Skyline Gang: Trial of Darkness

Chapter 23

The room went blacker than black after Dawn spoke those words. No one could see so much as an inch in front of them. The temperature continued to drop, making Dude wonder if his breath has turned to mist. Nothing came from the darkness. No sight nor sound. Dude bit back the frustration as best he could. Dawn told him to open up his eyes. How can he do that when he can't see anything? Maybe he was supposed to listen instead of seeing. He kept his ears wide open. Nothing.

Just as Dude was about to voice his frustrations, a light suddenly glowed in front of him. It was a faint orange, just dim enough to not be too harsh on the eyes. A silhouette stood within it. The shadow around them faded in seconds. Just barely standing out against the light was a young woman. She couldn't have been older than her early twenties. She had short curly orange hair and deep blue eyes that seemed to sparkle with freckles peppering her cheeks. It was her outfit that struck out the most. White shirt, orange and white trainers and orange dungarees that came in two shades with a beaded red necklace adorning her neck. Her make up was like a bright flag as well; orange lipstick and orange and white stripped eyeshadow. She was dressed exactly like how the Skyline Gang does. But they've never seen her before. Who is she?

As the woman smiled brightly, the dark melted away completely. Instead of being in the room, Dude was faced with bright sunshine at the Skyline. She was mingling with some guests when a shout called her attention. Dude looked at the origin of the other voice and was met with quite a shock. It was the Skyline Gang before Dude and his friends arrived. They were all there. The only problem were the blank spaces where their names were meant to be. It stung worse than a bee. The least that Dawn could show were their names. Dude will just have to refer them by their colours for now.

Orange broke into a wide grin as she ran towards the Skyline Gang, her Skyline Gang. Something didn't seem right. Dude and his friends had a photograph of the Skyline Gang. She wasn't present in it. Something didn't feel right. Scenes flashed in front of Dude before he could mull over the photograph even more. Orange was hanging out with Pink and Yellow. She laughed with Blue as Green was goofing off. She was performing on the stage with her friends. She was incredibly bright and happy.

Finally, the scene changed to something that felt morbid. Orange was looking around the attic. She was searching around boxes and rifled through them. She was muttering about trying to find a prop for a show that was being planned. She was so caught up in her search that she wasn't paying attention as to where she was walking. All of a sudden, her curious face seemed to go pale. She suddenly started walking as if she were in a trance. Dude watched her carefully, his skin prickling with goosebumps. He recalled taking the same path as her. That chest. Orange got a little closer to it. She suddenly let out a loud scream. Black mist started to wrap around her, causing her to panic. She waved her arms about, trying to swat away the Darkness. When she realised that it was futile, she started to shiver in fright. Dude looked at the chest in disbelief and shock. Had the Sceptre of Shadows always been there?! It wasn't out there by the previous Skyline Gang or Dawn?! Who put it there in the first place then?! And why?!

"What happened?!" Someone exclaimed as they came into the attic. It was Blue, the previous leader of the Skyline Gang. He started to walk over to Orange, reaching out for her. "Are you okay?"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" Orange screamed, her voice so shrill that it could shatter glass. She raised a hand to stop Blue from coming any closer. The Darkness around her seemed to listen to her. A part of it launched out, striking Blue in the chest. He was thrown back, crashing to the floor. The other members of the Gang must have heard everything and came to see what was going on. Orange had her hands over her mouth, eyes stinging with tears. She looked at everyone that saw her. They were all scared and shocked by her. Seeing this, and unsure what to do, Orange dashed out of the attic, thundering down the stairs.