Children of the Eternal

XXIV

Exhausted from spending half the night making private deliveries to add to his meager savings, Shin's vision was still blurry as he stumbled down the misted alley leading out of the Edges. He didn't want to be late for his job at the paper. Carlos Perez was a fierce voice for change and he demanded the best from his apprentice. Sometimes the research was annoying and Shin knew Mr. Perez wasn't telling him everything. But it was better than working for the reporter, Ginny McIntyre. She already scared away two apprentices.

Shin yawned as he forced himself through the broken fence. Though still submerged in sleepiness, he instinctively put up his hand to block out the morning light. He was halfway out of the alley before he realized it was completely unnecessary. The fog continued to seep around him, muting all colors.

He frowned. Winter mornings were never that bright, but after a sustained period in the Edges, it was normally like having the Eternal Light explode in his eyes. But this felt no different from the Edges. Unsure of what it meant, he jogged down the end of the alley, but couldn't lose the gray haze. Instead of the typical clamor on the street, the atmosphere seemed too hushed. He tapped his ears, wondering if they were blocked. There was a chance too much proximity to the Dark was damaging his senses. There were many who were affected. Sometimes with failing eyesight or smell. There were terrible whispers of people growing completely numb, unable to feel anything.

Panic grew until he glanced around and realized it wasn't just him. Others were squinting or shaking their heads. No one said anything. One wrong word could get them declared corrupted.

Shin paused and pulled out his pack of matches. He struck one and examined the little flame. The light couldn't break through the grayness and when he put his hand close to it, the heat didn't feel strong.

Most lamps were extinguished in windows as people weren't able to afford to keep them lit. But there was one in a shop that also had a dim quality. The only bit of brightness Shin saw in the distance was the local sanctuary. Its golden light sparkled like a beacon of safety and it seemed like a few more than usual were heading its way.

Shin sucked in a breath and ignored the pull of the sanctuary. The whole purpose of those places was to keep an area illuminated. If the Dark was bleeding into this street, one small building wasn't going to protect him. There had been countless in the Hikari Region.

They all failed in the blink of an eye.

He gritted his teeth as he moved down the street. Terrible memories were threatening to eat away at his calm, images of a hellish time that he should have been too young to remember. Waves of ebony swallowing up screaming families until all that was left was silence.

His heart pounded with each muffled thud of his feet on the cobblestone street. All he could think about was the same thing happening. Silver Paradise was one of the most malcontent cities. It would make sense if the Sacred State decided to just cut their losses.

That's what he would do.

Strategies crisscrossed his mind. There was no way to survive if the illumination failed. All they could do was try to escape the inevitable. But the only real way out of the city were trains. It would be the elites who had seats, escaping the shadowy hell coming for everyone else.

More merciless images from the past flooded him. Crowds of people pressed together, desperate to secure passage on the few ships. Horrible splashes as people fell from the docks, drowning in the water before the Dark claimed them. His mother never spoke of the frantic flight, but conversations with other survivors had given Shin a better picture of that day. One detail that stuck in his mind was the way the upper-class families had paid for their safety, their money damning those who couldn't afford it.