Chapter 63: A Sacrifice of Hope

The town was in bedlam. People ran wildly through the streets screaming, racing for shelter as the shadow fell across Eldridge Falls. At the centre of it all, the vortex pulsed with a sickly light. Emma, Julian, Harper and Grace all stood in paralyzed horror as the huge form that loomed before them continued to grow with every second that passed. Something has to be done," Emma shook out in a whisper. She could feel the fear crawling into her stomach, but this was hardly the time for those kinds of feelings. Julian stepped forward, his jaw clenched. "Whatever that thing is, it's not going to stop until it destroys the town. Still pale, Harper shook his head. "I didn't mean to let this happen. It's connected with the energy, with the machine. I thought I could control it, but." "You can't control everything, Harper," Grace said, soft yet firm. "But we can still stop it. Emma turned to them; a feeling of urgency was building in her chest. "We have to go to the source. This thing is tied to the town's energy. We have to cut it off where it started." Harper's eyes went wide. "The old mines," he said. "The energy runs deep beneath the town-centuries old, even before Eldridge Falls was founded. "Then that's where we have to go," Emma said, and her voice was hard with resolution. "But we can't do this alone. We'll need help." Julian's face was grim. "Who are we going to ask? The whole town is terrified." Emma didn't wait for his response. "We ask the ones who aren't afraid to fight. The younger ones-the ones with nothing to lose." Grace nodded in understanding. "I know a few that will be joining us. They are scared, but they will fight for their home." Emma's heart was racing inside of her chest. This was it-this was the last hope. If unable to stop the growing darkness, Eldridge Falls will cease to exist. Before nightfall, Emma had gathered a small clique of the town's juvenile blood in the village's main square: she had Julian, Harper, and Grace-good; now she had five others: Thomas-a great-boned silent youngster who worked at the mill; Caroline, brilliant quick-tempered beauty; Luke, ever ready with an earnest joke to cut a constricting atmosphere; Sarah and Sam, irrepressible twins on whom nobody ever trod. Emma watched the faces in front of her-terrified yet determined. "We're going to head to the mines," she began. "Harper said energy feeding the vortex comes from deep beneath the town. We can shut it down and maybe stop whatever that thing is." Thomas screwed up his face. "And what, exactly, are we dealing with? We don't know, Julian said in a low voice. "But we do know it's dangerous. You don't have to come." Thomas shook his head. "I'm in. I'm not letting that thing destroy everything that we've worked for." Caroline crossed her arms. "You'll be wanting someone who can think on their feet. I'm coming too." Luke grinned, but it didn't touch his eyes. "Wouldn't miss it for the world. They stared into each other, and the only thing that could escape Sarah's mouth was, "We stick together." Emma smiled-her heart heavy, knowing what fate lay ahead for both of them. "Thank you," she whispered. The hike upward to the old mines wasn't easy. The only sounds were of leaves crunching beneath footsteps and the low rumble of the vortex above the town, still menacingly swirling. The closer they got to the entrance of the mines, the colder the wind started to whip through the air, sending shivers down Emma's body. "We're close," Harper said in a low tone. "The energy's stronger here. I can feel it." The mine entrance was dark, an ominous hole into the earth that just seemed to drink the light in. Emma only hesitated a moment before stepping forward. "Stay close," she whispered, though her fear caught in her chest. It was getting progressively colder the deeper they went. The stench of damp clung heavily to the walls. The deeper down in the mine, the heavier it would get in the atmosphere. Emma could feel the weight of the darkness pressing upon her, the very earth wanting to choke them. "This place gives me the heebie-jeebies," Luke muttered more usual bravado, failing as they went farther down into the mine. "We're almost there," Harper whispered, trying to shake a quiver from his voice. "The source of the energy is right ahead." Around the bend, the tunnel opened into a single large underground chamber. An enormous, ancient stone structure sat at the heart of the room, whittled and worn, pulsating with soft blue light. The thing hummed with energy, a low vibration humming through Emma's bones. "There it is," said Harper in a soft, barely audible tone. "The source of the town's power." Julian stepped forward, his eyes narrowing. "So, how do we shut it down?" Before he could get an answer, a low growl rumbled deep into the chamber. Emma's heart stopped as a hulking form came out of the dark-twisted and so huge, its eyes glowing indecently in the yellow light. "It followed us," Caroline whispered, shaking. It moved toward them, its movements languid but the way one does when one knows his quarry has nowhere to run. "We can't fight that thing," Luke said, his voice edging toward panic. "We need to get out of here!" "No," Emma said, her voice firm while it clutched at her heart in trepidation building high. "We finish this, Harper-what do we do?" Harper swallowed hard. "We have to destroy the structure. That's the only way we can cut the energy off completely." But that thing won't let us get close, Julian said, clenching his hand on the pickaxe he'd brought with him. We'll distract it, Emma said, the wheels in her head turning. Thomas, Luke, and Sarah, You guys keep it busy. The rest of us will destroy the structure. Thomas nodded, but he had gone white. "You better hurry." The rest - Thomas included - ran forward as the creature neared, hollering at the tops of their lungs, swinging their weapons wildly in its direction. It roared with a flash of glowing eyes as it sprang forward. "Now!" Emma yelled, racing for a boulder and toward the stone structure. Already, Harper furiously laboured, his hammer chiselling into the bottom of the thing. "It's going to take too long!" he yelled over the din. "We don't have time!" Emma yelled, her heart boisterous inside her chest. She snatched up another rock and slammed it against the glowing stone. It flickered, then steadied the structure held. The sound of the fight behind them was getting louder; Thomas and the rest trying to fend it off, their shouts starting to wear a desperate tone. "We need to break it now!" Julian shouted as his axe fell into the stone with all his might. The rock contraption exploded in a sharp crack; the room shook with it. That shining bright blue, just for that instant in time, was gone; and with it, that heavy energy that seemed so prevailing throughout the mine, was no more. It fell upon its knees, screaming; the blood-curdling screech that filled the room seemed to reverberate off the walls before it coalesced into a cloud of shadow and disappeared into nothingness, gone away to the dark. For perhaps a full minute, there was absolutely nothing to be seen. Emma swung to her friends, her face as white and exhausted, and slowly asked, "Is it over?" Harper nodded like a crazy person, her eyes wild with disbelieving. "We did it." But before the relief could course through her veins, a low rumble echoed through the mine and the earth beneath them started to shudder. "We gotta get outta here!" Julian yelled, tugging hard on Emma's arm, whirling toward the tunnel. In one wild scramble, they crawled through a narrow tunnel, the mine collapsing behind them, boulders tumbling down about them; now she was running on shaking earth, her heart pounding against her chest. The next instant, there was one deafening roar, and the tunnel went down behind them, blotting out the only way out. In going Emma and her friends into the mine, with the walls now closing in as the earth beneath their feet begins violently heaving.