Light in the Darkness (English)

Chapter 2

"I'm not afraid, and I don't find it frightening. It's just that Adam forbade us from leaving the house without him..."

"Adam is here? The note on the door says otherwise," he pointed to the message on the door.

"Yes, but..."

"He won't find out from anyone. So, are you coming or not?" he asked with a questioning look.

He's right. He won't find out, and I really want to be outside, even if it's just for a short while. I don't even mind going with Alex.

"I'm coming, but wait a minute!" I said, and without waiting for his response, I ran up to my room. I quickly put on the first black hoodie I found, grabbed my bow and quiver with a few arrows, and took a couple of knives as well. Then I returned to the boy.

I had all the essential gear I needed. I was ready to go out.

"You're not afraid, but you've armed yourself as if you were going hunting," he remarked with a grin.

"I'm just being cautious."

"If you say so. Shall we go?"

"Don't you need a weapon?"

"We're not going far, just in front of the house. Yesterday, my silver cross fell off somewhere. I know it's around here because it was still on me before you opened the door. The two of us will find it faster, so I asked you to come with me. Look for a silver cross," he explained.

"Alright."

Alex opened the door and stepped outside. I followed him and then closed the door behind me.

I turned around and found Alex a little farther away already. He didn't look around or wait for anything.

"Are you going to stand there all day?" he asked. I shook my head and started walking towards him. The soft, cool breeze blew a few strands of brown hair onto my face.

I had missed this feeling so much!

Alex still had his eyes on me, with a faint smile on his face.

"I never thought I'd see someone so happy in the outdoors, especially in this new world. There's chaos, monsters roaming everywhere, no color in the world, just a mild darkness all day, fog everywhere, and in the evening, the usual pitch-black. But your eyes shine as if you've just entered a palace, as if your new life is beginning with a prince in that palace," he said.

"I don't want to live in a palace with a prince."

"I thought so. Sarah once read a story like that, and that's exactly how I pictured the girl, the way you look now. That's why I said it. But seriously, you should see your face."

"It's been a long time since I've been outside," I replied with a smile.

I didn't regret coming out with him. I just wish Daniel were with me.

"Let's find that cross." - said Alex.

I went a bit farther from the house and then crouched down. I touched the grass with my hand. It must have been an interesting sight, but luckily Alex wasn't paying attention to me. I always loved being outdoors, admiring nature, and for me, it felt like a punishment not to be able to go outside. Even before the Darkness, Chris and I used to go hiking, cycling, and we ran through the wheat fields together. When he stayed over at my place we gazed at the stars under the night sky together.

During the past three years, Daniel and I engaged in similar activities until he was bitten by that Dark One. There's a nearby lake where Adam sometimes escorted us. The memories vanished in an instant as something glimmered in the grass. It was the silver cross.