find their place to sleep. Brinley laid down beside her, her eyes burning into the side of Aerilyn’s face. She looked over at the girl, their eyes meeting. “I am glad I met you, Aeri. I would’ve gone mad with those three. Thank you for protecting us when that first hound came. I froze up and you took charge to keep all of us safe. You were so brave for that,” she slid her hand into Aerilyn's, squeezing it tightly. Aerilyn felt her heart warm at the simple words. She had never been appreciated by anyone else before and to feel the gratitude from the other woman made her happier than she could put into words. “I’m glad I met you too, Brinley,” she whispered back, squeezing her hand in return.

The sunlight had disappeared leaving the room coated in a new darkness. She could no longer see the others lying around her, but she could hear their soft breaths as sleep began to take each of them. The thought of the rodent replayed in her mind, trying to process how anything living could have been left. It provided her with a slight sense of hope as she drifted into a dreamless state.

Chapter Eleven

Aerilyn

Aerilyn felt the sun's warmth heating her face as she awoke. It had only been a few days since they had sunlight back in Orissia, but she couldn’t help feeling grateful for the return of light. When she finally opened her eyes, she noticed that everyone else was still deep in sleep. With the new information about the hounds, she wanted to explore the town. She knew that she would be safe as long as the light shined down on her. Not wanting to wake any of them, she crawled over Brinley to get off of the cot. She glanced around once more, none of them stirring from her movements. She took it as a sign and found her way out of the small home. Once the fresh air filled her lungs, she let out a small sigh.

She had become used to waking up as the sun was rising to get to the fields for work. Her body had an internal clock that would automatically wake her up even before the bell in the town square would chime the sound of the day starting.Her companions were exhausted as they all continued to sleep peacefully as she left them behind. She took in the surrounding town with curious eyes. It looked so much different than the streets that were in Orissia. This place seemed a bit less orderly, but she had to assume that most of that was due to the plague and hounds that had taken over the town. Orissia was untouched by time compared to this place. It made her want to explore more of the foreign town.

The map they had of the continent was old and didn’t seem to be as accurate as they had originally assumed, time had seemed to lessen the kingdom’s knowledge of the outside world. Not that it mattered much since there were no signs of life beyond what was left in Orissia. It still felt strange that so much history had been lost. It also made her question whether or not they were headed in the right direction. If the map wasn’t accurate, they may be going in an entirely different direction than they had thought.

Aerilyn attempted to push the negative thoughts away as she walked along the broken street. Her boots made soft thumps each time they hit the cobblestone. It was a challenge for her to keep an even footing on the broken rock. She had to put some thought into her steps to keep her balance. On the bright side, any sign of the injury she’d received was gone. She was no longer dizzy or had any aches along with it. She was thankful for the lack of anything holding her back.

Her gaze wandered off to where the dark and light of the sky clashed into one. It was like the divide between the wall and the world beyond back in Orissia. The Forcers supposedly had some control over that, or that’s what she had been told. There weren’t any Forcers beyond the walls to control the color of the sky. She debated walking towards the border but chose against it, not wanting to stray too far away from the rest of the group.She found herself mindlessly wandering the long road, never making any turns so that it would be easy to find her way back.

The entire situation that she was trapped in was unbelievable. She was cast beyond the walls alongside the prince of Orissia and other people who didn’t deserve to die. She could only hope for their safety. She wanted to be the group of Chosen who brought the sword back, to be the ones who ended all of it. It seemed like an unrealistic goal, but she didn’t want to lose sight of it. The kingdom needed Everett on the throne, that was motivation enough. She didn’t know what Roman, the second prince, was like but if he followed along with his father it couldn’t be good. Everett was the best bet to stop all the public punishment and Chosen ceremonies. He would be the king to change things. He’d make a real difference.

A strange sound pulled Aerilyn from her thoughts. She stopped in her tracks, hearing the footsteps continue. She glanced over her shoulder to see if someone else from her group had been following her but saw nothing beyond the crumbling structures. She held her breath, hearing the sound once again. It sounded like a stone falling against a stone. As if someone were kicking rocks along the cobblestone path. She had to be losing her mind. There was nobody out there besides her companions and they were sound asleep when she’d left only minutes before.

Aerilyn found herself approaching the direction in which the sound had come from. She tried to keep her feet light which she’d learned to perfect from the time she spent stealing. She could move almost silently, nobody ever knew she was coming. When she ducked around the corner, her eyes widened at the sight of the trees stretching high before her. She saw something move within the woods and quickly ran towards it. She’d only seen drawings of forests in old books that captured what the world looked like before the plague struck. It was all so different from what she had expected.

She ran her fingertips over the bark of the closest tree, feeling the plant before her calling to the power that ran through her veins. They were so large, towering over her and making her feel so small. The sun peeked through the leaves, making it all look more magical than it was. She was at a loss for words to explain the emotions pulsing through her. All she could think about was how her parents would’ve loved to see something like that. Her mother had adored each of the plants that Aerilyn grew at her fingertip, finding a love for them all. She would’ve loved the breathtaking view of a forest.

The thought of the others still sound asleep crossed her mind and she realized that she wanted to share the moment with Everett. She wasn’t sure why the thought crossed her mind. She wanted to push it away, but it made a feeling of comfort wash over her. She glanced back to where she had come from, letting herself enjoy the view alone for a few moments longer. She took a deep breath, trying to memorize the fresh scent that rushed into her nose. It was nothing like the small scattered trees within the kingdom of Orissia.

For the first moment since she left the walls, she was grateful that her name had been chosen. She was able to see the world beyond the walls and experience something as breathtaking as a forest. Most people would never be able to do such a thing. The thought made her ache, wishing that her mother could’ve been with her to see such beauty. Her parents would never get to experience the beauty of what lies beyond Orissia’s walls. The kingdom and what was within was all that they had ever known.

A soft crunch of a twig quickly grabbed her attention, her eyes landing on a small creature a few feet away from her. It was small and brown with a long fluffy tail. She didn’t recognize the animal, but at that moment she didn’t care what it was called. It was the second living thing that they had seen since they hadleft Orissia. Her heart was beating too quickly as she made a step towards the animal. It froze, looking up at her with large eyes. It sat frozen in fear for several moments before it took off running.

That was the moment that Aerilyn began to question everything. So much of the world beyond the walls seemed to be undiscovered. She couldn’t help but wonder what else could be out there if so much of Orissia’s information had been inaccurate. Animals were alive. That could mean people were too.

Chapter Twelve

Everett

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