Encountering Darkness Read online

  Pete looks around for where the voices continue coming from. He gathers they came from behind, and he turns around. He sees no one and fills with disappointment and worry.

  Standing in silence, he is about ready to sit back down when he hears whispering.

  “What should we do?” says the girl.

  “Shush!” says the boy in a harsh tone. “He can probably hear us.”

  A rustle. Pete realizes it is them running away.

  “Wait!” Pete yells as loud as he could, but the steps only proceed faster.

  Pete waits for a second and soon begins to follow the steps. He wasn’t sure what he is experiencing, but thought there is a possibility he is crazy. He walks through the thick woods and reaches a stream. Pete bends down and cups water in his hands.

  Continuing on his way, he crosses the stream and moves through the forest. He walks for what seems like hours and still has no sight of anything. After moving through the thick forest, he catches sight of a clearing up ahead. He steps through the last bit of trees and notices a pasture. For as far as the eye could see, there is a clear field of grass. After moving a few steps in the plain, he looks back and sights the large forest behind him. He begins to walk some more, but grows too tired to continue and lays down in the pasture.

  At this point, Pete feels helpless. He doesn’t understand what to do and once again he is lost and uncertain. He begins to think about everything that is going on with him. What was this world trying to tell him? What was happening to him? Who was that person who led him through the corridor? Who was the man who led him out of the darkness? What, where, and who were those laughing children?

  Pete begins to feel hopeless. What is he missing?

  “Can’t I just have a clear answer? Can’t it be known to me what is going on?”

  Pete closes his eyes and sulks.

  “I’m just pathetic!” yells Pete. “I can’t do anything right. I’m hopeless; just leave me al…”

  Pete stops because he isn’t sure who he is speaking to, or even what he is talking about. All he knew is that he is alone, and he needs help.

  Pete turns over on his side and is about ready to close his eyes and fall asleep, when he notices the depression in the grass. Not thinking too much about it, he reaches out his hand to touch the grass. The depression moves back, and he can hear the slow sound of grass brushing up against something.

  “Is that you? I don’t suppose you would speak?”

  Not expecting to hear back, he turns over to his other side.

  “You know, if it helps, there are many hopeless people that come through here. They are just like you.” It is the same girl he heard before. He is sure of it.

  “What are you saying? Why can’t I see you?”

  “I’m not sure, but it happens to everyone. It even happened to me; although, I can’t remember it, but I’m told it did.”

  “You don’t talk like you are only a girl.”

  “How do you know I’m a girl? You have never seen me, have you?”

  “No, I assumed that you are. Plus, you were playing tag with that boy.”

  “How do you know that was a boy?”

  Pete stops for a second. This girl or lady, or whatever you call it, is right. He isn’t sure of anything anymore.

  “Will I ever be able to see you?”

  “In time you will.”

  “Will you help me find my way?”

  “I can’t do that. Find your own way, but I warn you, if you do, you will only get lost.”

  “That makes little sense. How do I find out what or even where I am going?”

  “You can’t, you just…well Pete, you have to do what you did at the tree, the candle stand, or in the underground passageway.”

  “How do you know my name?”

  The girl laughs, “Oh Pete, I know more than your name.”

  “Are you a god or something? Are you a higher being?”

  The girl laughs again, “I am not, and I guess you could call me a guide; although, I can’t help you.”

  “You are useless.”

  “Pete, one day you will understand, but today is not the day.”

  “So what now?”

  He waits for a while to hear a response, but the girl seems to have left him. He is once again alone. Pete continues to lay on the ground. He isn’t sure what he is missing. All this sitting around and waiting is getting him nowhere, so he stands up and looks around. He could go through this plain and see where that leads or he could go back through the forest and follow the stream he found earlier.

  Pete did not want to go over the open plain, with the hot and bright sun high overhead, so he proceeds back to follow the stream. As he enters the forest, the shade from the trees feels great.

  Definitely a good idea, thinks Pete.

  He makes his way to the stream and follows it downstream. He notices the stream is crystal clear. As he walks along the ground, he recognizes a sound of an animal in front of him: a frog. Hearing the frog, he is so ecstatic, he drops to his knees to look for the animal.

  Now this is a sight to observe because Pete, a grown man, although very young in age, is in nice well kept clothes, crawling on his knees looking for a frog. For even a brief moment, Pete smiles and seems to be happy. He follows the noise of the frog, but he cannot see it. He is sure the frog is right in front of him.

  “It must be invisible like the boy and girl. This really is a strange world.”

  He continues down the stream and realizes that the trees are becoming sparse. Also, the ground becomes less grassy, and there are patches of dirt intermingle. He then looks at the water and notices it isn’t crystal clear anymore. Pete stops. He isn’t sure if he is progressing into the other part of the world that he began in.

  This must be another side of the world, thinks Pete.

  He continues on, but stumbling ensues. He looks up towards the sky and there is no sun or moon.

  The sun must have gone down and there must be cloud cover, Pete determines.

  At this point he has no way to continue on, so he sits down by the stream and falls asleep.

