Fighting Fate (Terrible working title)

                   Prologue



         Escape was impossible, he knew that, but still the fear drove him on deeper and deeper into the darkness.  The rapid footfalls echoed throughout the night, the desperation of their owner sounding out with every step. Where he was running to, he had no idea, but his legs guided him on a seemingly impossible path through the forest, missing trees by the smallest of margins. He could feel their branches every now and then, clawing at his face and arms as he managed near miss after near miss. The blood flowed freely from the cuts on his body, but such was his frantic state that he no longer felt pain as you or I do.

         There was no way of knowing how long he had been running, time has no meaning when consumed by complete darkness. There was no sun to rise and set, no clocks to tell you whatever hour it may be, just an ever increasing chasm of confusion and despair.

         It was no good, this last epic effort to hold on to what glimmer of life he still had, had faded eons ago. It was only through sheer determination that he continued, however it was fast becoming too much, his muscles needing more oxygen than he was able to take in.

         At last his luck ran out, a small root caught his foot and sent him tumbling to the ground, the momentary silence of his unintentional flight soon drowned out by the cacophony of his landing. And there he lay, his body gasping for air, the taste of moistened earth in his mouth and the smell of rotting leaves in his nostrils.

         Slowly he rose to his knees and tried to look back from the direction he had came. Just as time no longer had any meaning to him, neither did direction. Nothingness faced him on every side, and then finally something discernable crept into his field of vision. An infinitesimally small orb of light appearing as if from nowhere, slowly weaving itself in and out of the trees.          

         He knew this was what he had been waiting for, the inevitable consequence of his actions had finally caught up with him and this was the end. Two choices lay ahead, neither appealing to him but at least one would leave him with what little bit of honour and pride he felt he deserved. Rising carefully he now began to feel the cuts that covered his body, stinging him in painful harmony.

         As the orb continued its journey towards him, he realised that all the fear had disappeared. He was left with a calm resignation flowing through his veins. Taking a deep breath in he stepped forward and prepared to meet his foe.

         









Chapter 1





         I won’t pretend to know why I’m sitting here writing this. I doubt whether anyone will be left to read it when the end comes. Maybe, just maybe there will be but I know I won’t be. That’s the problem you see, us humans are liable to mistakes. Now most of the time these go unpunished and we carry on as normal, but every so often someone makes a mistake that is so cataclysmic, it threatens their very existence.

         I’m afraid I am one of those very humans, however my error stretches far even beyond that. What I have done might lead to the destruction of all that we know it, the destruction of existence itself. That might sound a little extreme to you, and I can forgive you for thinking I am a madman. I assure you though, I am as sane as anybody else, just infinitely more stupid.

         I understand this is not making much sense to you at the moment, but trust me, it will in time. Unfortunately time is not something I have much of at my disposal so I apologise if I go a little quickly.

         

         My name is Marcus and as I’m writing this I’m nearing the 25th year of my life. If I’m being honest I don’t think I will make it that far, but I digress, we‘ll talk about that a bit later.

         I was born on the outskirts of Ilyar, a small town about 100 leagues south of Nordar. My mother stayed at home looking after me and my younger brother Jarek, whilst my father was a logger, working in the large forest that surrounded us. It wasn’t good money and it was long hours,  but it kept us going, just.

         What can I say, we had a pretty normal upbringing, by the age of 15 I was helping my father out in the forest. Soon my little brother joined us, and those days were the best of my life. Reflecting back on them still brings a tear to my eye. I suppose these things can’t last forever, but I truly do cherish those 2 years of happiness we had working in the forest. Then it all went wrong.





********





         “Marcus, oi wake up, cmon!!” two rough, yet youthful hands planted themselves on Marcus’s back and shook him vigorously.

         “God, it would be easier trying to wake a horse”, moaned Jarek standing up and surveying his sleeping brother. An idea suddenly gripped him and he waltzed off towards the river, whistling to himself as he went.

         Moments later he returned, a different tune now playing across his lips. In his hands he was holding a large animal hide which had been fashioned into a container. Carefully trying not to spill it contents he approached his brother and gave himself to the count of three. Upon reaching this number he sent the water cascading down on Marcus’s head, who woke with a start.

         “What the hell are you doing?!” he roared clambering to his feet.

         “We’ve got to go sleepy head, mom’s gonna want all the fish before it gets dark,” he brother replied, cautiously keeping a safe distance.

         “Do you think you could have chosen a better way of waking me up?” he retorted. Marcus looked up at the sky, pulling the wet and tangled hair from his face. What had earlier been clear and  blue was now scorched with a rich tapestry of red and orange hues, a result of the sun making the final part journey for the day.

         The trees that surrounded them gently broke up the suns rays, patches of light and dark littering the ground. In the background the sound of the river could be heard continuing its relentless voyage, the combination of its gentle flow and the beautiful song of the birds in the high tree tops created sense of peace and tranquillity over the forest.

         “Sorry bro,” Jarek replied grinning, “it would help if you didn’t sleep so deeply though. Anyway we better go, cmon old man I’ll race you.” And at that he set off at a gallop, the heels of his shoes kicking up a fine dust in his wake.

         Sighing, Marcus picked up the rods and the fish they had caught during the day and began the impossible pursuit of his younger, more energetic brother.

         The route home was one they had travelled countless times during their short lives. Jarek slowed to a stop and patiently waiting for Marcus to catch up. Leaning against an aging oak tree he pulled a small blade from his pocket and began carving something in the bark.

