The Shadow Army - A Horror Story

Chapter 15 - The Final Chapter

Together, they walked up the stairs and out onto the balcony. They opened their eyes properly and squinted - they were so used to sitting in darkness - taking in all the beauty of the morning sky. Noises from behind made them turn around. They were standing high up with the clouds and the balcony was creaking. “We’ve survived all that, one weak and wobbly balcony is not going to kill us!” said Lucy, joking. But footsteps coming towards them made them hold on tighter.

“Blue... is that you?” Lucy asked, disbelieving. Blue smiled and walked out onto the balcony next to them. They hugged tightly, taking comfort in each other’s warm bodies. Tears fell, sliding down their worn out faces and landing on the steel, rolling down the railings and falling without a sound on the warming pavement below.

“What did you do with her body?” Grace finally asked.

“She’s getting the funeral she deserved,” said Blue, trying not to cry. It had been a hard day, but watching the world from this view put it in a new perspective. The world was huge, and buildings stretched out for miles, and then there was trees and animals and then after that, the sea, and then more land and buildings and people - hundreds and thousands and millions of people out there. It seemed to go on forever. Their day was over, now. The world was bathed in a soft pink light. Blue smiled.

There were shouts from inside the ice rink. People had been coming in for half an hour with stretchers and bandages, before they realised no one was hurt. Then they just came in to satisfy the curiosity. They had seen the frantic internet posts and were interested in the mysterious happenings in the rink. Parents came too, but they soon realised that their children weren’t coming back. Molly’s mum broke down on the stairs, her sobs filling the stadium. There was a heavy atmosphere and everyone could feel it. 

Blue, Lucy and Grace had been discovered, and they were swamped with people asking what had happened and how they had survived. Grace and Lucy were pulled into tight cuddles by their parents. Blue looked around for her dad. There he was, striding up to her. He put his arm around her and they walked back inside to her mum, who surrounded her with kisses. Blue slid out her grasp, and assembled the parents who had lost someone. She led them upstairs, with Grace guiding them to the off-ice room. Slowly, she pushed open the door and they were dazzled by rainbows. It was beauty, and it took their breath away. The glass shimmered and flashed colours around, deep reds and greens and light pinks and blues. Now, the darkness had been truly lifted from the ice rink and they could all feel it, because if something beautiful like this could exist in a place where death and shadows and demons had plagued the children, there was hope for all of them.