Amentia

Chapter 13 - Not a good day

In a moment, the Temple was wrapped in shadow. It was like smoke, only thicker. It was like black sand, only smoother. It enfolded the entire building like a liquid dome, and it was impossible to see what went on inside. It was a big black spot in the tranquil purple landscape of the forest. It seemed to move around, making rumbling sounds like a storm about to rain down. The rumbling wasn't loud, but it had a deep resonance, and hearing it was a most unpleasant sensation. It was like running nails on a chalkboard, but inside the chest. It made the guts ache all over.

The girls, the Keeper and the other young man all stood there in silence, unable to make sense of what they were seeing and feeling. It had been so nice and peaceful until a second ago. Now, it was like standing next to a hurricane.

From behind them, a tiny flying figure appeared and went to hover by the Keeper's side, followed by five more who seemed to be far less calm than the first one as they flapped their wings rapidly. Their sparkly figures were a big contrast with the scene in front of them.

"Keeper!" the first fairy said in an alarmed but clear voice; Nina recognized him as Twig. "We couldn't keep it out; it passed through all of our barriers, both under and above ground, we don't know how."

"We don't know what it is either," said another fairy in a higher-pitched voice.

"It's not a curse or a spell gone wrong," said another fairy.

And then they all heard the screams. Shrieks of terror and pain that could be heard even through the layers of black smoke and its incessant rumbling.

The Keeper tried to take a step toward that monstrous shadow but he froze mid-step, hunching forward as if he were in physical pain, hugging his own torso. He emitted low moans of discomfort, sounding more like a fox than a man for the first time.

"There were other people in there besides us?" Natalia asked, horrified, her long hair blowing around her face in the furious wind that this dark cloud had brought with it.

"We have to do something," Nina said.

"You can't go in there," Anna interjected with grim certainty, her eyes focused on the movement of the black storm contained around the Temple.

"Why not?" Nati asked her.

"That shadow... the air of it... it's toxic, wrong," replied Anna, feeling her chest tighten as a shiver went down her spine. That thing in front of them was evil.

"So we just... wait until it's gone, if it will even leave? We just watch? There are people in danger there," Nina said. The screams were still ringing loud, echoing on the surrounding trees.

"If you want to be a hero, be my guest," Anna said bitterly, breathing heavily. She had never heard a sound like this; it felt like it could crawl under her skin and empty her lungs if she gave it even the slightest opening.

"If he hasn't tried to go inside," said Meiko pointing at the Keeper with her head, "then Anna-san must be right."

The sound of her name coming from Meiko's voice was like a warm embrace on a chilly winter evening. It drowned every other noise, rose above all that chaos, even over the disturbing sound of that black smoke. It dissipated some of the heavy wind, helping Anna breathe better and avoid the panic attack she had been fighting against for the past minute. It was the first time in a long time since the sound of someone's voice had had that effect on her.

Zoe was battling a similar pain as Anna, though she felt it through her feet instead of her lungs. Wherever that thing touched, the object withered. The wood was being infected on the inside, rot spreading through cracks that weren't there before. Anna was right: that thing was toxic. Such beautiful wood being treated so horribly, even the distant sensation of it caused Zoe physical pain. It was like feeling a small piece of nature die.