Immortal Darkness: Shadow Across the Land

by Alex Rey

  Once again, the white crystals of winter flurried around Leyoht. Was it the sky to blame—or was it the temperature? Was there a higher power causing all of this? Somebody Leyoht hadn’t known?

  I hate the cold. Although Leyoht was well-aware of snowy owls’ naturally adaptabilities to cold weather, he personally hated the current more than anything else. Without a doubt, the young owl hated the frigidity of the world more than he hated hunger.

  I probably wouldn’t be so cold if I could just fly! The very thought echoed in Leyoht’s head as he pushed himself further and further away from the cave. If I could, I would fly up to the sun and get warmer. To Leyoht, that was the idea of paradise.

  An abrupt stop drew upon Leyoht’s feet as this thought came to mind. Once stopped, he took a look up at the sky and caught sight of a sea of dark-gray clouds—watching as they swept through the sky high above his head.

  A moment of silence swept into Leyoht’s mind before he asked himself through a murmur, “But—where is the sun?”

  Before the answer to any such question could have appeared, a series of pebble-sized chunks of hail started raining down on the little snowy owl. In response to the hail, he cried out, “Ouch! What is this?”

  Almost every single heartbeat brought a new block of ice to come crashing down against Leyoht’s head. Feeling as the ice damaged him more and more without mercy, he released a sharp cry of pain. Before long, he was forced to hold his wings up above his head.

  It was at that point when Leyoht resented his flightless nature more than ever before. At the same time, he began to regret having ever left the humans’ home—even though the idea of an owl becoming dependent on another creature was unheard of.

  Through a sea of horrid emotions and weather, Leyoht continued to walk through the snow.

  Rapidly blinking his eyes, the freezing owl took a look up. The first thing he had come to notice was a dark landscape with snow and hail blowing in almost every direction. Two more blinks showed him a silhouette sitting directly in his path.

  By simply widening his eyes, he discovered how the silhouette before him belonged to another snowy owl. At this point in his conflict, such a sight seemed miraculous enough to have only existed in his dreams. “Are—you there?” wondered Leyoht.

  The owl’s response first came in the form of a somewhat sinister snicker.

  “What?” Leyoht whispered, his caution growing. The silhouette’s image became even more apparent—and before long, Leyoht was staring into the eyes of a perverted beast.

  “I’ll take care of you,” the stranger promised through a grunt-like murmur.

  Only a split-second of silence came between the two owls when the stranger took a step forward. At the same time did he sweep a claw at Leyoht—missing him by only a feather’s length.

  As he dodged away from the swinging claw, Leyoht found himself falling backwards. In only a heartbeat, his back hit the snowy floor—the likes of which sent a chilling sensation beneath his skin. Leyoht panicked as he struggled to pick himself back up.

  Fortunately for Leyoht, a large gust of wind came running out of nowhere—blowing the horrific owl off his feet. Seeing his chance, Leyoht stumbled up back on his feet and began to run away from the perverted owl.

  Once on his feet, Leyoht started running away from the stranger—summoning as much speed as possible.

  Even his fastest running pace was not good enough. The speed in which he had moved made him look no quicker than a turtle. He wasn’t sure what it was that was slowed him down the most; was it the high snow, the piercing winds, or the high fatigue?

  Because of his laughably slow pace, Leyoht soon felt the perverted owls’ talons wrap around his stomach. He wanted to pretend it was his father who had grabbed him—but he knew better.

  First the sharp talons clutched onto him—then Leyoht realized he was being carried away from the ground. It hadn’t taken long for the owlet to find himself being carried into the dark, cloudy sky. Only a small white sickle of light appeared behind the clouds, struggling to blossom.

  “Let me go!” Leyoht shouted at his new enemy. He didn’t care what it took; he would get this creature to drop him.

  It was at that moment when Leyoht realized his current experienced seemed very familiar. It was almost as if he had undergone the experience before. Why was that the case?

  As Leyoht awaited the strange owl’s response, he took notice of an enormous tree sitting below him. A tree! Just what I’ve been looking for! He took a look up at the perverted owl before he thought with a snarl, And he is going to take that chance from me!

