Evils Eclipse

Fear; hatred; violence.
The world is not as it once was;horrors stalk each other through the ruined streets of once-great cities, wreaking havoc. The few remaining humans live in hiding, fearing for their lives. All have lost faith; they gave up on all hope of rescue long ago, and now, after the end of the world, they hold on only out of fear of death. The world is covered in darkness, the light eclipsed by a great evil; but there are some who fight. A small group of survivors, refusing to relinquish their world to the darkness; their bonds of friendship strengthened by the disaster that struck at the very heart of the world. Among these fighters are those with the power to change the course of a future that hangs on the edge of a knife; can they discover their powers and tip the balance, and let the light return?

 

I stood on the beach, staring out over the violent sea; the grey clouds billowed overhead, and the wind lifted my hair from my shoulders. It was a rare luxury, this brief moment of peace; a break from the chaos of my life. Still, however pleasant it was to get away, the emptiness made me nervous. I sighed deeply, turned, and walked back up the beach, my mind deep in the past...
Today was my 21st birthday. Five years ago today, my mother, father, and damned near everyone else I knew were killed. Five years ago today, the world was ripped apart. I sighed bitterly as my mind replayed the end of the world...
 
It was a normal kind of day, all things considered. I turned sixteen, but it didn't really feel like my birthday. School was just a normal day - I got a lot of hugs, but my friends had decided that, due to the mostly inappropriate nature of my birthday presents, I wouldn't receive any gifts from them until we got to Charz's flat after school. Alex picked me up from school in his van, like most other days; he drove to Charz's, the others thoughtfully giving us a few precious minutes alone. When he parked up outside her flat, he turned to me and handed me a small, gift-wrapped box.
"Happy birthday,Jane," he whispered, kissing me softly. I smiled, delighted.
"Thank you, honey," I replied, then turned my attention to unwrapping my birthday present. A silver, heart-shaped locket, hanging from a long chain; inside, it held two photos - one of me, and one of him. My breath caught in my throat, and tears pooled in my eyes as I stared at the locket. I could feel him watching me, and I pulled my eyes from the beautiful locket to meet his gaze.
"Do you like it?" he asked, his heart shining out through his eyes. I marvelled again at this wonderful, compelling, irresistible man, and the knowledge that he loved me, just as I loved him.
"It's wonderful," I whispered, barely able to get the words out. He smiled, elated, and kissed me again, before getting out of the van.
When we got inside, all my closest friends were there - Charlotte, better known as Charz; Sarah, also known as Pete; Charz's boyfriend Ash, or Spike; and Speedy.
My friends wasted no time, and proceeded to shove gifts in my direction the moment I had sat down. A can of Strongbow from Pete; 25grams of Amber Leaf tobacco from Charz; a lighter from Spike, with a dragon engraved on it; and a tobacco tin from Speedy, with 'Jane' engraved on the front.
"Wow, you guys, thank you!" I smiled, wandering round the room to hug everyone and then sitting back down on Alex's lap. I curled up, resting my head on his shoulder. It was wonderful...
... But then the world shuddered and cracked, breaking open the ground and releasing horrific creatures from the depths of the most diseased of human imaginations; most, we had no names for.
We first noticed it when the TV began to shudder. We looked around, puzzled, trying to find the source of the vibrations. Then the whole earth lurched, and a deep rumbling began deep in the ground beneath us. I looked around at my friends, their faces, wide-eyed and pale with panic, mirrored my emotions. Things fell from the shelves, and from outside came a dreadfully deep tearing sound. I looked at Alex, and his eyes surprised me: they were wide, yet perfectly calm. I smiled at him, realising once again the wonder that was us. I knew, merely by his eyes, the peace he felt when with me. He smiled back, then leaned in to kiss me. Then the earth lurched once more, and we clung together for fear of being separated. This was more violent than last time, and beneath the terrifying rumbling that accompanied it, there was a strange sound - almost like the snarl of a rabid dog, but more vicious.
When it stopped, the snarling grew louder, and I held tight to Alex. I heard movement from across the room, and I looked up just in time to see Sarah move out of sight, towards the door. Suddenly, I was between her and the door, without quite knowing how I got there.
"Jane, what?" She looked at me confused, and stood still. I could feel the rest of them watching us, but it meant little to me.