  Chapter Nineteen

  A rustle, a crack, a scream sounds, but it seems to be in the distance. It is a faint sound that didn't seem to come from anywhere close by, but it sure startles Pete from his sleep.

  He sits up, looks around, but can’t see anything. Pete grabs his face and cries out. He can’t make out anything, but he can hear noises all around, whispers, and the worst part is, they knew he is here.

  Over here…no over here...hey, are you lost? Can you see? Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Always. Why listen to him? Listen to me. I know what is best, and I care for you.

  Pete stumbles around; the voices continue crying out from all around him. Although his dream had them coming from the distance, at this point in time, the whispers are all around him.

  As he stumbles around, he trips over a tree root, and lands in water, face first. His head is underwater, but the voices are still prevalent. He tries to swing his legs down and touches the bottom of the river. He brings his head above the water and realizes he is moving down stream. The only good news, Pete can think of, is that the voices are gone.

  He begins to tread water and keeps the head perpendicular to the flow of stream. As he swims, he notices the stream moves quicker. He swims faster hoping to reach the edge of the river, but it seems to be of no hope.

  The water picks up too much speed at this point and ‘thump,’ he hits something with his head. He feels blood coming out of his forehead, and he becomes light headed. As he floats farther down the river, he begins to lose consciousness.

  Pete has no hope and at this point and begins to have a conversation like the desperate conversation last time.

  Soon, Pete speaks to himself, and this would be a funny moment to watch or listen, but for Pete, he is alone.

  “What! You don't want to talk to me now? Yeah, when I actually need help of course. Guess I'm just gunna die out here
.” Pete screams in a hysterical manner.

  After swallowing water and yelling, Pete passes out.

  Chapter Twenty

  Pete feels a kick to his side and a lighter kick to the head. He wakes up and moans.

  “He's awake! What should we do?”

  The voices talk to each other. There are a few of them. Pete tries to see who is talking to him, but it isn’t possible.

  “I'm not sure. He could be a spy!”

  “Look at him though. This guy looks awful.” This is the third voice to speak, and it is a surprising sound. This is something he hadn’t heard in a while, a grown female voice.

  Pete looks at the direction the people are speaking, and begs, “Please help me, I'm completely lost and do not understand where I am. Plus, I cannot see anything. Are you guys visible?”

  The second voice, a deeper, intimidating voice yells out, “Don't speak! We are trying to figure out if you are worth dealing with.”

  The female voice suddenly begins talking. “Listen you. You could get us in a lot of trouble. We are not supposed to be dealing with your kind. We are just supposed to let you be. They all think you should be killed and that you are a spy. I think you are telling the truth and are just lost, but don't speak or your luck might change!”

  The first voice speaks again, “See though, he's crazy, he asks if we are visible. Well, don't you guys see? He is out of his mind!”

  The female voice cuts through the forest. “Actually, he is not! I have been told of the invisible people. They hide, are unseen, and only rarely speak. My father met one a few years ago.”

  “So what happened?”

  “I don't know. I haven't seen my father since. He spoke of this voice he heard one day, the next day he left, and then I haven't seen him since.”

  “Hmm, sounds like your father was crazy Amy,” says the second voice in a joking manner.

  In the darkness Pete sees nothing, but he hears a quick thump, and a sound of a man groaning in pain. Then a loud smack and the sound of something hitting the ground with a loud thud.

  “Yeah, what are you saying now? Huh? What’s that? Look at your pathetic body on the ground. Who's laughing now? Get up! You piece of crap! Nobody talks about my father like that!” The woman screams. Pete is sure she is kicking the guy on the ground because Pete can make out the continual thumping.

  “Okay Amy, enough of that.”

  “Yeah, guess he's had enough because he's the one on the ground and passed out.” Amy gives a mocking laugh. “Well, I don't know about you, but if this person before us heard some voices, like my father, he's not crazy and he's telling the truth. Moreover, I'm gonna help him, and if you try to stop me, or even pull a move on me, you will be on the ground too. Got it?”

  The first person laughs. “I have no problem with any of this. If you say he’s safe, then that's good enough with me. Let's get him to safety though; we have been out here way too long.”

  “Yes, you are right. If he is hearing voices, I think it means he is important for some reason.”

  “Let’s just hope the damned do not find him.”

  “Let’s not think about that.”

  The two people kneel next to Pete and help him up. He is led by both of them, one on each arm, all the way through this world. He has no clue where he is, where they lead him.

  Finally Pete asks, “How do you both understand where you are going; I can see nothing.”

  “Oh, that's easy, we are not blind like you.” says the first voice.

  “What do you mean I'm blind?”

  The woman laughs. “You must have been in the other world? The dark world. Well, um, what's your name?”

  “Pete.”

  “Well Pete, you have a nasty head injury, and you seem to have lost your sight because of it. It's daytime right now. Don't worry though, we will lead you the right way.”

  “How do I know you are leading me the right way? In that ‘dark world’ you speak of, I picked up many voices, and not all of them were trying to help me.”