  “Let me go!” repeated the helpless owlet through a screech.

  “Shut up!” the perverted owl snapped. “I’ll let you go when I take you back home.”

  Hearing the sound of the owls’ anger, a group of passerby humans took a look over at the furious birds. Each one stood on the edge of a mountain, ready for whatever passed their eyes.

  Leyoht caught sight of these creatures and wondered, What’s wrong with them? While the creatures’ bodies were shaped like that of a human’s, the outer skin appeared gray and furry—as if a human and a wolf had just interbred.

  Even though they were humans—the kinds of creatures all owls feared—Leyoht knew they were his one chance for salvation. Just as quickly as he had come to realize t his, Leyoht noticed every single one of the creatures seemed to have fainted into the snowy, mountainous landslide. “No!” Leyoht cried out at them.

  “What did I tell you just now?” screeched the other owl. “Do you want me to drop you from right here? Because I w—”

  Before he could have finished his sentence, the owl felt as one of the humans’ tools lodged into his spine. Taking notice of such a sharp pain, he suddenly released his grip on Leyoht’s chest while falling to the ground.

  Leyoht—a youthful owl in his early days—fell to and collided with the ground with a thud. An immense amount of pain spread through Leyoht’s body as he and closed his eyes. Not another single other owl was to be seen as the wind brought a sweeping sheet of snow over his body.

  --

  Vaguely familiar feelings, sounds, and smells surrounded the confused owl. Opening his eyes, he realized that he was staring into what seemed to be an oval of light. Taking a closer look at this light, he was able to see a sheet of snow resting outside—without a single person standing on it.

  What happened to me? thought Leyoht, unable to comprehend just where he was and why. Before any such answer could have come forth, however, Leyoht took sensation of someone else’s feathers brushing against the feathers on his back.

  In complete surprise, the young owl twisted his gaze over his shoulder and took sight of his sleeping mother. Sitting behind her was his father.

  It was all a dream? A sense of relief and happiness swept over his heart as he struggled to keep a shout of his emotions from escaping through his beak.

  It was while his parents were still sleeping when Leyoht slowly crept his way over to his home’s shining hole. It was such a heavenly sight to witness. Never before had Leyoht been so happy to witness snow.

  He cared not for his dream now; the owlet poked his head out of the hollow and allowed an icy, cool breeze to sweep by and carry a wave of snowflakes to his face. Little flurries wisped by him—and that was just how he liked it.

  Just when Leyoht was about to pull his head back into the hollow, he took notice of his father sweeping his way directly above Leyoht’s head. Only a heartbeat had passed when a thud echoed through the hollow—the likes of which was loud enough to wake Sahemawia from her peaceful sleep.

  Taking realization of where the loud noise was coming from, the awakened mother took a look up at her beloved, witnessing as he stood against the wall. Switching a slightly annoyed glance toward her mate, Sahemawia watched as Ulpheir placed a nervous look on his face while simultaneously setting a lemming’s carcass down by his feet.

  But—I thought he was— Leyoht silently stammered as he
switched his gaze over to where he’d first thought his father had been sleeping. I could’ve—

  Bringing his personal argument to an end, Leyoht sighed just before murmuring to himself, “Never mind.”

  “Never mind what?” asked Ulpheir, the lemming in his talon.

  It was after flinching when Leyoht nervously turned himself toward his father. “Um—I didn’t say anything,” the young owl nervously lied.

  Although he was completely aware of his son’s lie, Ulpheir paid no heed toward it. He allowed a moment of silence to through before he shoved the lemming corpse directly under Leyoht’s beak.

  Taking notice of the lemming’s rich protein, the suddenly hungry owlet opened a wide beak and used it to snap his way toward the cure for his hunger.

  “Are you excited about learning how to fly soon?” Ulpheir chuckled as his son dug through the lemming.

  In response to his father’s question, Leyoht almost immediately replied with a quick nod.

