Eclipse

A Quiet Night

It was a quiet night in the Eastern province of New Earth. Misty and Rain were farther from the border than they had been all their lives – or at least for as long as Rain remembered. Most nights were usually terrifying. It was rare that they would sleep so soundly, especially in the middle of a forest. But that night felt different – serene almost. But serenity was a concept that died out since the eclipse happened ten years ago. The Darkens ruled the nights now. And haunted their dreams whenever they had the chance. But that night, Rain was having a beautiful dream.

Under normal circumstances, it would have just been a regular dream. But now, it felt like paradise. Rain was running down a buzzing streets. It felt like a festive period. People were dressed in colourful clothing as was he, with laughter echoing from their radiant faces. Laughter! When was the last time he heard that? Even though Rain could tell what it was, it sounded strange. Like he was hearing it for the first time. Rain tried to beckon to someone across the street but felt a hand cup firmly around his mouth. A familiar hand.

“We’re surrounded. Foot soldiers,” Misty whispered.

Rain opened his eyes to see himself back in the forest he fell asleep in. Was he expecting somewhere different? Rain knew very well that the world he was in was but a dream, yet a part of him hoped it wasn’t. A fleeting wish that he knew would only lead to disappointment. Yet he wished for it all the same. Rain could see Misty’s blue eyes glisten under the moonlight. Her long brown hair fell over her face almost touching his. Just like the first time he opened his eyes – or remembered opening his eyes. Rain’s earliest memory did not go further than that moment, a year and a half ago. Most of what he knew of the past was not his past. Only stories that Misty and the others had told him. But now, Misty and Rain were what remained of their little village.

They had travelled a great distance since the raid that saw them lose their home and had survived whatever the world threw at them. Rain had only one thing in mind all through that time – getting Misty to safety. It was the only thing he ever bothered about. One might even say it was the only reason Rain bothered to stay alive. Other than that, he really didn’t care. And that night was no different.

Quickly but quietly, Rain got to his feet. The best way of dealing with Darkens was by avoiding them. Misty and Rain were good at running, but they were even better at hiding. Misty got her name from one of her abilities – she could create mists and navigate through them. Like Rain, she didn’t remember much of her life before she was found by Glade – the head of their village. At least while it still existed. He found many other children and gave them names – as well as a place to lay their heads. He was a good man. Good men were hard to find these days.

But Glade wasn’t the one who found Rain. Misty was. And she named him not because of his abilities, but because of the circumstances at the time. After the Darkens had appeared during the eclipse, rainfall grew scarcer. Now, there would be droughts that lasted almost a year. In some provinces, the rain had stopped falling altogether, just like in the Eastern province. But Misty found Rain in a lake close to the village, and shortly after, rain began to fall. A miracle it was, hence his name.

Misty only ever used her mists whenever they were detected by Darkens. It took a toll on her to cover such wide areas and Rain would have to run with her on his back so that she could save her strength. But they were only just foot soldiers on their tail – the lowest Darkens in the hierarchy of the Dark army. They were pretty easy to avoid. The range of their sense of smell was limited compared to the others. Less than a foot radius. That was almost no better than the average person. So there was no need to conjure her mist.

Misty and Rain dribbled their way through the forest without alerting the Darkens. Somehow, they had their way of understanding terrains. It was usually the case with elementals – those gifted with control over an element. An arrow hit a tree a few meters from them. An archer! They were one of the worst Darkens to encounter. Their sense of smell was not spectacular either, but they could see far distances. Misty’s ability could deal with them, however. But before she could conjure it, she noticed something.

“Rain, there’s someone else here,” Misty said. She was as calm as usual. Rain followed everything Misty said without question, save one – saving people. Increasing the group made it harder to stay alive. They had no intention of staying in one place, so a small number was optimal. Naturally, Rain wasn’t happy with her discovery. That would explain why the archer’s arrow was far away from them. His target was someone else. His attention was still focused on the other person and that would give them enough time to run. Running towards that person would only draw attention to them. Misty knew this. But Rain knew very much that she was never going to leave that person behind, whoever they might be. That was the type of person she was. And he had to be the exact opposite to keep them both alive.

“Rain!” Misty beckoned. She could see the disapproval written all over his face as always, but that never changed her mind. Whenever Misty was set on doing something, there was no stopping her.

“Fine,” Rain grudgingly answered.

They ran towards the arrow, using the trees as barriers as best as they could. A few arrows came their way, but the trees did their job as they hoped they would. Rain’s only wish was that whoever it was should not be injured. Misty would have to use her ability and she would have him carry an injured person than carry her. It happened once before. And the last thing Rain wanted was a repeat of that. Misty didn’t speak to him for days because he refused to carry him. However, they were close and there was no smell of blood. That soothed his heart. If he fell behind while they ran, that was his problem. They could only do so much. However, Rain’s stomach churned when he saw who the archer’s target was – a child!