  “Pete, we are all you got, so we can either leave you here, or you can come with us.”

  Pete knew full well he has no chance of being by himself, so he continues on with the two people.

  After a point of walking, Pete becomes so light-headed and unaware of anything going on, two people drag him along. Eventually, Pete passes out.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Pete awakens to the sound of no noise, and he gets up off what he is on, but falls to the ground. He still can’t see, but Pete once more gets up and tries to walk around to see where he is at. He bumps into everything including chairs, tables, and some lamp. Finally, he finds the door and reaches it, opens it, takes one step and falls down the stairs.

  When he reaches the bottom of the stairs, he scratches his head. He can feel a bandage on his forehead. He then feels around for where he is at; it is still another room. He stumbles around this room until he hears a voice.

  “You had enough?”

  Pete stops and looks toward the voice.

  “I just had to be sure of where I am. Plus, I need a glass of water.”

  Pete hears the sound of his woman rescuer. “Okay, I am going to set a few things straight. First, don't leave the room again. Second, I will get you what you need, you do not need to get it yourself, especially in your state. Third, you lie to me again, I will kill you…just like the guy I killed in the forest.”

  Pete freezes and sits on the ground because of his lightheadedness.

  The woman laughs, “He is dead, but he deserved it. Don't worry though, I probably won't kill you. That would be too easy anyways. Okay, so let’s get you back to your bed.”

  As she helps Pete to his bed, a door swings open and a man yells.

  “They're coming! Get out! Get out! Amy!”

  “I'm up here, and we're coming now!”

  “Who's coming? What's happening?” asks Pete.

  “The damned! We need to go now!”

  Amy takes Pete by the arm and pulls him down the stairs.

  At the bottom of the stairs was the same man Pete encountered in the forest.

  “Amy, leave that guy, he will just slow you down. In fact, he might be the reason they came here.”

  Pete realizes who this person is, the first person.

  “No, we’re not leaving him. He must be important then, and I will not be the one to get him killed.”

  “Have it your way, but I'm not coming with you then. You’re on your own.”

  The man runs out the door. Amy and Pete are once again alone.

  “Come on,” says Amy. “Let’s go.”

  Amy has to drag Pete outside. Pete waits for a second, expecting to hear the sound of gunfire, but instead all he hears is screaming coming from all around him. The whole town seems to be in a frenzy.

  They run in a certain direction. Pete wishes he could ask what is going on, but instead he had to use all of his strength just to keep up.

  To the best of Pete’s knowledge, Amy weaves in and out of trees trying to get away from the destruction. When it seems like they make it far enough away from the commotion, she stops.

  “Okay, Pete, do you know which direction you came from?”

  “I don't know. I’m blind remember?”

  “No, I mean which way were you walking when we found you?”

  “I was following a stream down south. That is if the sun is in the same location as it is in my world.”

  “What do you mean your world?”

  “I'm not from around here. I got here a few days ago and now I seem to be stuck here.”

  “Pete, that is how all of us got here. We all lived in the world you came from, and now we are all here. We are not sure why we are here, but what we do know for certain is that there is a dark, dark evil here. An evil you cannot imagine.”

  “Is that what the damned are?”

  “No, I believe the damned are people that are taken over by the evil. They are attacking my village now,
and they will destroy the whole village. They cannot be stopped, because they have certain powers that are beyond anyone's imagination.”

  “So, how do these damned get taken over?”

  “I'm not too sure, but I think they were once one of us. I also know the evil parade themselves as something great. Usually they communicate in the dark and they seem to be invisible. My father told me they are like voices in the darkness, trying to help you, but are only there to deceive.”

  Pete realizes a connection and states, “Amy that is exactly what happened to me. Except there was this other voice I heard that actually helped me out.”

  “Yeah, that's what my father heard too. It's the voice he tried to find. He told me it wasn't going to be easy, and then the next day, I guess, he left and went to find the voice.”

  “This makes little sense though: why voices, why these damned, why are we in this world? This is all plain silly. I just wanna go back to being the Mayor.”

  “This all seems silly, but if you think about it, we are experiencing something beyond us, beyond our realm. Even if you think this is all stupid or pointless, it doesn't matter, because it is happening right now. You are a part of it, and you cannot get out of it. Everyone who is here, in this world, cannot go back to the world we once knew.”

  “Okay, fine, I get it, but what are we supposed to do? You lost your village, as you say, so we are left with nothing. Now what?”

  “How am I supposed to know? I'm in the same spot as you. I would say that the only thing we can do is find the voice, um the good one I guess.” Amy puts her hand to her face and sighs. “You’re right, this is all so stupid. Maybe we should just give up.”

  “Yeah, we should probably just give up.”

  “Yeah, there's nothing we can really do.”

  “Yeah, there's really nothing we can do. I agree.”

  Amy sits down, and takes Pete's hand, pulling him to the ground.

  Both Amy and Pete sit in silence for a while, and Pete thinks about what is going on with everything. He thinks to himself.

  Why is this all happening? Why now? What is he suppose to do? Why can't he see? Who is this Amy person?