Bearers of the Dark

I had been walking for what seemed like days.  My feet ached and my head, covered in dried sweat and dirt, pounded.  I couldn’t remember the last time I ate or even had a sip of water.  There hadn’t been anyone or anything on my path for quite some time.  But I kept going, following every curve through this long valley.  The background still looked the same as when I stepped into the portal—a vast open land surrounded by woods with a single path to follow.  There were hills in the distance, but the path seemed to avoid them.  I trudged along, alone.

Suddenly, a dark cloud arose from behind the distant hills.  It grew in size as it made its way towards the sun.  “Oh no,” I thought.  The sun in this realm was weak but still gave some light through its endlessly overcast sky.  What would I do when this world turned dark?  Would I even be able to see the path (the only thing that had given me some sense of hope and direction)?  As the cloud expanded, I heard rumbles of thunder.  And then, this strange sound.

The sound resembled a deep throbbing, like the pulse you hear in your head when you have an earache.  As the cloud grew, two huge birds flew out from behind it as if in slow motion.  These were no ordinary birds.  Their wingspan was monstrously gigantic even from far away! THUMP-THUMP.  There it was again.  I realized the sound was coming from the flapping of their enormous wings!  “What the WHAT?!” I said aloud covering my mouth in shock at the sight of them.  THUMP-THUMP.  Each flap of their wings sent my equilibrium reeling.

The cloud, now covering half the sky, continued its threatening expansion toward the sun while the massive birds grew in number.  Closer and closer, they flew towards me. THUMP-THUMP. THUMP-THUMP. THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP! I grabbed a hold of my knees to keep from falling over. Just then, in the distance, a lion roared.  “A lion? Really?!” I thought.

The lion’s roar was peculiar.  It did not sound like one of triumph or might.  No.  This roar sounded dark.  It had an unnatural vibrato—both painful and threatening.  Then it dawned on me.  This lion was on the prowl, hunting…for me! And these birds, these hideously large birds were the announcement of its arrival. Not knowing what to do next, I bowed my head and breathlessly prayed the purest and most desperate of prayers: “HELP!”