When the Sky Darkens #1

Two - The Truth

The whole place was dark and dull, nothing stood out. The only source of light were coming from the flame on torches that were hanging on the walls.

I glanced around the place, although there really was nothing to look at. It was a straight path that lead to my death. My mind swirled with nerve-wrecking thoughts. I never did anything with my life except worry. The world never got to know my name. I never asked to have this ability, I hardly even used it.

Worrying was like killing yourself slowly. It never ceased to leave you. And right now, it was piling up within me until I stopped in my track. Maybe I shouldn't follow and make a run for it.

The assessor noticed the lacking footsteps behind him and looked at me with glaring eyes as if trying spontaneously to combust me. "Why did you stop?" His tone was accusing.

I looked behind me.

"Keep moving, before I am forced to do something I very much prefer not to do." His threat was clear. I immediately took my place behind him, my head low in shame.

Once we reached the great hall, my jaw almost struck the floor.

The great hall was lavished with red and gold leather chairs at the very back end of the hall. The interiors of the hall were whitewashed but the light was nothing compared to the sunlight that was coming through the large windows on either side of the hall. It almost covered the entire wall. It was decorated by luxurious red curtains that swiped to the side delicately.

The sun on my face was a new feeling, a smile tugged at the ends of my lips as I tipped my head back to get the full exposure. But all too quickly, the assessor pulled me along. Just then I noted several other people staring back at me.

They wore black, men and women, mostly men. It was as if they were out of options, and it pulled me over the edge. Their stares were long, calculating and lingering on my each and every movement. I decided to focus elsewhere, looking for a certain someone. My eyes moved to the front corner of the hall where he stood.

His sharp gaze had me frozen where I stood. A slow smile crept across his lips as he caught my daze. My heart thumped loudly and I feared it was there for everyone to hear. He gave me an encouraged nod I moved to the platform where I was expected.

He was the only one in the room that stood in the corner, in a brown shirt that could do nothing but make women brood. His hair was adjusted as if we never had the heated moment together in the storage room. His suit was once again buttoned up to the tip of his neck and he were the smile he usually wore, a smirk.

It calmed my nerves.

"Let's begin." A dominating low voice echoed through the hall. A dark brooding man stood in a brown leather cloak with a white collar. His hood had covered most of his features except the ashy beard that stubbed his wrinkly chin. Two men led me towards a pool that could fit inside an average man. As they walked me to the other end of it, a pool of bodies lay in their own blood.

Nausea struck me with full force and my eyes widened at the realisation.

The bodies that lay crumbled on top of each other, no longer had the dolled-up look that dazzled every passing eye, instead they were lifeless and empty. I could feel bile rise up my throat. A scream attempted to claw itself out, when a large hand pressed hard into my elbow.

"Do not leave us waiting, child. Follow me to the platform." The gruffly old man with a white collar didn't give me the chance to object, I could only be pulled along with many others watching me carefully.

Shoving me on the stand, I looked at the father with teary eyes.

"Speak your name, child."