Darkness Risen-The Torcher

Natural Barrier

A running Jeffery and Karen made their way out of the research facility to the parking lot. There was total chaos and commotion as dozens of panicked people run for their lives, all headed to where they believed would be a safe ground; some ran to the muster point, most struggled to enter their vehicles, others continued running on foot.

A blast ripped through the fourth floor of the facility, Jeffery and Karen witness as some individuals jumped off the windows of their own offices, gravity showed no mercy on them.

“Where’s your car, Jef?” She asked, “Where did you park?”

“Close to the entrance,” he said. Jeffery checked his pockets, “Oh God! I left the car keys on the table in the lab!” Looking at the keys in his hand.

“Gosh! Let’s go!” Karen said. She threw her car keys at him, “Follow me!”

She led him to a nearby Disabled Person's Parking area, where she parked her black SUV.

“Typical,” said Jeffery He gasped, “You never seized to amaze me!”

“I got my neighbour’s parking permit, okay!” She yelled.

“Oh for Christ sake, Karen.” He said, “You told me she died like six months ago?”

“Excuse me?!” She yelled, “At least I didn’t park my car bazillion miles away from civilisation! I used to carry her around with my car, you know that. Why do I need to explain it to you anyway?”

As Jeffery and Karen argued on their way to where she parked her car, they witnessed a horrendous phenomenon that unfolded; the sun dimmed as though blanketed by a thick cloud of darkness.

“Oh my God!” Karen said, “Jeffery! What’s…happening?”

“Get in the car!” He yelled as an extremely painfully loud, and irritating high-pitched sound cut through the surroundings, accompanied by terrible noises that left a whistling sound in their ears. It sent them all to the ground. Setting off almost all the car alarms in the premises.

“Get in the car!” He cried out, pressing the car remote, it didn’t work so he used the key to open the car doors. Jeffery entered and shut his door. Realising Karen wasn’t able to get in, he got out through the passenger side and found her screaming on the ground. Windshields from the nearby cars began to shatter.

“Oh my God!” She cried, “Help me! Jeffery help me!”

He managed to get himself and Karen back into the SUV through the passenger side. The sound subsided. Something began falling from the sky; solid objects were thudding terrifically against the roof of the car.

“What it is?” Karen said as she bent her head to have a good look.

“Dead Birds!” He said.

Some dead birds landed on the windshield.

“What?”

“The birds in the skies,” he said. “The sound must’ve killed them all or something.”

The rear window popped, Karen screamed. She kept calm, after realizing what happened.

While they listen to the sound of objects hitting the roof of other cars in the premises and around the surrounding, the doors to the main entrance of the research building exploded with such great force. People were still screaming as Karen and Jeffery sighted the beast making its way out of the voracious fire; its entire body visible from a distance inflicted such great terror and fear in the hearts of those who gazed upon it. A cry never heard of before wailed through the crowds who tried to make their way out of the premises. Even though covered in flame, its heart could be seen shining brightly from afar. The beast walked down the steps and seized a man by his throat, smashing him several times on the steps, and with its foot, crushed the man’s skull.

The beast looked around for whom to attack.

“We need to get out of here!” She cried out.

“Sure thing!” He said, with his foot on the pedal, zooming out of the parking lot in an intolerable speed like an old racer.

The beast sighted them and roared.

“Oh my God,” Karen screamed. “I think it sees us!”

The beast ignored the ones who were frozen, struck with fear and had surrounded themselves around it. Running down to catch up with Karen and Jeffery in the SUV, a huge plane crashed on top of the beast and the frightened. A massive explosion ripped through the research facility, as the fire devoured all in its path. Many individuals were seen running with fire burning their entire body as they cried out for help.

“Oh my God!” Karen screamed again, looking back at the premises.

Jeffery had a glimpse of what had occurred via the rear-view mirror but he forged ahead with the headlamps full.

Karen returned to her seat, terrorised, strapping herself with the seatbelt as she tried to trick her mind from storing the incident anywhere in her memory.

They could see more objects engulfed in fire falling from the sky, crashing into buildings in a city immersed in total blackout.

“Where do we go?” She asked, crying with mucus running down her nostrils.

“I know a safe place!” he responded. “Here, clean up!” handing a white handkerchief to her.

“Thank you!” She sobbed, “Where is safe, Jef?”

“Hey, look at me!” He spoke gently, “Everything’s going to be fine, okay?”