  It was at that moment when images of himself in flight showed before his eyes. The very thought of flying made him wonder how he could have ever lived a moment of his life without such an ability. It certainly would have made his dream a much less traumatic experience.

  Once finished with his meal—which meant he had only finished the lemming halfway—Leyoht found himself without the ability to wait for the outdoor excitement ahead of him.

  After wiping his bloody beak, Leyoht turned toward Ulpheir and asked, “Can I go outside?”

  “Sure.” Without another word, Ulpheir took Leyoht through their drill. Even though they hadn’t gone through the process very often, Leyoht already felt used to having his father take him down to the ground.

  Within a few heartbeats, Ulpheir stopped what he was doing and wrapped his talons around Leyoht. Upon doing so, he rushed down to the outside ground, dropped Leyoht off, and flew back inside.

  Now standing on the cold, soft ground, Leyoht started himself on his way over to his friends’ nests—hoping to greet them. Deciding to first meet up with Roseti, he placed himself on a path to her home.

  It hadn’t taken long for Leyoht to take sight of Roseti’s home. The little nest sat in the snow, protected by the small hills of ice surrounding it.

  Upon walking up to Roseti’s nest, Leyoht realized she was still sleeping, her parents right by her side. Feeling as anxiety boiled up within him, Leyoht decided to walk over to another one of his friends.

  Maybe Plenot isn’t busy, he decided. Such a decision, however, came to an end when the sound of moaning penetrated his ears. Curious, Leyoht rushed back to the nest.

  “Roseti?” he whispered in question, drawing his beak over to the sleeping owlet. “Are you awake?”

  The curious owl came close to poking his beak into the downy fluff and feathers of his friend’s stomach when Roseti flicked her eyelids open. A sudden jerk shook up her entire body all the while. Such a phenomenon caused Leyoht to flinch away from her in surprise.

  Although it had taken him a moment to realize it, Leyoht noticed as a cold, emotionless stare showed in Roseti’s eyes. “Roseti, why are you looking at me like that?” he asked through a shaky voice. Taking a step away from his friend, he watched as Roseti picked herself up of her nest.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Roseti replied, a bland tone to her voice. It was after uttering these words when she brushed her way past her friend—moving toward what appeared to be the sun.

  Completely and utterly confused, Leyoht quietly followed Roseti to the sun. It was at that moment when noticed how every single one of his friends and family head in the same direction as Roseti. This sight caused a shock of fear and disbelief to spark within Leyoht’s heart.

  It was while following his acquaintances when Leyoht noticed everybody seemed to wield the exact same stare as Roseti. An unblinking look of evil and gluttony showed in their eyes; it was a look which dared to be challenged by Leyoht’s eyes.

  Leyoht quickly came to notice that every single one of his friends and family members were slowly dying as they made their way closer to the sun. The deterioration of their skin and feathers took place as they neared the light. Feathers listlessly fell toward the ground. Once their feathers were gone, their skin slowly started charring away.

  The sight of this deterioration caused the young owl to shudder in fear and—at the same time—make a stop in his tracks. Eerie silhouettes stood before him, breaking apart all the while. Fearing for the worst, the barely conscious owlet hurriedly crawled up the snowy hill and toward the people he knew and loved.

  It was while at the midpoint of the snowy hill when Leyoht tripped over his own feet. Keeping his beak buried in a sheet of snow, he silently asked himself, Who are they? Are they fakers?

  Before any real answer could have shown in front of his face, Leyoht suddenly realized how the snow surrounding him was starting to melt at a strangely rapid pace. Right when he should have been drenched by the melting snow, Leyoht took sensation of something sticky within the ice.

  Taking sensation of the sticky snow, Leyoht pulled his beak out of the ground. After wiping some of the slush out of his face, he almost immediately let out a horrified gasp.

  Gray goop seemed to steam from his friends’ and family’s feet. Mystified and disgusted, he peered down into the strange material—examining it all the while. And then it hit him: this material was made from his acquaintances’ deteriorating organs.

