SCARRED; The Dark Tower

Chapter Four: Darkness

Jerrick's feet pounded against the road. He didn't care that what he was doing was rash and would likely get him killed. He needed to get to his father. He had no idea what he was going to do once he found him; all he knew was that his father was in danger.

A large cloud was making its way across the sky. It slowly drifted over the sun until the entire town was blanketed beneath a giant shadow. He felt like he had fallen into a nightmare. How could this be real?

Screams and shrieks of terror reached his ear, but he ignored them; the only thing on his mind was his father.

When he reached the center of the town, flames surrounded him, towering over the roofs of the buildings like thousands of fingers devouring everything in their path.

Smoke invaded his lungs, his eyes stung and teared up, and the heat of the fire licked his arms.

There was no one around. They were either fleeing the town or were already taken by the intruders.

Through a door in the wall of flames, he saw the stables where his father was. It was not on fire... yet. He ran toward it, ignoring the flames. He lept through the opening in the fire and rolled on the ground. He felt his left arm get scorched, but he did not even look at it. He got back up to his feet and ran toward the stables.

A dark figure formed from the flames to Jerrick's right. Another stepped from the flames to the right. They both walked forward and placed themselves between Jerrick and the stables, forcing Jerrick to slide to a stop. He looked into the figure's hood.

Hopelessness. Pain. Fear. Rage. Anguish. All of this Jerrick saw beneath the hood. There was no face, just darkness.

His legs shook from beneath him. His face broke into a sweat. He forgot everything around him. All he could see was the shadow where a face should have been. He could no longer hear the crackling of fire, but instead heard only the beating of his own heart and the pounding of his aching brain.

He struggled against the darkness that threatened to shadow his heart. He felt coldness reaching for his heart. He did not know what would happen if the darkness won, but he knew he could not let it happen.

No!

All at once, the darkness receded and he was back in the burning town.  The figures were gone. He looked toward his destination, but where the stables had stood was a pillar of fire. He forced his legs to move and ran toward it

He bolted into the burning building in desperation. Through the billowing smoke, he could see the three horses still in their stalls kicking and rearing in fright. He pulled his shirt up over his mouth and struggled to keep his eyes open against the smoke. He searched the stables for his father. Unable to find him, he ran forward to save the horses.

A beam crashed down in front of him. He jumped back just in time. He leaped over it and released the horses one by one. He wasn't sure whether they would even make it out of town, but he knew that if his father were here, he would have wanted to help the horses.

His father.

Where was he?

Jerrick was just about to turn to hurry out of stables when he noticed something from the corner of his eye.

Sprawled across the floor in one of the stalls, a sack of oats spilled over him, lay his father's body.

Jerrick ran to him, his heart skipping a beat. Was he dead?

There was a loud moan from the building around him. He looked up and saw that the fire was eating through the ceiling. The whole building would collapse any minute. He struggled to pull up his father's body, putting his father's arm around his shoulder, and headed to the exit.

The building gave another loud moan, followed by a loud crash. Without looking back, he knew that the building was caving in behind him. His shoulders and back screamed in protest at every step he took toward the exit.  His lungs were sore as he struggled to breathe. His vision threathened to go black under all the pain, but he refused to pass out.

Just a few more steps...

Another crash. The building wouldn't last another minute.

Almost there...

The wall of the building on either side of the exit cracked under the strain of the collapsing beams.

In a last burst of effort, he pulled his father's body with all the strength he could muster and strained toward the exit.

Clouds of dust, a searing pain in his left leg, a throbbing pain in his head. He felt himself hit the ground. All he could see was dust. He smelled one last whiff of smoke.

Then he passed out.