Hundreds of cars filled the streets, all running uncontrollably. Another huge object fell from the sky, crashing into a nearby gas station. The explosion lit up the surroundings. Jeffery set his eyes on the road ahead, dodging through what lied before them. Their hearts were pounding hard.

“Oh God!” Karen said. Quickly winding down the window, she started vomiting.

“Are you okay?” He asked, “Should I pull over?”

“No!” She protested, “Don’t pull over, Jef. Please, let’s just keep going!”

“Are you alright?” He asked again.

“Yes,” she said. She wiped her tears, “I’ll be okay…Is it war?”

“What?”

“Are we at war?” She asked, “But if it’s war, the government would have announced it, right?”

Jeffery nodded his head, “That’s right!”

“And even if an enemy is to attack this country,” she said. “First there’s got be a conflict of interest maybe, then tension, followed by warnings and declaration of war, right?”

“Yes!” Jeffery said, nodding his head again.

“You don’t just attack a nation without issuing a warning and or a threat, right?” She added.

He only smiled, holding her hand.

“Why are you quiet, Jef?” She said, “There’s got be some answers! There’s always an answer, right?”

“Yes!” He replied. He wrapped his arm around her as he draw her gently towards him so she’d rest on his chest.

As the frightened duo manoeuvred their way through the city; they saw lots of dead bodies lying on the ground, numerous road traffic accidents and people crying for help. Many more fuel stations and buildings on fire.

“That sound, Jef!” She said, “Is it, you know, maybe the sound of huge explosion from nuclear bomb far from here or some kind of new weapon fired by the Chinese or Russians or…North Korea?”

“I highly doubt that,” he responded. “That mustn’t have come from an artificial source.”

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“Well, you see…” he sighed. “I don’t think that sound came from a man-made source.”

“Then where did it come from?” She asked again.

Jeffery couldn’t say a word, he only turned and smiled at her as he drove with care and caution. He took a sharp right turn at a junction, climbing the sidewalk and back on the road again just so to create a scene in order to avoid giving her a confident answer.

“Do you have anybody in town, like family or relative you’d like us to check?” He asked, with his left hand on the steering wheel.

“I’m all alone!” She said in her trembling voice, “I’m by my lonely! Just my cat Rose but she drowned a week ago!” Karen began to cry.

“You’re not alone!” He said. Jeffery kissed her on the forehead, “You still have me!”

She sobbed. Karen gently grabbed his hand which was resting on the emergency brake and buried her left hand in it.

“You’ve got anything you wanna pick from your place?” He asked.

“I’m scared!” She replied, “I don’t wanna go anywhere. I just wanna be wherever you are, wherever you go, I’ll go!”

“Got a couple of stuff I’ll need to pick at my place, if you don’t mind!” He remarked, “After that, we’re going to have to find a way to get to old Timothy’s place. We’ll pick him up then go to a much safer place.”

“Who’s Timothy?” She asked.

“Some old guy I believe would have some clues on this whole hellish occurrences!” He said.

“Okay!” She said.

They drove to his apartment. Jeffery asked her to wait downstairs in the vehicle but she refused. Karen opened the glove compartment and handed him a searchlight.

His room was stuffy and unkempt. Using the searchlight, Jeffery’s feet cruised through the books and some of the stuff scattered on the floor of his living room.

“Nice place!” She said.

“Sorry I didn’t uh…There was no time to clean up before I left for work!” He said, “You know!”

“Good excuse.” Karen said.

Jeffery walked into his bedroom and picked a diary from underneath his pillow. Unknown to him, Karen was right by the door watching him as he knelt next to his bed and talked in a soft and indistinct manner as if he was disputing with someone. She could notice the anger in his little act.

“Are you praying?” She inquired.

“Jesus!” He said, “Karen!”

“I’m sorry,” she responded. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“It’s okay!” Jeffery answered, “Let’s go.” He stood up.

“Maybe when things settle down, we’re going to have to do some cleaning up here?” She said.

“If things settle down, Karen. IF!” He replied. He took a bag and picked a few clothes and some beverages from the fridge. He asked her to check around if she could find anything that’d be useful to them.

There was a knock on the door. They all stopped what they were doing. The knock came through once again. As Jeffery made his way to the door, Karen tried to stop him but he went ahead and opened it anyway.

A woman ran into his arms.

“Oh Jeffery. Thank God you’re alive!” The woman said.

Karen couldn’t hide her jealousy. Crossing her arms, enviously.