  They’re—melting? the owl asked himself. This question silently echoing within the walls of his head, he released a yelp of pain upon touching the goop with his wing—realizing it was searing hot. He angrily cried out, “Ow—ow!” while picking himself up on his feet.

  After fighting the burning pain, Leyoht continued on his run up to the top of the hill. I have to save them! a worried voice echoed in his head. In response to such a voice, he began to crawl at an even faster pace than before.

  By the time Leyoht had reached the top of the hill, a series of panting escaped from his beak. After giving himself a moment to breathe, he took a sight at what lay before him.

  Their skin and feathers were no more; their bodies consisted of nothing more than white, fragile sticks. Everybody Leyoht had come to know—as well as those he loved—were now skeletons. The hollow fragility of their bodies made Leyoht realize just how weak he was.

  Despite having been made of nothing but bones, Leyoht couldn’t help but wonder, Are they still alive? The simple movement of their heads toward the sun affirmed his suspicions.

  The terrified owl looked to his left—and then to his right. All around him were the skeletons of his acquaintances, each of which pointed toward the sun. Before Leyoht could have asked what was going on, something within the sun’s disc caught his eye.

  Utter confusion crossed Leyoht’s mind when he took sight of a quickly-setting sun. Its orange light shining in his eyes, the sun came to a sudden stop in its ascent. This sight caused Leyoht to place a confused look on his face.

  A heartbeat of stillness appeared as the large, orange sun came to a permanent halt. Now stopped, the ball of flame became the home of what looked like a black hole. This black center literally sucked away the light from the sun. At the same time, the wind seemed to come to a complete stop.

  The sight of the destroyed light caused Leyoht to fall backwards in a sudden shock of fear. What is that black thing? He wasn’t sure if finding out would have helped him in the long run or not.

  With all the light sucked away within heartbeats, nothing was to be seen—until a violet light with a black center took place of the sun. Picking himself up on his feet, Leyoht notice how this light seemed to be expanding—or was it drawing closer to him?

  Such a question, however, would leave Leyoht’s mind when the sight of flying creatures caught in his eye. Said creatures appeared skeletal—like his friends and family—with an aura of darkness surrounding them. In addition to their skeletal shape, they held human-like figures. Every single
one of them seemed to emanate from what Leyoht believed to be the sun’s replacement.

  In addition to the humans, bird-like four-legged animals sprouted from the purple sphere. The most noticeable similarity between Leyoht and the flying creatures were the beaks upon their faces. Then there were, of course, the creatures’ wings—which allowed them to fly. However, the wings seemed to add two extra limbs to the creatures’ bodies, giving them their four legs.

  Before the confused owlet could have examined these foreign creatures further, Leyoht noticed as they started forming what appeared to be a ring in the sky. Once the ring had come within moments after its completion, the strange birds made their way down to the frozen skeletal owls one by one. It was while on their way down to the small valley of Leyoht’s somewhat deceased friends and family when the creatures grabbed the owl skeletons with their enormous beaks.

  Seeing as one of his bony friends was about to be taken up into the sky by one of the creatures, Leyoht objectively wrapped his talons onto one of the bones of the foreign creature and gave a tight closing of his eyes while crying out, “No! What are you doing?”

  Irritatingly enough, no words escaped from any one of the creatures’ beaks. Instead of responding, they continued to take Leyoht and his friend into what he believed was the dark ball in the sky.

  Still holding onto his unknown friend, Leyoht opened his eyes and realized the creature he was encountering was nearly three times his size. Added to this was the creature’s immense, bone-snapping beak and a set of four intimidating claws.

  His mind ruptured by the creature’s horrifying appearance, Leyoht’s entire bloodstream came to a freezing stop. The first result of this freezing of his blood caused him to release his grip on his friend’s bones. As the creature had already been on its path to gaining altitude, Leyoht fell back.

  It was upon releasing his grip on his skeletal friend when Leyoht found himself plummeting toward the ground. Everything seemed to freeze in place—even when he moved at what felt like the speed of sound.

  That was when his death suddenly dawned on him. Upon witnessing his descent into death, a bolt of fear shredded its way into his blood. Oh no! Not this again!