Remains Of An Age: The Age Of Darkness

Prologue

Chaos.

Utter chaos filled the halls. People ran through the stone corridors in a panic. Something was coming. In amongst the scattering rubble and hurried masses a young boy and girl, aged 11 and 10 respectively, weaved through the gauntlet, hand in hand.

"If they can't find you, they can't take you." the boy said with a sudden epiphany.

The raven haired boy led his friend to his secret area where he always hid from his father.

Tears streamed from the young girl's emerald green eyes as they hurried into the hideaway and shut the trap door.

"What's happening?" the girl asked as she pulled her auburn hair back out of her face.

"I don't know..." the boy replied as he lit a candle for light. " but I won't let them take you."

She leaned toward him for a hug, his sapphire blue eyes reflecting the flickering light from the candle, but he stopped her.

"What's wrong?" She was confused.

"As long as I'm alive... I promise I won't ever let anyone or anything  hurt you. No matter what happens "

A smile finally crossed her face and she giggled through her fear as she threw her arms around his neck.

There was no time for any other reply. The trap door of the hideaway swung open suddenly.

"Here they are!" An woman's voice called out.

"Thank god." A male response came.

"No!" the boy protested." You can't take her!"

"Quiet, boy." a third man sternly directed as he roughly grabbed the boy's shoulders.

The young friends tightened their grip on each other as the adults struggled to pull them apart, tears streaming down both of their faces.

Finally, when the children were seprated, the woman picked the girl up.

"There isn't much time, Nathaniel." She commented in a quick, worried tone.

"Agreed, we have to go now, they're coming." the man named Nathaniel replied.

The children both called out to each other in panic as the three adults took them in different directions. Nathaniel and the woman ran up to an empty frame on a wall. The pair placed their hand on each side of the frame and a silver. shimmering light began to radiate from the center. A filmy, shadowy outline of a person could be seen through the shimmering light.

"Where are you taking me?" the girl asked frantically.

"Someplace safe." The woman softly replied.

Two arms reached through the filmy silver toward the girl as a rumbling sound began.

The woman kissed the girl on her forehead, one last time before handing her over to the unknown person outlined in the mist.

The boy, across the room, pulled and wriggled as hard as he could to get to his friend before she was gone. His screams of emotional anguish echoed through the girl's ears as she crossed the threshold of the shimmering light.

"Goodbye, my baby. " the woman whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek.

The silver veil began to close in on itself slowly as the girl called out one last time to her friend.

The wall behind the three adults and her friend suddenly collapsed, ushering in a horde of armor clad warriors.

Then, the veil closed and darkness was all she could see. The girl beat on the cold, stone wall in front of her, in vain.

Suddenly, Kara woke with a start, sweating and crying. She looked around her bedroom, finally waking up.

Her fiancee, Dante, picked his head up from his pillow, woken by Kara's movements.

"That dream again?" he asked, still half asleep.

"Yeah." she sighed as she attempted to lay back down, but a wave of nausea flooded over her. She leapt out of bed, ran across the hall to the bathroom, and threw up.