Screams
It had been two weeks days since the sun had not risen. The night had fallen like it had always done, but in the morning, the sun did not awaken to shine. Then the next day, nothing, total darkness. The country side lit large bonfires and started gathering wood at alarming rates to hold out until the sun came back to greet them.
Ten would go into the woods, nine would return. Then the number decreased, villagers started to huddle in their houses staring out into the abyss hearing the growls and snarls of something unknown. The bloodbath was about to begin.
Peter sat staring out of their window looking towards the south fields. He could see a couple of torches burning out in the distance illuminating the front and windows of houses and a small village in the distance. He checked on his own flames to make sure that they were no dwindling. They whipped in the night air, soon, but not yet. His wife Jennifer sat at the dining table with their daughter Sue. Their house was only two rooms. The kitchen, dining and writing room were all the same. Then there was their bedroom. He peered back at them. Sue was only five. She wondered when the sun would come back so she could go out and play. He told her that the sun had gotten a bit ill and that it would be back soon. That the moon was watching over them for a little bit. He wished it were true. He returned to gazing outside. They were running out of food, wood, and water. A single week was left.
Far out in the distance at the top of the south fields the village of Tinshin blazed. They kept a bonfire going as long as they could, even disassembling houses and burning any wood they could get their hands on. Peter looked out at the blaze. It gave him a bit of hope, even thought he knew they would run out of wood eventually. Suddenly his hope whipped wildly. It grew larger and larger and then, the hope died. Peter jumped to his feet and leaned out the window to focus. Tinshin was dark.
The burning inferno was no longer lighting them. Then the screams started. A whole village cried out, clawed for survival with their voices. It echoed out into the dark air. He could see nothing, but he could hear it. And what his imagination brought was even more terrifying. He could see the farm houses down the hill in the fields whipping their torches around. Moving around their houses in frantic paces. The screaming continued, but the crescendo was dying off. He turned to his wife who was covering Sue’s ears.
“We have to leave” he stammered,not believing what he was saying.
Jennifer bit her lower lip and nodded in silence. She uncovered the child’s ears and led her to the bedroom. He could hear them start talking about going on a trip to meet the sun. Peter grabbed his bag and crammed as much food and supplies as he could into it. He checked his musket, and then his sword. He wasn’t the most experienced fighter, but he could handle himself decently. Jennifer and Sue came out of the room with Sue bouncing up and down ready for an adventure. Jennifer’s face was long, empty and grim. He could only imagine what his looked like. He stuffed a bunch of small torches into a bag and took the two lit torches off walls by the door. One for him, one for Jennifer and Sue would be in between their shielding lights. They stood just out side their door. Their fireplace still blazing inside. The safety, the warmth. He looked south again. The screams had stopped. He could see the houses were still lit out in the distance and the people still danced around. Probably doing the same as they were. Then they started to dim. He could feel the panic as the torches in their hands started to die out. They whipped back and form in a panic and headed back to the hearth of the house, to the fire, to safety. But even that dimmed, burst, and then went out.
The screaming started again.
“Come on” He grabbed Sues hand and pulled her into the darkness towards the woods. He hoped. He bet their lives that if they made it to the main road that they could find the royal army. Since the darkness fell, the royal army had been gathering resources and fortify the main road for farmers and small villages to get to the capital. When the woods started to get dangerous, no one dared to venture for their help. They had no choice now.
The screams had stopped a while back. The trees had dampened them when they had entered, but even with all the barriers they still pierced the ears. Now just the sound of them rustling through the brushes and dry leaves filled the air. Peter waved his torch back and forth trying to search his way, With no moon light, no stars, nothing, the blackness became claustrophobic. He could only see a couple of feet in front of him and he feared that the light would soon start dimming if the monster got closer to them. Their daughter started humming a small tune and they all joined in a nervous choir navigating the darkness. Suddenly a large cracking sound came to their left. They stopped and swung their torches in that direction. Heavy breathing and heartbeats filled Peters ears, he stepped closer in the direction of the sound. As he did he noticed his torch flicker and start to dim.
“Run!” He screamed then turned around and grabbed Sue, pulling her up into his arms. They sprinted through the forest. Thorns and branches tearing at their skin, vines tempting to trip them and feed them to the monsters. Slopes that opened up into an abyss. Then they could see something in the distance. Light. The main road. It was illuminated by sun stones they had said. Both of their torches sputtered and his went out, he tossed Sue to his wife and pull his musket from around his back. She ran towards the light her torch starting to dim at each step. She heard a musket fire ring from behind her and she clutched Sue harder. On the road it looked like a band of royal guards were passing by, now alerted by the musket shot they had turn in her direction.
She waved with her torch and screamed for help. They started to scrambled and lined up pulling their muskets at the ready. She dove in front of them and slid on her back as their muskets rang out into the darkness. They loaded and fired again. The shots illuminated the forest and the darkness just enough that her eyes caught one of the horrors that now owned the shade. It’s eyes were small round dots of pure metallic glass. Teeth large, jagged, which it looked to have multiple rows of. Tiny arms jettisoned out from it’s large round body, which was also it’s head, which sat upon four large thick legs. It smiled with it’s shark teeth at her when the light hit it. Like it knew it was only a matter of time.
Jennifer set Sue to the ground near the Guards feet, she was crying hysterically from the sound of the muskets.
“Peter!” Jennifer screamed into darkness. The guards still stood at the ready. It was silent, then rustling came from in front of them. She screamed again for her husband and then put her hands up to give what ever it was in front of them a moment before being blasted to pieces. The rustling stopped. Her eyes searched as best as they could. The light form the sun stones that sat on top of poles made it hard to see now.
The rustling got louder and Peter burst into the light hitting the ground hard and crawling to her. “Oh my god, Peter” Jennifer leapt grabbing him with trembling hands to pull him into the light. He was shaking, blood soaked his shirt and he had a large gash on his side, but he was alive. The family held each other under the line of muskets peering into the darkness that had chased them. They had escaped for now. Their screams would not be heard drowning in the night.
-
The other day I was sitting outside and listening to the sounds of everything when I heard a dog barking. It sounded very far away, but I could still hear it, even with all the noise of modern life. Now not sure why my brain thought this, but the question of “hm I wonder how far away you could of heard a scream back in the olden days when there was no traffic noise and all the other stuff that filled up our ears now a days” I needed a setting and no better one then something I have had in my mind for a while.
The story in this is actually part of a larger story I would like to write one day. I thought it would be interesting to see how humans would build civilizations if one day the planet went completely dark and that monsters lived in that darkness. How would they build differently, how would they operate differently. This story takes place just after the this even that takes away the sun happens.
In this the monsters are not in every inch of darkness, but just starting to roam around. Soon no darkness is safe.