Eternal Darkness (The Cimmerian Cycle #1)

Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Koran was sitting underneath a large tree by himself. He saw no point in trying to find the others. Something told him that they would find their way to him. That fog had come up so unexpectedly and he had been unable to control the way he acted. That shadow of a person had been so tempting, he just had to find out who they were. Things quite literally went downhill from there.

He had found himself in a clearing where the fog just seemed not to reach. Noises had echoed all around him. Thinking that he was going to be attacked he unsheathed his knife. What happened next made him drop the blade to the ground. His parents had both walked out of the fog from either side of him. Koran backed up, moving away. He couldn’t really be seeing them. He was in a valley in the mountains, miles away from his village.

“Mum?” he croaked, “Dad?”

They both stared at him with identically unblinking eyes. Then they both spoke at the same time.

“You betrayed us,” the said together, “You left us.”

Koran’s heart beat began to speed up, “No.”

He tried to step further back away from them but he found a boulder at his back.

“You killed our daughter, your sister,” they said in unison. There was a ghostly edge to their voices.

“No,” he said louder, but the man and woman came closer.

They were both dressed in their work clothes and the fabric rustled loudly as they walked. Koran tried to avoid looking at them directly but he couldn’t help but take a peak. He gave a gasp. Both of their eyes where solid black. ‘This isn’t real’ he told himself, ‘I’m just dreaming.’ He pinched his arm hard and closed his eyes.

“You have disappointed us,” they said.

Koran’s eyes flew open and his face went pale. They were still coming towards him. It was not a dream.

“I- I didn’t mean to. . .”

“You are a failure,” the man and woman said in perfect harmony, cutting him off.

They were only a metre or so away.

“I- I’m sorry,” he said looking down at his feet. Those eyes were too creepy.

“You haunted us,” their lips moved in sync, “we thought you were dead.”

Tears began to pour down his young face. Why did this have to be brought up again?

“We can’t love you.”

    Koran slid a bit down the boulder behind him, “I. . .”

“We waited and waited but you didn’t come back.”

“No!” he said loudly slipping more.

“You are an embarrassment to the family. You are not fit to lead, much less to live.”

Something sparked inside him at those words. What did they know about his leadership skills? He had held his friends together while they were hopelessly lost. He kept them alive. Koran straightened up.

“NO!” there was fire behind his voice now.

“You don’t deserve a painless death, you. . .”

Koran cut them off, “You don’t know anything! Shut up!”

“We know that you are a failure. . .”

“I said to shut up! I’ve done ten times more than you have ever done. Who went into the forest for food? Who looked after their friends? Who became a leader? Me! That’s who…” his voice drifted off as he realised what he was saying. Why and how had he let these ghosts of his parents torture him? How?