"Don't go outside," I said, my eyes darting around the room. Alex was staring at my face, searching for the reason behind my advice. I took a deep breath. "Sit down, all of you. It's dangerous outside right now." As I said it, I stared at Alex, willing him to understand, to feel my stress. He blinked once, then turned to the others.
"Do as she says," he said, then he walked over to me and took me in his arms. I leaned my head on his chest, shut my eyes, and concentrated on not being sick. The feeling of terror in my stomach was overwhelming, and, had Alex not been there, I was sure I would have been incapable of movement. After a few minutes of being stood like that, I had calmed down enough that I could talk coherently, and I pulled away slightly, kissed him softly on the lips, then took his hand and led him back to the sofa.
Speedy was stood by the window, hidden from the outside by the curtain, staring out at the world; his face was pale, and he looked as though he was about to vomit. Silently, I went and hugged him, wishing that I could do more.
"Go sit down, honey, I'll look," I muttered, quietly enough that only him and Alex heard me. He looked at me, opened his mouth to argue, but he evidently thought better of it, as he walked to the sofa and fell onto it; he sat there, his head in his hands, shaking.
"Honey, can you make sure he's okay?" I murmured to Alex. He nodded, brushed his lips against mine, then went to sit beside Speedy. I took up Speedy's position by the window, moved the curtain almost imperceptibly, and looked out.
One glimpse of the world outside made me understand Speedy's reaction; great trenches seemed to have been dug out of the ground at random, criss-crossing for as far as I could see. A building or two had fallen down not too far away, and great clouds of smoke filled the atmosphere. It looked like a scene from a sci-fi movie... except that wasn't the worst of it.
A closer look showed that the great gashing in the face of the earth hadn't been dug - it was as if the ground had simply been ripped apart. Dead bodies littered the torn ground, some dead from the fall of buildings and such, others so hideously mutilated that I couldn't comprehend how it was even possible, let alone how it had been done. I drew in a deep, shuddering breath, then returned to my observation. The smoke was clearing now, and I could see movement, no more than vague silhouettes drifting through the fog. Then, as a patch of the smoke began to clear, I saw what was out there.
It was huge. Maybe as much as seven feet tall, it was covered from head to toe in purple scales, with purple horns upon it's head. It had blood red hair, which could only be called a mane, and the claws on its hands and feet were all six inches long and the same colour as it's hair. It turned then, and I caught a small glimpse of it's face before I had to dive away from the window and curl up on the sofa with my fist jammed into my mouth. I lay there trembling, unable to remove my fist from between my teeth. I heard Charz and Sarah calling my name, heard and felt them rush across the room to my side, but I couldn't respond. Even when I felt Alex's hands lift me away, felt him cradle me in his arms, I couldn't respond. Alex held me to his chest, stroking my hair and kissing my face; I heard his voice, but my mind made no sense of his words. I was sunk too deep in horror to react to anything; too afraid to move. I knew that the moment I removed my fist from my mouth, the bloodcurdling scream that I was attempting to choke down would alert that creature to our presence.
It wasn't the sight of the world torn apart that scared me; it wasn't seeing such a hideous creature, beyond the depths of my imagination, with such vivid clarity. No, it was the face of the monster that most terrified me; for it's face was human. It had the features of a man, and the eyes too. It's eyes were bright yellow, but that made no difference - they were still the eyes of a man, in the face of a man, on the body of a hideous monster beyond human comprehension. I sat there shaking for I don't know how long, with Alex's hands drifting lightly over me, his kisses landing on random places on my face and neck. It was that which finally brought me back from the brink of insanity. His kisses began to burn through my skin, slower than normal, not as hot, but they burned nonetheless. The rational part of my brain suddenly returned, and in a moment of clarity, I realised the pain I must be putting him through; as I realised this, the pain echoed through me like a punch to the gut. Suddenly, everything came flooding at me all at once. I was aware of Charz knelt on the floor beside Alex, who held me tight against him; Spike was hovering somewhat behind them, worry emanating from him like a miasma; Speedy sat beside Alex, still in quite a state, but I could feel his hand on my shoulder. I slowly opened my eyes, and I heard a gasp from beside me - Charz, naturally, knew when I opened my eyes. I lifted my head slightly, and tried to pry my fist from my mouth. Alex gasped and crushed me to him, knocking my fist away from my face. I rested my head on his shoulder, clinging to him tightly, and started to cry. I heard a sigh of relief from Spikes general direction, and Speedy's hand dropped from my shoulder. After about ten minutes or so, I'd cried myself out. I sat up, wiped my nose on my sweatband, and looked at Alex. He kissed my lips softly, then looked searchingly into my eyes.
