Dark Descend

After an hour, the cave grew quiet. The Sun-Moon Jil hourglass slowly turned, its top half changing little by little, each shift a silent countdown toward midnight.

Everyone felt the change.

The air itself seemed to grow heavier with waiting, as the most terrible part of their day approach.

Some children mumbled sleepy complaints, curling up in blankets beside their brothers and sisters. While other had their hands cling to parents, friends, or older siblings. A few were already asleep, faces flushed with exhaustion. Their breathing was soft and long, the kind of sleep that came after a difficult day.

All the laughter and stories had faded away, leaving the place with the steady sound of people breathing. Many adults lay down early too, hoping to steal what rest they could before midnight came. They were worn out by travel, by worry, and the meal in their bellies.

They knew the night gave no promises to peace.

The darkness was never just sleep, it was something they had to endure. Still, they closed their eyes, hoping for a few stolen hours of peace.

But not all could sleep.

Anna stood on the edge of fire, arms hugging herself tight. She nervously tapped her elbow, over and over before glancing at the hourglass and saw moon has almost reached the top at the center. 

Louise leaned against the stone wall, staring at the shadow dancing across his boots. His hands were still, his brow creased and lost in thought for a while. Silis laid on his side, face buried in his arms, turned away from everyone with none seeing his face for over an hour. 

Selene was asleep, curled beside Lorian, both their breathing was slow and steady. If the danger of the night troubled them, then both weren't showing. Both looking as if they chose peace instead of worrying and for now it seemed to have chosen them as well.

Uro sat near the fire, his back to small bone like pillar, staring up at the curved ceiling. It was dark above, but he continued as if searching for something with his hands placed under his chin.

The rest of the adults who remained awake kept quiet, too anxious to speak or make any noise. After a bit, the top of the Sun-Moon Jil hourglass finished its change. The moon finally reached the top, and tiny stars shined bright, indicating midnight was here. 

Louise reached out and put out the fire with one practiced motion.

Suddenly the darkness was complete. The fire of warmth, comfort, and hope was gone, leaving them with only chills and dread. 

They waited.

The silence grew deeper, pressing around them. 

…

Above the dome-shelter, the Moon stood suspended.

Its light stains the bones of the Beast Graveyard in a luminous glow, making most of the bones shine and gleam beautifully. 

Then, something changed.

The moon's blurred once, its form fading with its lights dimming. 

Then the light of the moon faded away with the stars around trembling. Then from the far end of the graveyard, a wave of darkness began to rush over. The pitch-black, thick, and wide waves of darkness moved over the golden sands, closing in one the graveyard. It rushed over the hills and stones before washing over the graveyard, coiling around ancient beast skulls, bones and through cracked ribcages. 

It didn't devour them but blanketed it, covering it as if the darkness was just a bedsheet cover. Sinking across the bones like ink spilled from the sky, moving past broken horns and through hollow eye sockets.

And the Beast Graveyard was embraced once more.

…

The silence in the cave was thick. 

Riley had tried to fall sleep, forcing his eyes close as long as he could, but sleep refused to come to him. Now lying awake, he felt every sense straining in the blackness, and mind blank.

Then the voice came, as a soft whisper.

"Riley."

The voice was kind and gently. always in a kind and knowing tone. A shiver ran through Riley, as he squeezed his eyes shut and fingers gripping his clothing hard. 

"You let it happen."

His throat tightened, and he pressed his hand over his mouth while tears began slipping down his face.

"You were aware it would conclude like this. You always knew and that's why you departed early."

The words enveloped him in icy water. He shook his head fiercely with silent sobs leaking out. He desperately wanted to scream but the consequences may push him past his limit if he did. Tears flowed down his cheeks in silent streams but even as he quickly wipes them away, they kept coming again and again. His heart sped up faster while his chest felt tight as if something was squeezing it. 

The pain felt similar to the guilt he would feel whenever he was with the townsfolk, hiding it with a smile. 

…

Anna hugged her knees to her chest at the edge, leaning against the dome wall. She tried to keep her eyes open, but that was difficult. She willed herself not to cry, not to give in to the memories that waited for her behind closed eyes.

A voice slips through the darkness, soft yet heavy with accusation.

"You could have stopped the fire."

Anna's breath hitches, her muscles tense, and she felt chills ripple down her spine and arm. She leans into the stone more, hoping it will anchor her more or at the very least keep her stable.

"You stayed in the far house. The quiet and safe, far from the noise and danger."

The words echo in her mind, leading to an image appearing. Anna instantly presses her back harder against the wall, hoping for a distraction through the pain. 

"You let it happen. After they rampaged through the village and fire burned it all, you watched it all and did nothing..."

A ragged breath escapes, swallowed by the dark.

"Because that's all you do, nothing."

She remains silent, shoulders slackening as if the weight of the accusation might finally crush her into pieces.

