The Sixth Element

Chapter One

*

An unearthly silence had fallen upon the barren wasteland. An echoing of nothingness. Not a single beating heart could be heard.

Time itself seemed to stand eerily still, as if watching. Waiting.

Darkness had fallen over the land quite suddenly. The previous setting sun had displayed a brilliant pink and serene sky, a beautiful gradient of red, pink and golden yellow, but very shortly after, it was as if every glimpse of light and colour had been stolen away as dark clouds rolled in quite abruptly and grew larger still overhead. Now, a blanket of mimicking blackness scattered vigorously over the sky. Only, this night sky held no stars, not even the usual company of the ever-shining, silver moon. It remained empty.

Just as the vast blackness had set, all forms of life within the empty and dry desert seemed to have vanished almost instantly. The instinct of the animals picked up on the sudden dramatic change in the atmosphere. The common prowling of wild animals, such as the grey wolves, the black bears, and even the snakes and rats, were non-existent. The customary noise of nature had been silenced completely. Any movement from the wind, or even the trees that accompanied the surrounding grassland, seemed to have promptly halted. You could feel the tension in the air as the entire land appeared to have fallen into an un-natural stillness, playing a deathly waiting game. You could sense it. They were all waiting, for something unearthly was about to occur. It was the calm before the storm.

In between all the sedimentary rocks and pine trees stood a magnificent sight. A large, looming rock in the shape of a dome-shaped tower rose from the ground like a mountain. The summit, however, was flat, the base reaching over 1,200ft and the height peaking at 5,100ft. The layers of rock in the tower itself was eroded, but it created patterns that ran down the sides like faint yet deep marks of trickling water.

A sight that would have looked resplendent and grand any other time, came across as alarmingly menacing and intimidating in the tone of the black out caused by the darkness that fell over the land. Even with the gloom and the stillness that had befallen the scenery, a small movement of a shadow, not one of a physical form however, seemed to move ever so slightly. Closer still to the tower, every now and again, here and there, something not quite visible to the naked eye, seemed to stir. Gradually, as one disturbance was caused, many more came.

Like a flock of black birds, what could only be described as heavy black smoke, fell from the sky like a spray of comets. Each landed lightly onto the tower, positoning themselves in place and order. The sight, however, would have been enough to frighten most as from what seemed to have been smoke, darker than the night, took onto forms. Recognisable human forms. Not one, nor two, but in the hundreds. Like tendrils striking out from the eye of a spinning hurricane, descending at the speed of light, they fell in their tens, twenties, thirties, and landed smoothly on the base of the tower. No noise came from their landing, not a single thud, but the disturbance in the previous stillness would have been enough to capture attention. Curiously, they had formed a perfect circle around the summit, surrounding what seemed to be a lone figure of a man.

Each form that had slowly appeared from the smoke seemed to be heavily cloaked and hooded in one way or another. With the help of the setting darkness, the features of their faces were left unrecognizable and somewhat invisible, making them seem all the more mysterious and dangerous. Something seemed to radiate from them, adding to the aura that now surrounded the tower like a heavy, suffocating fog. It had switched into something very threatening and serpentine.

The lone figure stood tall and sturdy in the middle of the daunting and watchful circle. He rose a single arm in the air, a slight gesture as the last of the human form had appeared. Yet again, complete stillness fell upon the land. Only this time, it was one that came with a shrill cry of something unearthly.