The Long Night (II)

"Kay!"

A voice sounded out, screaming in the void of my subconscious.

"Kay!"

It yelled once again.

Who was that?

A- a man's voice… Why? Wait… No...

D-dad? Is that you? I called back. Dad, I… I'm sor...

"Kay, come on! Get up!"

My eyes shot open, heart pounding. Kal, the fisherman, stood above my bed, shaking me awake. His normally charming expression was now whittled down into despair. Dark rings circled his eyes.

I lay, staring up at him, mouth agape. What the hell was he doing in my room?

"Kay," he said again, releasing my arms. He moved over to the window, squeezed against the wall, and glanced outward. From outside a dulled bustle of commotion emanated through the walls. "We need to go. Right. Now."

I pushed myself up out of bed, grabbed a shirt from the floor, and asked: "What's going on, Kal? Where's Ada?"

Kal glanced at me and grimaced. "Ada is safe. She's at my place," he said. "When… when this all started she ran straight there."

I shook my head and stepped over to Kal's side. "What's going on, Kal?" I repeated.

Kal swallowed hard, his jittering frame a mess of nerves. The shirt he wore was soaked in sweat and dirt. A splattered streak of red stained the fabric of his chest. "I don't know," he said, hurriedly. "Kay, we need to go. Right. Now. It's a crazy town, a bloody crazy town. J-just look! Damn it, people are killing each other out there!"

I jumped to the other side of the window, back pressed up against the wall, and peeped out into the darkness.

My stomach became ice and my body seized.

Flames, like a raging bonfire, licked the sky beyond the neighboring row of houses. The void above was lit in a pulsing orange glow.

It looked like hell. It sounded like hell.

Pushed against the window, the cries of terror and screams of desperation rang out all the more clear.

I stepped away, pale and cold.

"Ada… left me here?" I said. My body felt heavy. The sickness in my stomach twisted and churned. "What- What's going on out there?"

Kal grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me. "Kay, we need to leave. Now!"

I pushed his hands off me, stepping back. Within my heart, fear and shock intermingled. My bewilderment deepened. The confusion sent my head spinning. And, in the seething waves of uncertainty, a torrent of rage pooled and whirled. I snapped, "tell me what the -fuck- is going on, Kal!"

Kal buckled at the waist and held his head in his hands. "Oh God," he moaned as he shook. Laughter escaped his lips. I stepped back again. An unpredictable man was a dangerous man.

Taking a deep breath, Kal straightened himself, though his eyes remained wild, dancing from left to right. He took a step towards me. "You're not listening, Kay! Leave with me now, or I'm leaving without you!"

I stepped forward, fists balled. I wasn't so weak anymore. "I'm not taking one step outside until you tell me why you have goddamn blood on your shirt, and the goddamn village is on fi-"

Kal struck me, slapping me hard across the cheek.

Silence followed. I stood, dumbfounded, with my face burning and rage brewing; a surge of adrenaline simmering below the surface. Before I had a chance to react, Kal grabbed me once more by the shoulders.

"Please," he begged, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Kay, please. If you want to live, we need to go, now!"

.

.

.

Diving in and out of the shadowy crevices of alleys and nooks, Kal and I moved through the streets. The Boundary Coast trembled with violence. Screams and conflict echoed around. After traversing across a half-dozen streets, we came to a stop behind a pile of crates. Despite the chaos, there were few others out in the open. I noticed only the occasional person fleeing towards the outskirts.

Where we should be going, I thought.

"My house isn't far. Over by Lord Trigg's, near the shoreline," Kal whispered, his breathing hoarse. "But…"

He trailed off. I looked at him, eyebrow raised. "But, what?"

"It's more dangerous near the centre of town," he said. Kal gestured to the bloodstain on his shirt. "I- I didn't kill anyone, Kay. But it's not… It's not my blood. You need to trust me when I say it's dangerous."