…

Marek sat cross-legged by the last of the glowing embers, his head bowed so low his chin almost touched his chest. Since the fire went out, he hadn't looked up even once. Riah and Elia leaned against his arms, their faces buried beneath thin, shaking arms and ragged breath. 

A voice slipped into Marek's mind, so soft it might have his imagination, but the tone and words were familiar.

"The well… Do you remember well?"

Marek's leg jerked, eyes went wide, and body jerked. His trembling hands pressed harder against the cold stone, fingers splayed and desperate for something solid.

"It was my dress they found. You knew it. You knew before they pulled it from the water."

A shiver went down Marek spine as he clenched his hands. Countless Images rushed through into his mind, blue cloth, water on pale skin, and distant screams. Marek squeezed his eyes shut, grinding his teeth together, as if he buries and destroy the images by force. 

"You didn't call for help, you froze and let me go. Then you lied."

Marek whole body shook now, every part of him was filled with regret and fear. He felt himself suffocating and his chest burned with pain and panic. He wanted to scream, to return back then, and take it all back but it was impossible. After a couple seconds, he tried to open his mouth, but nothing came. Only a broken gasp escaped him, a sound too small to matter in the thick, watching darkness.

The voice faded, leaving Marek alone with the heavy, familiar weight of regret pressing down on him.

…

Not far away, one of the youngest adults Biban, sat near the ashes, legs crossed. A tiny quiver ran through his throat each time he swallowed. His finger was slowly drawing circles around his thigh. 

A new voice slid into his mind, sharp and cold.

"You ran."

Biban's hand froze in mid-circle, the words making him tremble and hard to breathe.

"We needed you and you ran."

His eyelid twitched before he closed his eyes, trying to make himself stay still and block out the voice. 

But it was useless. 

"You were a good boy, once."

The words stung.

Biban let his head drop forward, his hair falling over his face and hiding his eyes. His finger started moving again, tracing the dust, round and round, as if it would never stop.

…

Venka sat off to the side, knees pulled up tight and arms wrapped so hard around her legs tightly. She rocked herself gently, trying to keep her mind in the present and fall into a daze, but the darkness pressed in from all sides. It had her drifting, memories from the past began to slowly come up, ones that she tried to keep buried, the unfinished stories and regrets she could never quite escape.

The memories of her delivering the children were never an easy one for her, even though she had delivered half the children here. But not everyone of those stories had a happy ending.

A woman's voice curled out of the darkness, it was gentle mixed with sorrow and sobbings.

"There was one more breath in her."

Venka's toes curled as she moved her sandals which crease against the dirt floor. She bit her lip until she tasted blood, hoping the pain would push the voice away or distract her. 

"She could've lived. You knew that. But you stopped."

Venka squeezed her eyes shut, but the tears flow down her cheeks in thin and unsteady lines. She tried to wipe them away, but they just kept coming back as memories began to flash by.

"Me or my child. You chose. But you didn't wait long enough."

With a shuddering inhale, Venka buried her face against her knees, pressing her head so hard it started to hurt. Yet no amount of pain or action seemed to be able to stop the flowing memories. 

"I wanted her to live."

A sob escapes Venka mouth before she bit down hard on the sleeve of her tunic, the fabric rough and familiar against her teeth. Her lips trembled, and her breathing came in uneven gasps as her body trembled. Venka felt the guilt twisting her inside, it was a familiar reminder that she could never go back and undo the choice she made that day.

Only ragged breathing rang from Venka as she hugged herself tightly in the darkness. 

…

The eight-year-old Trell lay beside her mother's curled form, trying to sleep. But sleep escaped her for hours, her eyes remained wide open as it darted around the darkness constantly. 

Suddenly, a voice bubbled up in her mind, too bright and familiar.

"Trell! Why are you in a cave? Did something cool happen?"

Trell flinched, her little body stiffening.

"I see everyone in town… A disaster happened, right? But where are you all?"

Tears threatened to rise, but she blinked them back, squeezing her eyes shut.

"This… Is this the Beast Graveyard! That's so unfair, I wished I was there too!"

Her lips quivered with the pressure of all her unsaid words. She pressed her face into her mother's side, trying to hide from the voice and the fear.

The voice didn't stop.

"Come on Trell! Tell me about it! Did you see the various types of bones? And were there beasts in there?"

Trell just clung tighter, letting the questions drift away unanswered in the dark.

…

At the far edge of the circle, Miren sat alone, his hand resting on a piece of stone carved with strange patterns. He traced one of the cracks with his thumb, slow and careful, as if it might break.

A voice came for him too, low and steady.

"It was your plan."

Miren flinched but didn't move. His breath grew shallow, every inhale tight and thin.

"They built the homes where you told them."

He pressed his palm harder into the stone, as he felt the hardness turning into pain.

"And the quake buried them."

Then he closed his fingers around the stone, staring at it in a daze, a horrible thought flashed by.

"You still dream of their screams, don't you?" He didn't answer.

The silence swallowed him whole, leaving only the sound of his own heart and the pain he couldn't confess.