Look Up To the Sky

The fight in the town seemed to go on without ending. The air felt electrified as the defenders called upon the aether to smite the endless hordes. The man that carried the boys into his home was Lukas. He and his wife were treating Martin's wounds by wrapping the limbs. They were in shock but ran on instinct to save the boy.

Now that Martin was getting treated, the boy with sandy brown hair thought about his mother. She would be alone in all of this. What if something happened to her because of him? The thought of it made him sick, the thought of anyone dying because of him made him sick. Why did he touch the gate, why didn't he just listen to Pavel when he said it wasn't a good idea to see the gate?

"I have to see if my mom is okay." The boy said.

"Don't go anywhere." Lukas stated. "It is dangerous outside."

"I have to make sure my mom is okay." The boy stated as he ran outside.

He didn't turn around to see if anyone was following; he only had one thing on his mind. He had to get home and make sure his mother was alright. Martin was with adults, he would be fine, right? Jiri would stay with them so he would be safe too. The boy's mother, however, lived alone, it was just the two of them since he never met his father.

The village was all stone and shaped by magecraft. Each home and business were crafted with care and attention to detail. The once vibrant colors that painted the town were washed out by the reddened sky. The sound of battle replaced the everyday goings on of the people. The world shook under the weight of the aether being summoned and controlled by those that took up arms to defend the town.

The boy had to duck into an alley as a monster turned the next corner down. It had rows and rows of teeth and a large bulbous body. He was unsure if it saw him, but he was not going to wait around and find out. He ran down the alleyway and into the main street on the other side. The dead spider monster was here, a large hole having removed most of its rotting form. 

There were the bodies of people and monsters all over the main street. The boy with sandy brown hair froze at the sight. He couldn't move a single muscle as he saw what he had caused. He recognized every corpse, he could remember their last conversations, their voices, their families and it was all his fault. 

An explosion of force lifted the boy off his feet as a man slammed into a building across the street. The stone nearly collapsed on top of him but the aether wrapped around the structure repairing it just as quickly as it was damaged. The man stood up rubbing his head. In his other hand was a warhammer glowing with aetheric symbols and equations. 

Moments later the large monster with rows of teeth ran towards the man. Its mouth poised to eat the warrior only for it to be impaled by hundreds of molten hot stone spikes that rose from the ground with a single swing of the hammer. 

Another monster, this one thin and nimble and undeterred by the death of the first, quickly ran around the spikes. The warrior prepared his warhammer but the aetheric symbols were dim as it had not gathered enough aether to perform the devastating strike a second time. The warrior was undeterred, his resolve absolute as he charged the creature in turn. 

The boy finally tore his attention away from the battle and started running again. Screeches from above caused him to look up and see flying bat-like monsters descending into the town like a plague of locusts. The creatures were about the size of a flying fox with a long-spiked tail. A group landed on the dead monsters and people, stripping bone from flesh in a mere moment.

Hurricane winds started to pull the boy off his feet and into the air. He had to grab onto the building beside him for dear life. Hundreds of the bats were pulled into a swirling vortex of aetheric winds. The creatures were shredded as they fell into the black singularity at the center of the winds. A woman was floating in the air within the winds chanting the formulae to stabilize the spell. 

After a moment the spell ended and countless of the bats were dead. However, hundreds more were still coming and looking for their next meal. The woman continued to fight using less costly fire aether blooms from her hands and mouth to keep from getting overwhelmed. Dead bats rained from the sky as the battle continued. 

The boy ran and did not stop, then finally he could see his house at the end of the street. Then he heard a familiar clicking. He turned around and saw the long-bodied monster exiting an alley with hundreds of bladed legs. Its front two legs were as long as scythes and still had the blood of his friend. The monster looked directly at him, clicking its jaws as it prepared to charge. The boy screamed and redoubled his efforts to make it to his home. 

Despite the sound of battle, the sound of aether reshaping the land and sky, the only thing the boy heard was the sound of hundreds of legs chasing after him. His house was a yellow three story stone townhome. The house seemed so close yet so far away. It felt like every step took him half the distance it should have. Maybe it was adrenaline, fear or a mixture of both, but he could feel the creature right behind him, breathing down his neck, raising the blade to cut him in half. 

However, he made it to the house and banged on the door calling for his mother. The door flew open, and arms pulled him inside and slammed right behind him. The blade of the monster sliced into the heavy wooden door, nearly cutting it in twain. The frantic mother screamed and grabbed her son by the wrist leading him to the stairs as a second blade slammed into the door.

Another two strikes and the creature forced its way into the house. The mother and son ran up the stairs as the creature curled its long body inside. It needed to reorient itself to fit into the small space. Its knife-like legs dug into the floor and cut through furniture. As soon as it saw its prey escaping it gave chase, squeezing through the stairwell after them.

The mother and son ran into her room where she started barricading the door with anything she could find. A dresser, her bed, the nightstand, anything at all that could be placed against the door. She then ran to her son looking him over for injuries. Tears streamed as she held his face then hugged him.

"I thought you were lost to me." The mother stated. "I thought you were gone."

The boy curled into his mother's embrace. He was unable to say anything as he just wept uncontrollably. Then they heard the sound of the monster using his scythe arms on the door. There was less space in the hall for it to swing so the blade only barely pierced the door. The sound of the creature clicking impatiently and swinging again and again became constant. 

The mother wiped the boy's tears and picked him up. She placed him in the corner of the room and covered him in as many blankets and random items as she could to make it so the monster would think she was the only one in the room.

"Stay quiet." She placed a finger on her lips. "When things get dark, when all seems lost always look up to the sky. The Divine Ones will always save us. Your father will save us." 

"Mom. It is my fault." The boy with sandy brown hair cried. "It's all my fault."

The boy's mother rushed to the door which was falling apart more and more. The blades were cutting into the barricade and in only a few more swings everything would fall apart. The mother held onto the barricade pushing it up against the door with all of her strength. Thunk, thunk, thunk! Each strike led further into the inevitability of death.

The mother screamed as the scythe sliced through the door and into her shoulder. The scent of blood filled the room, but the mother held strong. She used her body weight to deny the creature entry. To deny the creature her son. Another angry strike, another deep laceration on the mother but still she stood in defiance refusing to let it step even one of its many legs into the room.