The infinity of a rivers flow Belies a bed of ancient stones shaping the current The sound it upholds The drift of wood That once held a meadowlarks home

A perpetual story being told Held by water the nearest thing I have to home

It had been fifteen years since the sun had last risen. I don’t really remember the last time when I or my family was happy.

It felt, to me, that time stood still…that the Earth stopped moving. But it didn’t, life went on. Eventually some family moved away where the sun still shined for them. I couldn’t believe they decided to forget and run off. Christmas isn’t as magical, Thanksgiving is quiet, and Easter isn’t as fun anymore…. Have you ever wished that you could just hit the pause button or maybe rewind? That’s how I feel whenever the holidays come up. Before darkness took over the light…it was so much happier. It was less chaotic and a whole lot more love. Now my siblings and parents are either angry or have a lot of sorrow in their hearts. It’s only once in a while when I will see them smile…and that’s most likely fake.

See…I hate change. Gosh, does anyone really like change? From the time I was born to fifteen years ago, my life was great. There were people who loved and cared for me. And they still do…but they’re not as energized or joyful like they were years ago.

My Aunt Cheryl and Uncle Phil both moved to another city and they barely contact us. My sisters hardly ever come over for holidays and my brother is always locked up in his room playing video games and eating snacks. He’s the worst of all…he never comes out of his room and isn’t that fun loving kid everyone once knew.

Ever since my cousin Jason passed away, life hasn’t been the same. When he was fifteen years old, he got killed in a car accident and it had been hard on everyone. He was the light of the world. The kind of guy to make you laugh and the kind to bring light into something sad and dark. He was like the sun…cheerful, warm, and he had a lot of dignity like the sun.

Now he’s gone and everyone misses him…in their own way. I just wished he could’ve stayed instead of leaving so soon. The only reason why I’m okay is because I know he’s being taken care of by The Good Lord….

It had been fifteen years since the sun had last risen. It’s been fourteen years since the madness of this sun forsaken town started. On June 28, 8193 was the first morning the sun didn’t come up, for six months we kept hope, hope that light would come again. Then January came round and any hope we had was lost, the Town Elders declared we should adapt, and adapt we did, we brought I lights to amplify what we got from the moon, found how to continue cultivate our crops without the use of the sun, and a lot of things we discovered to keep living without the sun coming back. By 8194 the Elders had become so obsessed with the moon, using the moon for every thing they could. To present day they worship the moon “ut luna provide anc protegat” they cry. The moon is on flags, churches, Elder approved establishments, uniforms, things aren’t what I’d call normal anymore. There’s people who rebel, we call ourselves the ‘filii solis’, ‘children of the sun’ we don’t start riots or anything, that kind of stuff would get you killed. We do what we can, study what was of the sun, we were all 5-6 when the sun went away but life was much better then. We’ve done research, how to get the sun to rise again, and until now no one knew about the research. Until tonight. That’s why right now, I’m on the chopping block.

It has been nearly two decades since the sun had last risen. Two decades since the Moon Queen claimed our planet as her own and shed her light on our homes. She destroyed the Sun Kingdom like it was an ant hill, banishing warmth forever.

Today marks eighteen years. Of what, I’m not really sure. To the Moon Queen and her people, it means a successful eighteen years of another planet conquered. To us, it means eighteen years of imprisonment. An eternity left to spend in the cold.

Neve is one of the only planets that the Moon Queen has left to take over. But Lady Snow and her court will not go down easily. She will put up a hell of a fight, and probably get the other five (considerably weaker but still helpful) free planets to fight with her. I wish we could ally with her. She’s one of the only rulers left with enough reason to make a good argument. Everyone else—including our King—is blindsided by the Moon Queen’s “good” intentions.

If only I could help. No one besides me in this universe knows about my power. I can bat an eye and a man will cripple at mere thought. I can snap my fingers and stop a heart or tangle windpipes. I could clap my hands and end the Moon Queen once and for all.

But that’s just my problem. I can only handle one person at a time. If I kill her, I get to deal with her angry army of men that have been tampered with and inserted with all sorts of microscopic technology that is borderline dangerous even to my power. And that’s not even considering her guards.

But I will find a way, I will make a plan. Because if no one else is willing to do it, then I guess I am.

It had been 15 years since the sun had last risen. Summer was a as cold as winter. Yet, it was not as cold as humanity’s future.

Ever since that day, the people of earth had been living with the lights off. The evil people no longer worked in the shadows, because one large shadow had consumed the earth.

15 years ago, Nimue Kratos made a deal with the moon god. Before that deal, her name was Alexopoulos, which was not righteous at all. The only thing she wanted since she was young was power. Everyone she knew looked down upon her; even her own parents. She always wanted to be a queen and god dammit she was going to get what she wanted.

For two years she worked to create a ritual to summon the lord of the night. Once she had succeeded, they offered a deal to her. She would have rule over the whole damn world if she traded her soul to them. If she gave them her soul, they would have enough power to destroy the sun god forever. Then Nimue would have absolute control.

Nimue knew what she wanted and didn’t give up. As she now looks up at the start sky she remembers the days when there was light. Was it really worth it? How many lives had she ruined. Unfortunately, it was too late to feel bad. She had already sacrificed her parents for this new world that she helped to create.

