[ featured on @beyondsol and @undiscoveredbooks, a youngblood awards 2018 winner ]
In a world divided in two and dominated by lies and truths beyond one's imagination, will peace ever prevail?
The impending war between Solars and Darks threatens the...
We just bumped into the group when another strange-looking Solar who introduced himself as Luke shows up.
With eyes dark as the night sky and hair to match, he doesn't look like a Solar. His clothes are pristine and his posture is almost too straight, along with the tension so evidently present in the way the muscles in his jaw is tightened.
As Luna- one of the girls in the group- introduces herself, I feel the weight of his gaze settle on me, like an anchor slowly sinking through the depths of an ocean.
As I level my gaze to meet his eyes, he instantly glances away and I notice a deep red shade across his cheeks. Deciding that he must be a shy Solar, I choose to ignore the way he looks away from me so speedily.
"We'll have to talk later. When this new guy isn't around." Another one of the Solars, a guy named Alex, says.
If Luke seems bothered by this, he doesn't show it. The group of us make our way forward with Alex leading the way. They chat in low voices but don't bring up anything that pertains to the blackout or the crack.
It has been minutes into our journey when a howl slices through the night. The blood stops pumping through my veins when I realise how close the noise is.
Leading the pack, Alex makes a hundred and eighty and it feels like time is being suspended. Our breaths don't come and none of us dare to move an inch except for Alex whose mouth fall open.
In one hiss, he is able to tell me all i need to know.
"No one move."
A chill races down the curve of my spine as I fight to tear my gaze towards what stands behind me. Still, my body is motionless even as the urge almost ruptures my body.
There's more coming. I can hear it- the heavy sound of feet, trampling along the ground without a care, the sound of panting that can only have one conclusion- the creatures are hungry. Very hungry.
"Get out your weapons. Now!" Daniel's voice rings out and the Solars turn into a smudy blur of movement as they whip their weapons out of their tool bags, each swift gesture not taken for granted. With lightning speed, Daniel slaps a knife into my hand. With a short handle and a wicked looking curve with metal that screams under the dim light, I am almost afraid to hold it.
My fingers shake as I grasp the handle nervously, tilting the blade to allow the light to catch on the surface, hoping that it looks more dangerous that way.
Five. They surround us, slowly moving in a clockwise orientation. With long, dark bodies and eyes hollowed out in their skulls, it is a sight that steals the oxygen from my lungs and plants fear in the edge of my mind.
Their limbs are attached to their bodies, equipped with sharp talons that curve at the end. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I try not to wonder how it would feel like to have those razor sharp claws digging into my chest and dragging across my skin.
"When I count to three, we attack. If we concentrate on the strongest ones, we'll be fine." Alex's voice is low and full of power. There is no inkling of fear in his tone which only makes me shake harder, causing molecules of anxiety to collide in my body.
I have never used a blade before. Not to attack, anyway. I've been trained to use it to make meals but chopping vegetables is where my ability of handling the object stops.
In a situation like this, though, I have no choice but to use it in a way I have never been taught to use before.
"Three."
"Two."
"One, attack!"
Around me, the Solar jump into action. Moving at the speed of light, they pounce towards the night predators and swing their weapons at them readily. Moving like fluid, Daniel leaps towards his predator and jabs his long knife in the direction of the creature. It ducks out of the way just in time and propels itself towards Daniel, claws outstretched and ready to rip him to pieces.
Daniel yells out, in what I think is excitement as he bounces to the side, almost as if in a dance of his own. He gives the knife another swing and it cuts through the air, creating a swishing noise before the blade finds purchase along the predator's body.
The spray of blood showers across his figure and he wipes it away calmly, unconcerned. The predator, groaning as the wound starts to extend across its skin, struggles to stay steady on its feet.
Deciding to take advantage of the predator's distracted state, I dive in and head for the kill. The knife in my hand penetrates the thick body as I throw my body against the predator, feeling my breaths mauled from my chest by the impact.
"Steady there!" Daniel hollers as the predator wriggles under the weight of my body. Its talons are too close to my face but it lacks the energy to push them close enough to my skin. The blood that ozzes from the knife I shoved into its body is begining to trickle along my clothes and arm but I leave the weapon there and refuse to remove my hold on it. I have seen Solars die just because they thought they got the last action in and I'm not going to be another case.
Daniel slides into the scene. As his knife is being dreged across the predator's skin, drawing blood, I try not to feel disgusted by the way the red liquid trails down its body and coats the fabric of my clothes.
"Deeper." The effort in trying to escape my clutches is slowly dwindling but it's not entirely gone. Shoving his knife deeper, Daniel gives a cheer of satisfaction when the predator's body thuds to the ground limply, the energy in suspending its body a few inches from the ground now absent.
I remove my knife from the predator's body and get onto my feet, swiping at the blood that lines my sleeve in disguist. Looking around me, the rest of the Solars have also suceeded in killing their target predators. In fact, they look unharmed and untouched. The only signs that would reveal the fight is the dust that clings against their skin and the look of excitement, the way their eyes are round with the thrill of a hunt.
I can hear the blood pumping loudly, ringing out in my ears and the adrenaline that is still rushing through my body.
"Hey, you're hurt." My attention is captured by the voice that trills from the side- Luna's voice. As I look to who she has her gaze on, my mouth falls open.
Luke is bleeding and the blood that is slowly seeping from his wound is jet black. Darks' blood black.
Luke is a liar.
Luke is a Dark.
Word Count: 1189 Words
A/N: This was rushed and not my best chapter. Don't be scared to leave a comment! Every vote, comment and share is appreciated! (:
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