         It was a short while before he realised that something was not as it should be. In the back of his throat he began to feel a sharp burning sensation, and looking down the tree lined corridor that lay in front of him he saw the faint wisps of smoke, dancing in the air. Placing his knife back, he slowly  followed them, their hypnotic movement creating a dream like state in his mind.

         Turning the corner he was faced with a site he had not even considered, one which sent him crashing out of his dream world. The house that he had for so long called home, the one which his father had built by hand, was burning with the intensity of the sun. Flames violently caressed the coarse timber structure, a thick, acrid cloud of smoke billowed from the roof, its proximity sending Jarek into a sudden coughing fit. Momentarily blinded he fell to his knees, his eye’s tearing up, trying to protect themselves from the harsh black smoke that was trying to enter his body by any means possible.

         As if in slow motion he heard a series of steps behind him and a thud on the earth as something was dropped. An arm grabbed him and pulled him to his feet, through his blurred vision he could make out the unmistakeable figure of his brother.          

         “Jarek! What’s happened?? Where’s mom and pa?” Marcus spoke with a frenetic pace, a terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach.

         “I….I dunno,” Jarek gasped, his lungs struggling for oxygen.

         Marcus, turned and looked at the house. It was at this moment that he realised what he had to do. Ripping off the bottom of his trousers he held the material over his mouth and set off towards the front door.

         Crouching down he pulled open the door and crawled inside. The heat emanating from the fire was like nothing he had experienced before. He felt the air literally being sucked out from his body from its sheer force. He had to carry on though, he had to make sure there was no on in there.

         Opening his eyes he felt the full fury of smoke that was enclosed in the front room. The pain was almost unbearable and he snapped them shut again tears streaming down his face for just a second before being vaporised in severe heat.

         It was no good, seeing in here was impossible he would have to do this blind. Slowly he began crawling around the room, trying so hard just to remember its layout. However, in moments of extreme panic this is hard to do and Marcus quickly lost all sense of direction

         Time carried on its inevitable progression, the sense of panic increasing with every passing moment. The pain was becoming unbearable, he felt as if he was inhaling thousands of shards of glass with every breath. The only thing that kept him going was a faint hope echoing deep inside Marcus’s mind.

         “Maybe they’ve got out, they could be in the forest now looking for us. Or they could have gone to town to get some he…..” This inner monologue was interrupted by something Marcus had been dreading. His hand had fallen on something soft and warm. Bringing his other one forward to he carefully ran them over whatever it was in front of him. The dawning realisation of what it was, blew away whatever small strand of hope remained left in him in an instance. In front of him lay the lifeless body of his mother, he couldn’t see her, but he could tell the feel of her skin anywhere.

         Coming to his sense’s he sprang into action rapping his arms under her limp body and dragging her towards the small patch of light that peered at him through the smoke. The effort was almost too much for him, the lack of oxygen to his brain taking its toll. Everything began spinning, he could feel himself losing control, but no! He must hold on! With everything he had left he made it to the door where he saw the dark shadow of someone he thought he knew appear. Together they carried the body as far away as they could manage, before Marcus collapsed on the floor, his last thought about how good that cool dusk air felt, before he passed out.

         Jarek stood there, his eyes transfixed on the two bodies that lay in front of him. The tears that welled up in his eyes were no longer as a result of the smoke, these were real. He had no idea what to do. Bending down he looked at the face of his mother. The beauty still radiated from her despite the now blackened features, and the bloody gash that ran across her forehead. His head fell onto her chest and he wept freely now, his pain and anguish was too much to take. She was different though. Her scent that he had been so used to all his life, was now gone, replace with the foul stench of the fire which had killed her.

         The coughing of his waking brother temporarily brought him out of his grief and a thought flashed across his mind. His father must still be in there! Wiping his eyes he rose and turned to look back at the burning ruin. He knew he had to do it, even his young mind knew he couldn’t live with himself if he left his father in there.

         Marcus felt like his throat was being ripped out of his mouth, each cough brought a wave of more and more pain. The world span around him, it took him a few moments before he could finally fix his view on something. It would haunt him forever.

         In front of him lay the motionless body of his mother, her life energy no longer a part of the physical world. Standing above her was Jarek, his gaze set on the house, and then he started moving towards it.

         “JAREK! DON’T, GO IN THERE!” his lips formed the words but no sound came out. He tried to climb to his feet but his legs would not bear his weight and he collapsed to the ground. Another wave of coughing caught him sending his body into a fit of agony, dark red blood now filling up in his mouth.

         He tried again, and this time was successful, fighting through the pain he staggered to his feet and looked up in time to see his brother disappearing into the house. Each step was torture to him, but determination pulled him on, the face of his brother etched on the inside of his mind. Life is such a fragile thing, we never truly value it until it has gone. Those final moments would stay with Marcus with the rest of his life.

         Marcus felt the incredible heat as he neared the house, the smoke clawed at his throat but still he continued. All of a sudden a loud creaking sound came from the dieing building. The fire had burnt its course and now, was its final act of destruction. Marcus looked on in horror as the house, slowly at first, buckled under the weight of its roof, the now weakened timbers not strong enough to keep the structure in rigid any longer. The force of the impact knocking Marcus onto his knees.

         “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!“ The cry resonated out into the now darkening sky. Birds fled from their nests high above, some part of them perhaps sensing the amount of loss in his voice. The stars beginning to appear for their night time vigil looked on, a sadness in them as they bore witness.

         Marcus looked round, people were running up the hill towards him, alarm ringing out in their voices. But it was too late, unconsciousness took hold of him once again and as his body fell to the ground. All that there was, was darkness.