Chapter 56: Final Confrontation

The earth was shaking beneath their feet with increasing furore as the chasm greedily expelled itself, champing down on the edges of Eldridge Falls. Emma tumbled back against the wall, eyes wide in terror, and watched the futile efforts of townspeople to keep upright. The shadow leapt forward, its massive tendrils crawling closer, darkening everything in its path. "Stand your ground!" Emma shrieked; her voice cracked with urgency. Yet, hard to do when the earth itself was breaking asunder beneath them. Nathaniel grasped her arm and yanked her back fissure tearing the ground open where she had been standing. "We can't stay here, Emma!" he yelled, his face pale but resolute. "No," Emma said, head a-shaking as she stared up at the dark form looming over them. "We have to stop it. This is what it's all been leading to. We can't run now." Julian appeared beside them, puffing with the effort of forcing his way through. "How do we even fight that thing? It's everywhere!" "We have to find a source," Emma said, scanning the horizon. "It's feeding off of something. There has to be some way we can cut it off." Donovan ran up, wild-eyed with fear. "It's getting stronger! I saw it swallow the old church. We don't have much time!" Emma gritted her teeth. All so real, the insinuation in her mind from the vision of what was happening at this very instant. It almost seemed as though the weight rested on her shoulders-the survival of the town depended upon it, and if they didn't do this now, that would be all. She looked around, her eyes falling upon Grace, the librarian guiding some of the younger children to safety. Grace returned the glance and nodded in assent; an understanding somehow silently passing between them in that moment. Now or never. "Let's split up," Emma said. "We have to figure out where this thing is drawing its power from." "Split up? Are you crazy?" Julian stared at her like she was insane. "That thing is out there!" "I know," Emma replied, her voice firm. "It's just the only way. We need to find its weak point, and fast." Nathaniel nodded and stepped forward. "I'll go with Donovan. We check the west side. Maybe it's coming from the ruins." Julian nodded reluctantly. "I'll go to the old mill. It's near the woods. If this thing's tied to the land, it may be drawing energy from there." Emma clenched her fists. "I head for the town square. It started there, it may end there, too." And then they ran in opposite directions, wordless and hearts pounding from fear and determination. The closer she got to the middle of town, the more fully horrific it became. The weight of the shadow buckled buildings; once proud structures now shattered into rubble. What once had been a square where everybody gathered around to share in the community was now a battlefield. Right in the middle of it, the shadow twisted and writhed alive. Emma felt like her breath was caught in her throat. She had never seen anything like this. It wasn't just a presence; the shadow was feeding. Feeding upon the fear, doubt, and despair of the townspeople. And with every moment that they delayed, it grew stronger. "Emma!" someone hollered from behind. Turning, she saw Grace running toward her, out of breath. "Grace! You shouldn't be here!" Emma yelled, her eyes frantically scanning the faces till finally, a familiar face made a sudden wave of relief wash over her. "I found something," Grace said, holding out an old, dustily covered book. "It was from the library archives. There's something about this ancient force-something the town's founders tried to hide. This shadow-it's not new. It has been here for centuries waiting for the right moment to strike." The book was fragile, its pages yellowed with age; Emma turned them. She fell upon an illustration symbol, some odd spiral pattern. It looked so familiar. "It is the same symbol on the oldest monument of the town," she stammered, her head reeling. "The founders must have sealed this thing away, and it is trying to break free." Grace nodded. "That monument-that's the key. If we can destroy the symbol, we might be able to stop it." Emma's heart was racing. "Then that's what we need to do. Come on!" Nathaniel and Donovan sprinted through the ruins of the west side, dodging falling debris and creeping tendrils of shadow that seemed to be everywhere. The closer they came to the ruins- thick with the heavier the air felt. "This place.it feels off," Donovan muttered, looking around. "Like it's saturated in the dark. " "Just keep moving," Nathaniel urged. "If Emma's right, the source has to be nearby." They found themselves standing before the ruins of some older building that still stood, even crumbling in many places. There in the centre was some weird, gnarled tree, its roots blackened and twisted. There was something about it that seemed. Not quite right. Nathaniel could feel it in his bones. "You feel that?" Donovan asked, his voice shaking. "Yeah," Nathaniel said, stepping closer. "It's here. Whatever we're looking for, it's right here." Before they could make out anything, a very loud growling shook the ground. The shadow had caught up with them. "Run!" Nathaniel shouted, pulling on Donovan's arm. By then it was too late. The shadow surged, tendrils wrapping around them, tugging them into darkness. They finally reached the monument at the town square. The actual structure itself was full of vines, but one could easily make out the unmistakable symbol: the same spiral from the book. "This is it," Emma said, her voice shaking. "We have to destroy it." "But how?" Grace whispered back, her eyes wide. "It's an ancient stone." Emma's mind was in a flurry. "We need fire. Something strong enough to break it." Grace fished into her bag and pulled out a small vial. "I have this concoction my grandmother taught me; it's supposed to burn through anything." Emma did not bat an eye. "Will have to suffice." They threw the concoction at the sign, and for one whole second, it did absolutely nothing. Then a few crackling noises emitted, and the stone began to sizzle. The symbol lit up and shone while the shadow recoiled screaming in agony. "It's working!" Grace exclaimed. But in one moment, well-what did the shadow do? It fought back with a vengeance. The earth beneath them shook; the monument started to crumble. Emma fell backwards, her heart racing. Well, this shadow wasn't going to go down without a fight. There was a loud crack and splinter, and a great tendril of darkness shot out, aimed directly at Emma. She froze; as though her body had frozen with fear. In the fraction of a second, before it struck, a figure leapt in front of her and absorbed the full impact of the blow. It was Nathaniel. The falling darkness flogged back to flog a lifeless figure to the ground. Emma screamed because it was all now falling to the fate of Eldridge Falls and the life of her most dear friend.