“I can’t find my kids.” The woman added, “Right after that loud noise that sent us all to the floor. We were together, I mean, they were right there with me. After about a minute or so, I got up from the floor and…They were all gone. My children, they had all disappeared.”

“How do you mean, Sandra?” he asked, “Aren’t they supposed to be at school?”

“No!” She replied, stuttering. “I was with them, in the living room. They are on holiday. Christmas holiday started three days ago. We were watching TV. Kingston said he wanted to watch cartoon and since I was less busy, I sat down with him and his two sisters who later joined us. They were all there when it happened. Even though I didn’t hear their voices while I was screaming. I only found this!” unveiling her children’s clothes. “And this…” bringing out their shoes, “What happened, Jeffery?” She sobbed inconsolably, “This is a dream, right? The Lord wouldn’t do this to me, would He? Could He? He wouldn’t let this happen to us, right?”

“Where’s Mark?” He asked her.

“My husband had a meeting by 2:00pm this afternoon.” She said, “He was supposed to leave yesterday but took the morning flight. We dropped him at the airport around 8:45am this morning, then went to the mall with the kids to get some groceries.”

Jeffery turned and looked at Karen.

“Tina caught the flu, so I had to get her some medicine at the pharmacy.” said the bewildered mother, “Now they are all gone! I can’t find my kids! Their father would kill, Jef. Mark will kill me. My children!” She buried her head in his chest once more.

“It’ll be alright, Sandra!” he said, “Everything will be alright. Did you look around the house? What about the neighbours, have you asked them?”

“I looked everywhere,” she answered. “I tried dialling 911, the phone’s not working. All lines are dead! The internet’s dead! Angela’s child has disappeared too!”

“Angela?” He responded, “I thought she was pregnant?”

“Yes! Her E.D.D is next Friday!” She answered.

“E.D.D?” He asked.

“Estimated Due Date!” Karen said.

Jeffery still confounded.

“Expected date of delivery, Jef!” Karen emphasized, “The date a pregnant woman is expected to give birth?”

“Oh!” He said. “Look, Sandra,” he turned to her. “This place isn’t safe anymore. I’m just trying to pick up some necessary stuff I’d need. We’re getting out of here, now! And I want you to come with us, okay?” He held her hand, “I know a safe place!”

“I can’t,” she said. “I have to wait for my children to come back home. I have to wait for Mark. I cannot just walk away.”

“We won’t leave the city,” he said. “I’ll just take us to a place I believe is much safer, for now. And then we’ll try and contact Mark. I believe all the children are fine!”

“Where? How?” She interjected, “I can’t leave without my children, Jef! I can’t live without them!” Sandra gazed into his eyes, she began to cry. “You shouldn’t worry much. I have a handgun, Mark taught me how to use it. I’ll wait for my family. They’ll come home, they always do!”

“I think we’ll need this, right?” said Karen. She waved a searchlight she found somewhere on the floor, in the room.

“Yeah!” He sighed. He turned back to Sandra, “Listen…”

“You should not worry about me, Jeffery!” She insisted, “Just go. I’ll be alright. I’ll just hang around with Angela and the rest of the neighbours. We’ll be fine. You should take care of yourself out there.” Sandra turned and made her way out of the room, gently shutting the door behind her.

“Jeffery!” Karen said, “I wanna pee. Where’s your bathroom?”

“In there…First door on your left,” he said, pointing at his bedroom door.

“Thanks!”

Minutes later, Karen and Jeffery were back in the SUV.

“So where do we go?” She asked, “The police station?”

“If this is what I think it is…” he said. “I don’t think the entire army of the world can save us from it. We need to go see someone, then go somewhere!”

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“I don’t think that thing we saw is alone!” He said, “Also, if it is what I think it is, I’m afraid the worse is yet to come! For immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken!”

“Okay, you’re being a bit spine-chilling!” She joked, “Come down to my grade, Padre!”

“Matthew 24:29.” He said, “I think we’re probably witnessing what you’d call…The end of the world! End of days! The eleventh hour or just simply put, last days!”

“Last days…of what?” She asked.

Jeffery laughed.

“What?” She asked again, “You said ‘last days’ and I asked you what it all mean?”

“You don’t read the bible, do you?” He smiled, sighing as he gazed at her.

A woman screamed from his apartment. They heard multiple gunshots. And many more screams echoed from the building.

“Jeffery!” Karen said, “I think we should go!”

Jeffery turned the key in the ignition, switching on the headlights as they screeched off, leaving nothing but smoke and skid marks behind.