Chapter 65: A Last Stand

Outside, the storm that had been brewing into its full fury mirrored the turmoil that reigned inside the hidden room in the library. Where outside the darkness pulsed around them, here the air thickened. Emma's chest tightened; her friends were inside with her. And of course, there was the benefactor, his figure almost a blend in the swirling energy which filled the room. We gotta get out," Julian muttered, and his tone was urgent with sharpness. His fists were clenched; eyes darting around for any avenue of freedom. Emma struggled up onto her feet, her body still shaking from the dark energy that had flung her down just a moment before. "We don't give up," she went on low, but steadily. "There has to be a way. Harper jerked forward, his fists slamming against the door. "It's shut down tight! The only way we're going to get out is unless—" "Unless what?" Grace cut in; her eyes were wide and terrified. "We don't have time for 'unless'! They'll destroy everything if we don't do something now!" From the benefactor came cold laughter, filling the room. "You're all so predictable," it said, closing in. "I warned you. Eldridge Falls is mine. Your pathetic resistance was doomed from the start." Emma's heart quickened. She had no idea how they were going to fight this, but there was no other option. She wasn't going to let the town fall, not after everything they'd been through. "We gotta use the town's energy," Julian said, his voice now with a shade of definitiveness, like this had just now come into his head. "Those maps—those places of power—they're the key." Harper turned to him, still panting from trying to break down the door. "What are you talking about?" "This benefactor's been sucking the life out of this town, hasn't he?" Julian explained, eyes locking with Emma's. "But that means the town still has some life. We just have to tap into it before they do." Emma's mind was racing. But could it work? Can they use the town's power against this dark? He stepped forward, his voice cold. "It's too late. The power of Eldridge Falls belongs to me now. You're fighting a losing battle." Emma's fists were clenched, her determination hardening. "We'll see about that." And in an instant, she turned to Julian and nodded. They had to be quick. Not that the door was going to magically open, but they found a narrow window at the far back of the room. Harper smashed the glass out with a chair, and one after another, they slipped out into the storm cold rain slapping against their faces as they made their way down the alleys of town. The wind roared in the ears, and debris flew through the air as if the storm itself was trying to push them back. Where first?" Grace yelled above the roar of rain that had plastered her hair to her face. Julian was already running ahead; his eyes fixed with purpose. "The town square! That's where the old well is. It's one of the main sources of the town's power.". They could do nothing but run, the boots sloshing in the flooded streets. Every step was a fight against the storm, but they didn't have any time to stop. The benefactor's presence was stronger now as if the storm itself had been their doing. They came up to the town square and raised the well with its ancient stones. The storm raged as if even wilder there; the wind whipped around in circles that were furious. "We need to channel the power of the well," Julian yelled above the cacophony of the storm. "It's connected to the history of this town-its roots. Emma balked a moment and then stepped forward. She knew nothing about channeling this power, and didn't need to understand it completely. She needed only to try. "Stand back," she told the others quietly, her voice shaking yet determined. She closed her eyes to him and breathed deeply to centre herself in front of the well, the rough ancient stones beneath her fingertips. She thought of Eldridge Falls-the history of the town, the people that lived in it, fought for it, built lives and families here. She thought of the struggles, sacrifices, and hopes still lingering at every turn of the town. Then, in a flash, she felt it-something there pulse of energy beneath her fingertips, faint at first, but growing stronger. It surged up through her, filling her with warmth and strength. The storm still raged around them, but at that moment, Emma felt something else-something more huge than the darkness. "I can feel it!" she shouted, her eyes flying open. "The town's power-it's still here!" Julian grinned. "Now use it! But just as Emma geared up to harness that energy, the ground beneath them started to buck and heave violently. The moaning wind grew louder still, and at the edge of the square, a dark figure materialized. The benefactor. Whirled about by the storm wind, their cloak beating in its tenuous grasp, and from one hundred feet away, Emma felt a wash of the dark energy emanating from them. You think you can stop me?" boomed the benefactor's voice, somehow piercing through the roar of the storm. "This town's power is already mine. You are nothing but children playing with forces you don't understand." Emma gritted her teeth. "We understand enough. With that, she said no more, her eyes now set upon the well as she drew what was left of its energy into her being. Course through her it may have, but it would flow into an attack against the benefactor as a wave of light and energy clashed against them. The benefactor didn't bat an eye. He raised his hand, and the energy struck some invisible barrier, and in a shower of sparks, dissipated into the storm. You're too late, he sneered. This town is mine. The ground shook again, this time harder, and fissures started to appear in the cobblestones at their feet. Dark, wispy tendrils of energy snaked out from the benefactor, arcing out across the square, twisting around the buildings as if vines. "We can't let them destroy the town!" Harper shouted madly. "We have to stop them! But Emma's mind was already churning over and over. What the town needed was power, something beyond even the benefactor's capacity. "The clock tower!" she exclaimed as the sudden epiphany lit in her mind like a thunderbolt. "It's connected to the heart of the town! If we could tap that energy, we could beat them! She didn't wait for an answer but took off running. The others followed close behind her. The clock tower loomed in the distance, its spire barely visible through the rain. It was the tallest structure in the town-the old creaky gears had been turning for centuries, marking time's passage in Eldridge Falls. We finally arrived at the base of the tower, breathless and dripping wet. The wind whipped around them, and the storm seemed to worsen with each step they came closer to the tower. "We need to get to the top," Julian said, already heading toward the stairs. It was a steep climb, the narrow stairwell lit only by the odd flash of lightning through the small windows. Groaning with every movement of the gears of the mechanism, it seemed to whine, as if rasping echoes rebounded within the stone walls. They burst through onto the small platform at the top overlooking the town. The wind was fierce, and the rain lashed against them from every side. "This is it," Emma whispered, her words barely audible over the roar of the tempest. "We stop them, here and now." But even before she could so much as start to call down the energy of the clock tower, the platform beneath them bucked violently and a loud crack ripped through the air. The benefactor had arrived. With a benefactor of black energy that threatened to bring the whole tower down ominously swaying at its foundation, on a platform that had already started to crumble beneath their feet, the air was filled. Standing on the precipice with the future of Eldridge Falls hanging in the balance, Emma and her friends prepared for the last battle at hand.