The Darkness Within

The long black cloud descended, darkness roiled and drifted… Olver stared up at the infinite night sky; innumerable shining stars pierced through the bleak, unfathomable dark. The bite of winter’s first real frost lay heavy in the air. He looked down, confused; he had been here before, this moment… With a spark of realization Olver span around and ran, sprinting as fast as he could. The farmhouse came into view, a commotion from within. As hard as he tried to reach it, it seemed the farmhouse was pulling away, further from him, into the darkness. If he could just reach them in time! “NO!” he growled with frustration as he pushed harder, faster, his muscles burning from the exertion. A wolf howled in the distance; a lonely, dispassionate call, and the farmhouse burst into flames that exploded, angry and wild into the night. Olver ran to the door and prised it open. The flames consumed him, wavering wildly, burning into him and taking form; demons and beasts in the shimmering heat haze. His flesh crackled and burned but the real pain came from what he saw before him… Rhoana lay there, consumed by flame and fire and Alan and Heather Goatwillow… other faces, all those he had known and cared for, now dead, cruelly torn and charred… He was to blame. He alone had brought this fate upon those he cared for. Something stirred from within; a cruel, mocking voice taunted him, the words unclear… “Wake up!” He fell to his knees, surrounded by the flames. Consumed by his guilt and shame, he closed his eyes…