Descending Shadows: When Hope Fades

Nolan held on to me as we got pulled in at an astonishing speed. We landed on the ground, and were surrounded by complete darkness. We got to our feet and waded through the night. There were no signs of Leslie or Arabella, or even a Serpian for that matter.

“They’re probably gone, Moon. It’s not like these monsters take prisoners.”

“We don’t know that. I’m not going to give up at the first sign of an inconvenience.”

There was the possibility that they were keeping them alive to create another portal to our world. But we could not be sure. What we did know was that time was of the essence.

Nolan and I stopped after a while and decided to have a snack, but luck soon turned on us when a Serpian spotted us and called out to its kin.

“Looks like the party’s coming to us,” I said as I drew my sword.

Nolan and I were more nervous than ever before. I could see the fear creeping into his face, as did I feel it slithering beneath my skin. This was unlike any battle we had faced before. This time, we were on their turf. It was two of us against an army of them. The odds didn’t look in our favour, but we weren’t going to falter… Not unless they took our lives.

We swung our steel through the merciless hordes as they leapt at us with immense force. We managed to slay some of them with our explosives, but their numbers kept growing. Our bullets and blades ripped through the demon army as the battle waged on; and we had cut down a great many of the Serpians, but our vigour waned in the time we needed it the most.

We were exhausted. I felt myself growing slower with each breath I took. My limbs were growing weak as my breath grew thin. I could also see Nolan from the corner of my eye, and he wasn’t looking good either.

‘Is this going to be how it ends?’ I asked myself as I looked death in its eyes. I felt regret knowing I may not be able to save Leslie and Arabella, or even see my little brother ever again.

What last glimmers of hope we had seemed to fade as the evil hordes surrounded us. We were trapped in the foul maw of death…