[30] Look Up To the Sky

[30] Look Up To the Sky

The fight in the town seemed to go on without ending. The air felt electrified as the defenders called upon the aether to smite the endless hordes. The man that carried the boys into his home was Lukas. He and his wife were treating Martin's wounds by wrapping the limbs. They were in shock but ran on instinct to save the boy.

Now that Martin was getting treated, the boy with sandy brown hair thought about his mother. She would be alone in all of this. What if something happened to her because of him? The thought of it made him sick, the thought of anyone dying because of him made him sick. Why did he touch the gate, why didn’t he just listen to Pavel when he said it wasn’t a good idea to see the gate?

“I have to see if my mom is okay.” The boy said.

“Don’t go anywhere.” Lukas stated. “It is dangerous outside.”

“I have to make sure my mom is okay.” The boy stated as he ran outside.

He didn’t turn around to see if anyone was following; he only had one thing on his mind. He had to get home and make sure his mother was alright. Martin was with adults, he would be fine, right? Jiri would stay with them so he would be safe too. The boy's mother, however, lived alone, it was just the two of them since he never met his father.

The village was all stone and shaped by magecraft. Each home and business were crafted with care and attention to detail. The once vibrant colors that painted the town were washed out by the reddened sky. The sound of battle replaced the everyday goings on of the people. The world shook under the weight of the aether being summoned and controlled by those that took up arms to defend the town.

The boy had to duck into an alley as a monster turned the next corner down. It had rows and rows of teeth and a large bulbous body. He was unsure if it saw him, but he was not going to wait around and find out. He ran down the alleyway and into the main street on the other side. The dead spider monster was here, a large hole having removed most of its rotting form.

There were the bodies of people and monsters all over the main street. The boy with sandy brown hair froze at the sight. He couldn't move a single muscle as he saw what he had caused. He recognized every corpse, he could remember their last conversations, their voices, their families and it was all his fault.

An explosion of force lifted the boy off his feet as a man slammed into a building across the street. The stone nearly collapsed on top of him but the aether wrapped around the structure repairing it just as quickly as it was damaged. The man stood up rubbing his head. In his other hand was a warhammer glowing with aetheric symbols and equations.

The boy curled into his mother’s embrace. He was unable to say anything as he just wept uncontrollably. Then they heard the sound of the monster using his scythe arms on the door. There was less space in the hall for it to swing so the blade only barely pierced the door. The sound of the creature clicking impatiently and swinging again and again became constant.

The mother wiped the boy's tears and picked him up. She placed him in the corner of the room and covered him in as many blankets and random items as she could to make it so the monster would think she was the only one in the room.

“Stay quiet.” She placed a finger on her lips. “When things get dark, when all seems lost always look up to the sky. The Divine Ones will always save us. Your father will save us.”

“Mom. It is my fault.” The boy with sandy brown hair cried. “It's all my fault.”

The boy's mother rushed to the door which was falling apart more and more. The blades were cutting into the barricade and in only a few more swings everything would fall apart. The mother held onto the barricade pushing it up against the door with all of her strength. Thunk, thunk, thunk! Each strike led further into the inevitability of death.

The mother screamed as the scythe sliced through the door and into her shoulder. The scent of blood filled the room, but the mother held strong. She used her body weight to deny the creature entry. To deny the creature her son. Another angry strike, another deep laceration on the mother but still she stood in defiance refusing to let it step even one of its many legs into the room.

=========================

Author Note: New Schedule

Spoiler

This will mark the final daily chapter release. I'm in the process of setting up a Patreon, so if you're able, please consider supporting me there. Your support will enable me to keep writing and bringing you more content for your enjoyment. I'm immensely grateful to everyone who has been following the story thus far and engaging with me in the comments. Moving forward, the new release schedule will be on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays at 4 PM Eastern Standard Time (USA, GMT-5). Thank you for your continued support and keep rocking on. Patreon should be up along with discord Monday 26th (my time again) and will be updated in story description.

[collapse]