"Are you OK?" he asked, looking very stressed. I nodded, then looked around. Charz and Spike were watching me, their expressions relieved. Sarah was stood by the window, peering out from behind the curtain. "I'm fine," I murmured, turning back to Alex. "I'm sorry." I felt terribly guilty for the worry I'd caused them all - and the pain I'd caused Alex.
"Don't be sorry, baby, it's fine," he said, rubbing my back soothingly. I smiled slightly, then shuddered as I remembered the face of the monster. Now that I was over the initial shock and horror, I found that I could recall the creature's face with only mild horror. Alex's arms tightened around me, pulling me, impossibly, closer.
"Jane..." Spike began, looking at me cautiously. I turned my head to look at him questioningly. He took a breath, then said: "Are you OK to tell us what you saw?" I felt Alex tense beneath me, and I sensed a sudden protectiveness coming from him. I turned back to see him eyeing Spike warily, as if trying to work out what he was doing. I kissed his cheek softly, smiled, then turned back to Spike.
"The ground's been ripped to fuck. At first it looked like someone had gone a bit crazy and dug loads of trenches all over the city... but it's not been dug, it's been torn. There was smoke everywhere... Dead, mutilated bodies everywhere. Then the smoke cleared slightly..." I trailed off, reluctant to go on. Spike nodded, and I realised that he already knew this - Pete was at the window, and had probably been giving reports. I drew in a deep breath, then continued. "There's something out there. It's big - maybe seven feet tall. Purple scales, red hair and nails, horns on its head..." I felt my throat tighten, and I began to feel sick again. "Speedy, can you get me some water please?" I asked. He got up and returned a moment later, sat down, and handed me a glass of water. I drank it slowly, then turned back to Spike, who was waiting impatiently.
"Its face however," I continued, "is human. It has the features of a man, and yellow eyes, but they're human too. That's why I was in such a state just now..." I trailed off once more, and buried my face in Alex's shoulder.
"Whatever it was," came Sarah's voice from near the window, "it's gone now. Nothings moving out there." I didn't respond, I simply shut my eyes, and breathed.
We left after it had grown dark. Sarah, Charz and Spike sat in the back of the van, while me and Speedy sat in the front with Alex. It was difficult, driving through streets littered with holes and trenches, but we finally made it through. We went to my house first, as Alex knew where that was. As we pulled up, I knew that there was no hope of any of my family being alive. The door had been torn away, and lay a few feet from the house. It was silent, eerie. I shoved Speedy out of the van, then climbed out. As I began to walk toward the door, I felt Alex follow me.
We cautiously entered the house, tensed to run at the first sign of danger. As we slowly edged into the front room, there was a noise behind us - I spun around, grabbing Alex's arm. Speedy was stood in the doorway, looking at us. I swore.
"Speedy, what the hell do you think you're doing?" I demanded, glaring at him. He looked confused.
"I'm coming with you, obviously. I'm not letting the two of you come in here alone, what if there's any of those creatures in here?"
I glanced at Alex, who was looking daggers at Speedy. I sighed.
"Fine, but stay out of my way." I moved through the front room, my eyes glued to the kitchen door - I couldn't take the chance of perhaps seeing my family lying dead. I moved quickly throughout the house, my mind brutally efficient. In the kitchen, I picked up as many sharp knives as I could find, handing them all to Speedy. I picked up some food - chocolate, crisps, bread and such - and two bottles of fizzy drink. I handed these to Alex, then, not pausing to think nor to explore, I warily made my way upstairs, into my bedroom. It lay undisturbed, as I had left it that morning. I searched out a couple of bags, then proceeded to pack away some things. My combat pants, skinny jeans, and my Gothic dress went in my bag, followed by half a dozen tops and a load of underwear. I then grabbed more essentials - they went into the bag on top of my clothes, followed by a couple of hairbrushes and some hairbands. I did up that bag with some difficulty, then I began to gather up less important things - books, papers, a couple of folders. Alex and Speedy eyed me curiously the whole time, but I payed no attention to them. Finally, after I had gathered up everything i could, we returned downstairs to the waiting van...



By Jane Bell.
Aided And Abetted By My Boyfriend, Alex.
Feedback Much Appreciated.
xoxo