The Forthcoming

Chapter 1

The Great Storm drew closer, it's large black mass expanding over the horizon, swamping the sun and everything to the east, turning the sky a deep shade of blue.  

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Silas lay awake, thoughts swimming through his mind, twisting and turning - becoming new thoughts and ideas. He remained restless, observing the night sky. Moonlight seeped in through a hole in the top of his shack, illuminating what little was contained within its torn walls and ripped bedding. The smell of the spring flowers wafted into his room, accompanied by a cold breeze, provided him with a sense of peace. This didn't last long, soon after, unease followed - snaking through his body, making him shiver and sit up, his hair standing on end. He reached for his hair, running his hands through the unkempt mop of black curls, causing them to rise and fall across his olive skin. He yawned, more restless than ever as the night grew still. The moon had faded, replaced with hundreds upon thousands of faraway stars, each pulsating light softly. 

Their rhythmic pulsations played in his head, a gentle thumping. It was a strange, yet familiar, trance-like beat that reverberated throughout. The pace of the beatings sped up and grew in magnitude, it rang now within his entire body, causing him to shake and turn. Unable to control his body, Silas rose, attempting to ground himself, but to no avail. The reverberations continued, worsening with the passing of time until the pain was unbearable. It drove him to his knees, worsening still, without showing any signs of stopping. The pain was excruciating, to both his body and mind, his blood felt like it was on fire, as if he had been lit on fire by the intensity of the shaking. Silas cried out, unable to contain the movements, he began to jerk his body uncontrollably. In an attempt to steel himself, he raised his hands, only to see faint white rings clasped around his wrist, as if burnt into his flesh. As soon as he noticed them, the pain shot up into his wrists, the thumping harder than ever before. He felt as if his head would explode.

It stopped, and all went black.