I pursed my lips and nodded. My hands moved to my waist and I pictured the channeling rod that was hidden beneath a floorboard in the home. A recess that lay empty when I checked.

Before she left, Ada must have snatched it up. Snatched it up and left me to die, I thought.

My eye twitched.

"I'll be careful," I said. "What's the plan when we get there?"

Kal, eyes darting from shadow to shadow from behind the crate, said with a quiver in his voice: "We hold out there, obviously. Adamina brought with her the channeling rod. We'll be safe if we just hold out there until the royal army comes."

I narrowed my eyes at him. Something was wrong. "Hold out against what, exactly? And how do we know they're coming?"

"Th-they'll come," Kal said, nodding to himself. "They have to. It's their job."

Whatever's happening out there, I thought, has broken this young man. Christ! With the town in chaos like this, being rash will get us killed. I can't let his inexperience and his fragile psyche lead us to doom.

I clenched my teeth, seeing red.

But, first thing's first: the channeling rod.

"We should move," I said.

Kal swallowed and looked at me. Every ounce of his baby-blue stare screamed out for help. "O-okay, follow me."

Crouched low, we stepped out from behind the cover of the crates and moved out onto the next street. Viktor's villa was another two streets away, and Kal's home would be the next over from that. As tempting as it would be to try and rendezvous with Viktor and Mai, it'd likely be a hotspot for activity. People would be gathering at the villa, crying for help. Desperate for the lord of the town to save them.

Channeling rod first, I reminded myself. Then search for Viktor and Crock. Surround myself with the strong. Maximize my chances.

"Shh!" Kal hissed, pressing himself against the wall of a building. I stepped up behind him, our bodies shrouded in shadows. I leaned out slightly, looking past the fisherman.

A collection of people were gathered together. With pitchforks and hoes and shovels in hand, they howled and bellowed, screaming at an unseen foe. Rocks were thrown. Children in the crowd hid behind their parents, crying. A woman on her knees begged a man at the head of the group to stop.

I tried to lean forward a little more but Kal's hand shot up and pushed me back.

I glanced at him. He shook his head, mouthing 'no', and motioned for us to move away. Quietly, we shuffled through the shadows and found ourselves back on the street we were just on.

"We'll go around," he said. "Too dangerous out there."

"What the hell is going on, Kal. You haven't said a word!" I snapped.

"Because I don't know what in the devil's arse is going on! You get it, Kay? I don't know. All I know is that I've seen people tearing each other apart, stabbing each other, smacking each other over the heads," Kay hissed, exasperated. "I even saw someone eating someone, I swear on the Star of the Ocean, Kay. Eating someone."

I shivered, chills running down my spine. Like the churning waters on a midnight sea, my thoughts became erratic and disjointed. Unsafe.

Trembling, I brought my hand up to my mouth and bit down hard. The pain seized my wayward thoughts, wrestling them back to reality. I needed to focus. I needed to be sharp and clear. What could this be? I thought. This world isn't Heaven, but it's not exactly hell. I need to assume I was brought here for some reason. But… Why? And… Why me?

"If this," I started, "is what I think this is, then we need to make it to your house as fast as we can-"

"Yes!" Kal interjected. "I agre-"

"Don't interrupt!" I snapped. Boisterous young man, relax and listen. "What I was saying is that we need to get to your house as fast as we can, and then get the hell out of this town."

"Leave?" Kal asked, head cocked to the side. His voice shook. "Why would we leave?"

"Because," I started, and then stopped. Something caught my eye in the distance. The shape of a woman shuffled out from her home and onto the street. Even obscured by night, I could tell something was off. My blood went cold.

"I'm certain, now," I continued. "It's here in the Boundary Coast."

The woman groaned, limping towards us. Her mouth lay agape, her eyes white and lifeless. Small tendrils pierced her neck, wrangling and flailing out of the flesh. I readied myself, knees bent, back arched. Finally, I looked over to a shivering Kal. "It's the swarm," I said. "It's here."