The boys didn't run to the pond today. It was just me, soaking away the dirt from a slow and lonely harvest. White and I did all the work and only managed to fill half a bag. Black layaway in the fields. Blue stayed locked away in the room.
"Damn. Such a long, long day."
I settled my arms and allowed them to float in the cool water. I closed my eyes and allowed my brain to wander. It all was so quiet. My head was so dark. I couldn't even stir up a memory before I stepped off the bus. It was all just a void.
Ding, ding.
"The diner wind chime."
I jumped from the water. I almost hopped out of my skin when the cold dirt met my warm feet. I couldn't believe I almost fell asleep.
The hut was quiet when I entered. I expected to see food flying to the table top and everyone running to take a seat, but there wasn't a person or rabbit in sight. I wandered down the hallway where I saw a candlelight flicker from beneath a door.
"That dumb kid!"
It was Skip yelling. I heard a wall thump, and the floorboard beneath me rumbled.
"Calm down Skip. Please."
Alice was trying to calm him down. I narrowed my ear to the door to listen.
"I am not going to calm down! He ran off. What about the shrine Alice?"
"What about it Skip? Hasn't it taken enough of our children?!"
I turned my head to meet eye-to-eye with Blue. He snuck up so quietly I had no clue he already had an ear to the door.
"You don't understand. Don't underestimate that… that evil!"
It was quite all of a sudden. We could hear small footsteps walk to the door. The door flung open and slammed into the wall. Skip's ears twitched around, his nose sniffing the air. Blue and I swiftly moved to the kitchen where we caught our breath.
"Black ran away?"
I looked down at Blue as I connected the dots. He was panting to catch up to his heart beating.
"It's my fault. It had to be."
I felt an aura of anger surround him. He took his hands off his knees and looked to the door.
"The wind chime will go off soon. We need to get him before the Shadows arrive. I have to help him."
I looked at the front door. I didn't know what to expect. These Shadow creatures, what could they be? All I could think was what Black had told me.
"They are death."
I turned to Blue and nodded my head. We both moved to the door, and out into the blinding white void we walked. Blue started to sprint, kicking dirt behind him. I split off his path and ran left.
"Black! Black! Where are you?!"
I kept Blue in my line of sight. I didn't want to get lost in a place with no landmarks. I scanned the world, and could not see any sign of Black. Running was causing me to sweat from my pores, my heart beating faster and faster as I tried to keep up.
In the corner of my eye, I saw Blue suddenly stop in his tracks. I started to wander my feet in his direction.
"Black! I'm sorry please come home!"
About forty feet in front of Blue stood a person. They had a black head and body.
"Thank goodness he found him. We can get home before the chime goes off-"
Ding. Ding.
My heart skipped a beat. My vision spiraled. Blue continued his approach.
"Black! We got to get back man, the wind chime just rung."
I panicked. I started to sprint toward Blue with all my might. I opened my mouth as my lips crackled. All that could escape my mouth was,
"RUN!"
Blue's eyes widened as the figure in front of him grew larger and larger. It had to be fifteen feet tall. Its skin was pitch black, almost like a starless void. Out from its back, it grew an arm that swiped at Blue.
Blue's body was separated from his legs. Blood sprayed like a mist onto the carrot tops. I couldn't properly stop in my tracks. I face-planted straight into the dirt as my footing came completely loose. Dirt flung into my eyes and nose. I could feel carrots press into my shoulders as I finished tumbling.
My head shot back up as I looked out back at the creature. I couldn't believe what I had just watched. My ears rang, I couldn't tell if it was from the adrenaline or my head slamming into the ground.
I lifted myself. I moved with my blurred vision and located the creature. Its long, black arm gripped onto Blue's headless body. I couldn't move. I watched in absolute horror as its jaw grew wider and wider. It was the thing of nightmares. The jaw looked as if it was made of human bone sharpened by gnawing on the hardest of rocks.
It consumed Blue's body in one quick swallow. All that remained was the blood that stained the dark dirt, being absorbed as food for the carrots. Sweat ran down my eyelashes. I felt sick. I couldn't move from my position, my body wouldn't allow it.
I succumbed to complete and utter fear.
It's head turned to my direction. Its face was void of eyes. It could see me. No, it could sense me. It's jaw twitched and churned. Its body sat completely still as it glided across the field toward me at full speed.
"Move. Move."
I didn't want to move.
"Blue is dead. He is gone. I should have listened. I shouldn't have let him leave to search for Black."
It got closer and closer. The white void around me suddenly turned a dark yellow. The sounds of lightning and thunder echoed around me. The Shadow was so close to me. And yet, I lied here accepting my fate.
"It's my fault. It's all my fault."
I felt a rough tug at my arm. It lifted my heavy body into the air. My legs shifted into an immediate run as I was pulled along.
"You better fucking run faster I swear."
My blurry vision focused on the hand that gripped me. I followed it up to the face of a person. It was a face I recognized. The black hair that dangled over his eyes. His cheeks and ears were bright red as he looked back at the beast behind us.
The sky around me continued to roar as the dark mist rolled around my legs. I scanned above me and saw the massive yellow clouds begin to fully engulf the once-white void. I turned toward Black who practically dragged my ankles through the dirt. He frantically looked back when he screamed out.
"FUCK!"
I looked back at the beast who was nearly feet from us. I heard a whistle that led to a large slam of wood shattering into splinters behind me. The beast fell to its side as a large arrow stuck from its chest. It was too large to be an arrow. That thing had to be a javelin.
The yellow sky suddenly vanished. Every cloud and spot of mist was sucked away almost immediately after the Shadow fell, straight into a white void once more.
Black and I pushed forward without looking back for several minutes. When I finally found the courage to do so, I looked back to see the Shadow was nowhere in sight. All that lay ahead of us was carrot fields and a blinding sky of white.