Chapter 41: Awakening

Mist slips in at dawn down silent streets around Eldridge Falls, and clings on to old buildings as if some sort of ghostly veil. Standing at the edge of the town square, Emma Harper, with grey hair pulled back into a loose bun, wrapped her shawl tighter about her shoulders and stared out as the fog swallowed up the world before her. Standing tall beside her, Nathaniel's hair was grey, his eyes, the unrelenting gaze that always had been there- scanned the horizon. Time changed the town, but more so, time changed them. But Emma knew deep inside something else had shifted. Something dark. "You feel it too, don't you?" Emma asked softly in her tone barely above a whisper. Nathaniel nodded his mouth in a thin-lipped line. "It's back." They had hoped the battle with the ancient evil was the end of it. They fought and bled, sacrificed much more than they had ever thought possible. Now, standing here, they could feel that feeling of unease creep back into the town. "What do we do?" Emma asked, shaking. "We shall work it out. We always do," Nathaniel returned without batting an eyelid, but in his voice too there sounded an edge of weariness. So much had been survived: the children grew up and the grandchildren began to develop special powers, much as what had saved the town and almost destroyed it. Now, something even more sinister seemed to be brewing. A soft tread echoed behind them, and they swung out of their dreamland. They turned, to see a young man coming towards them through the fog; his face was hidden. He was tall, dark-haired, with brilliant darting eyes. There was something about him that was. Wrong. "Mr. Harper, Mrs. Harper," he said, tone too low, too smooth, too even. "I'm afraid I'm interrupting something, but I think we should be talking. Emma's eyes met Nathaniel's; her belly twisted with anxiety. "Who are you?" "My name's Caleb," he said, edging closer. "I'm new in town, but I've been. Watching things. I know what's happening here." Nathaniel's grip on his cane tightened. "Watching? Why? For a moment, something fluttered in his eyes unreadable-some insinuation of darkness beneath the surface. "Because I'm not the only one watching. That ancient evil you fought years ago? It's not gone. It left something behind. And now it's waking up." Emma's breath caught in her throat. "Waking up? How? Caleb shrugged. Nothing showed on his face. "I don't know exactly. But there are signs. Strange happenings. People missing. Shadows where there shouldn't be any. I believe. I believe it's coming back." Nathaniel took a step closer, words low and wordy, at a crawl. "And why should we? Caleb's snarled eyes didn't quite follow through. "You don't gotta trust me. But if you wanna save this town again, you're gonna need my help.". It was racing against her chest while she didn't fractionally trust this man until something in the tone of his voice made her still and silent. He knows things, things that he wasn't supposed to know. And as much as it stabbed her to admit it, they needed all the help they could get. "What do you know?" Emma asked, her voice firm though her mind was a battlefield. Caleb blew a heavy breath out, nodding with his eyes-meaning, nobody should pay him any mind. "There's this place, this old cabin on the outskirts of the town that nobody uses anymore. Used to belong to the founders of Eldridge Falls. I think that is where the darkness is seeping from. Something is hidden-something hooked onto the past of the town. If you want to stop this, you'll have to go there. Emma shivered; it was as if the chill was seeping right into her bones. The thought of going back to that cabin, about which she had told so many dark tales, didn't sound all that appealing. Yet, deep in her heart, she knew they didn't have a choice. Nathaniel's voice cut through her reflections. "When do we leave?" Caleb raised an eyebrow. "You sure you're up for it? Nathaniel's eyes flashed to steel. "I have fought worse. We leave now." Their walk to the cabin was silent, taut, invisible ropes of tension pulling between them. With every step, the weight of the past welled up inside Emma heavier than the last. Trees seemed to close in on them as they neared the cabin, gnarled branches twisting like clutching claws. It was almost impossible through the fog to make out the cabin itself, a ramshackle affair that seemed never to have been lived in. The windows were all broken, while the creaky door protested with every light wind. Caleb stepped several feet from the door and stared at the house, wide-eyed in staring fixation. "It's inside," he softly murmured, "Whatever remains of the ancient evil… it's in there." Emma swallowed, the pounding of her heart one of fearful belief, for she could feel it, too, some dark presence lurking just beyond the threshold. Nathaniel stepped forward, his jaw clenching in resolution. "Stay behind me," he growled low and ominously, clutching his walking stick like a weapon. They grunted heavily, and the door creaked open. Inside the cabin was dark, reeking, thick with the scent of decay. But as they stepped inside, something in the shadows moved. Emma froze. Her eyes darted across the room. "Do you see that?" Nathaniel nodded, his fingers gradually tightening around the stick. "It's here." A low rumble of a growl exploded from the rear of the room; down and up her spine, Emma's skin crawled. Something-a creature-twisted and deformed, its eyes aglow with a malevolent light-slowly began to rise out of the dark. Caleb stepped backwards, shaking, as he spoke. "That's it. That's what's left of the ancient evil.". The next instant, even while they were watching, the brute sprang at them with extended claws. Nathaniel swung his stick, but overbalanced and hit only a glancing blow upon the side of the creature. It hardly knew that it had been struck as, cuffed to the ground, Nathaniel lay. Mopping her face with her hand, drawing in long, deep breaths, Emma heaved and pulled on Nathaniel to get him to his feet; her heart was racing, but before she even could, the creature wheeled in her direction, the glowing eyes boring into hers-some sort of dark presence, it seemed-spreading fear and doubt in her brain. It was as if, to finally be utter darkness, the room exploded in a moment's horrid flash of light. Emma's eyes went wide as through the doorway, into the room stepped a figure, tall statuesque, a woman reaching out her hand as her body shimmied in bright light. The creature let out a small hiss, retreating further into the shadows. She stared in utter shock. "Who… who am I?" She smiled sweetly-her voice soft and assuring. "I'm that someone who has been waiting for this moment for a long time." Caleb's eyes racked wide with his recognition. "It's you…. She nodded but never took her gaze away from the creature. "I'm here to finish what you started, Emma Harper. But you'll just have to take my word for it." Before Emma could get out a word, the ground beneath them began to shudder and the walls cracked with loud groans. "We gotta get outta here," Nathaniel yelled, pulling Emma toward the door. By the time they got outside into the cold night air, the woman was still inside, her hand raised against whatever it was on her face. "What's going on?" Emma asked, shaking. She spun to them; her eyes aglow with its power. "The darkness isn't defeated. It's only just beginning." With that, the cabin imploded on itself earth-shaking terrifically as the ancient evil let loose with all its might. And then all was still. But it was far from over for the darkness.