OUR SPOT // SkepHalo

Chapter 29

Warning: Death, gore, strong language, blood, mention of death

     As the sun dipped below the horizon, the world seemed to fall silent. No birds chirped, no waves crashed, not even the sound of distant laughter could be heard. The peace was calm at best, unsettling at worst. But it would not last. As the expression goes...

     It was simply the calm before the storm.

     With one look over his shoulder, a certain strawberry blonde could see the flickering of dozens of torches coming over the hill, and he smiled. Shotgun stepped up next to him, a determined look on his face.

     " Tonight is the night," the blonde started. He glanced down at the sword in his hands. His last gift from Hanna. " The night that we avenge everyone who has fallen for our cause."

     Shotgun remained silent, nodding only to show he was listening. A smile rose to Techno's face.

     " Let's begin."

~~~~

     It was half past midnight when the screaming reached the brunette's room. Darryl sat up straight in bed, throwing the covers off and rushing down the hall. The first room he checked was his mother's, and while she was startled, she appeared fine. Next, he ran to his brother's.

     The King was surrounded by armed guards and was putting his royal garments on. Darryl panted out, " What's going on?!"

     King James turned on his heel, surprised. He let out a sigh of relief at the sight of his little brother. " My guards say we're under attack. I'm safe, please evacuate!"

     Another scream sounded down the hall, and Darryl took off running, ignoring his brother's calls after him. He took a sharp turn into a servant's hallway. Surely the invaders would disregard the servants, right? He didn't know, but he had to check for himself.

     The brunette was horrified to hear the screams getting louder.

     When he came to the main servant's hallway, he was almost swept away by the flood of people scrambling to get away. When the smell of fire reached his nose, Darryl felt his first bit of hesitation. Who was down there, causing that fire to burn? How many of them were there? Were they armed? Were people dying? Most of all, whose bodies would he recognize?

     As he pushed through the crowd, fighting against the current, he began to see the first signs of the fire. The further into the crowd he pushed, he noticed more people had burn marks, or sword slashes. They were bleeding, wounded, dying. How long had this been going on before it reached his ears? How long had this fire roared before the royals heard it from their soft beds?!

     Finally, he saw the flames, felt the heat, and his heart fell to the floor when he saw the source.

     The kitchen.

     Darryl ran through the smoke, and a figure came into focus. He held a cloth to his mouth, the smoke starting to become overwhelming the closer the figure came to him. Eventually, his vision cleared, and he saw Tess' soot covered face. The older chef had another man over his shoulder, one who'd obviously passed out. He tried to say something, but all that came out was coughing.

     He nodded to the younger man, before continuing through the smoke. Darryl watched him disappear, and prayed he'd be okay. When he pushed into the kitchen, he saw his work station in the tainted golden light of the fire. He'd been there only hours before, making pastries for his brother as he did every night.

     The heat became more intense with each step he took. Darryl couldn't force himself to go any further, and had to turn back. One thing didn't click, however. Where were the invaders that had lit this fire?