Nimue knew that one day karma would come and bite her straight in the ass. But that day had not yet come, so she would abuse every bit of power she had. She had already destroyed the earth. Hell, she had really destroyed the whole solar system. But thinking back on her question, she could confidently say it was worth it. Every day until her miserable death would prove that. She was a bitch after all.

It has been 15 years since the sun has last risen. The world has fallen into total darkness. It all started in 2025. The world had decided to harness the energy of the sun by connecting it to a device that drains all the power from it. It worked well for a couple years, the sun still thrived while we drew the energy out of it. That all changed in 2030, the sun started to stop glowing. There was still energy to power the Earth but the was no more sunshine. It was like the lightbulb burned out but the power was still flowing from it. Scientists tried for a decade to boot the sun back up but nothing was sucessful. We are trapped with eternal darkness in the sky, all because of the greed of the wealthy in hopes they could better power their ambitions.

It has been fifteen years since the sun has last risen. People got used to living a life in darkness. In this short amount of time the human race has developed scotopic vision, the ability to see in the dark. Even though the world once held cities filled with dazzling lights, now no one even dares to hit a light switch. With their scotopic vision comes a price. The brightness of unnatural light makes them blind. The only time artificial lights are used is when they are growing crops for the community. Even then the people working with the crops require such heavy protective gear to protect their sight. The sun no longer exists. It was destroyed by two planets colliding. Even with the sun destroyed the Earth still rotates around the spot where the sun used to rest. People hold onto hope that one day a new sun will form lifting the darkness that has settled upon them.

It had been Fifteen years Since the sun Had last risen

Age comes and goes; but those moments in life make it seem as if time were just another part of travesty.

I remember the sadness in her eyes which were also filled with rage and acceptance

My reality was shifted — One mistake Caused a difference Between us

A blade’s dance caused our deaths

(If you haven’t read the first parts/posts, read it before this! If you already read the last few, enjoy this one!)

                               Candle 8:

For an hour, we visit rooms accessing materials we can use to survive. With the recent loss of two of our ‘family’, we haven’t been able to do much of anything. I can note the hurt in Warren’s eyes.

I finally break the silence, “You doing alright? I just, a lot has happened.”

“Yeah… It’s fine. You know me!” he slips away from his enthusiasm and saids, “No thing is going to freak me out.”

“You sure about that? I’ve seen you with the monsters.”

“You haven’t seen anything,” he snickers.

                               Candle 9:

The creatures dared closer. Every twenty minutes or so, one would claw its way into the light. It keeps us on out toes, and we are getting worried; They are becoming braver. More intelligent. Less brain-dead.

Their progress was slow up until recently, but I think they’re learning. The creatures, I believe, are some kind of hive mind. Warren told me that I was thinking about it too much, but I am certain they communicate.

We find a place to relax along with three prized chip bags. Deciding to split one, we sit there together. We sit there alone.

“How many people do you think are left?” I say.

“I dunno. Maybe.. a few hundred? Someone is out there still kicking it. What, do you think we’re the only people left? C’mon, what about all the bunkers and bases. Those people will be kicking it back for years,” he saids, kicking it back himself. He looks at me and puts a chip in his mouth.

“You’re pretty funny,” I say with a somber laugh.

“You know me: Kicking ass and telling jokes.”

I pull the candle closer to us. “Well,” I state. “You’re not exactly ‘kicking ass’. More like being a scaredy cat,” I insisted in a half joking manner.

“What? No way. I could take just about—“

Warren gets cut off by the crumbling and cracking of the room’s entrance. From the candles illumination, we see it. Lumbering in, it’s multiple limes splay and churn smacking against shelves. The huge figure groans with slobbery rage, and sloshes too us.

I stand still knowing the flame of the wick will hold it back. It doesn’t.

The creature crosses the barrier of shadow to light, only moderately careful of the candle. It’s skin sizzles, and I can smell a plastic scent bludgeon my nose.

Attempting to gather up courage, I try to reach the candle, but I tremble to my knees. It’s too much. The horror, the noises, my fleeting brain, I can’t muster to move any closer

to retrieve the light.

The beast moves ever close, almost snuffing the light. Out of the abyss, Warren triumphantly snatches the flame, and surprisingly, He wards of the eldritch abomination.

“Get to into the small opening!” he informs me, and he gloats, “I told you I’m bad ass!”

He waves the candle side to side driving the beast back. With several light blows, the horror flails at him, but Warren remains standing. Most importantly, he manages to keep the candle lit. The unimaginable monster struggles in the light.

Not thinking rationally, I grab another candle to lead the way. And with a newly lit wick, I crawl through the boarded up hole.

With no air in my lungs, I say, “I promise I’ll wait for you.” But, I don’t think he hears me.

                              Candle 10:

I crawl in the oddly cavernous tunnel. Several evil, nightmarish vines adhere to the wall. I do my best not to touch them. They move like worms, creating a lifeless shuffling in the still air. I wait, and I hope for Warren to get back. But, he never does. I can’t help but cry.

(If you haven’t read the first parts/posts, read it before this! If you already read the last two, enjoy this one!)

                              Candle 4:

Half-dozed, something touches me. I’m too melancholy and tired to turn over. The finger urgently presses my shoulder again. “What,” I whisper. I brush the cloudiness from my eyes.

“I see a something in the dark,” Moore frets in his ordinary quaint tone. He urges me up, and he points me beyond the candle’s light. A shadow prowls. Boxes shuffling at its feat, the creature slobbers horrific wheezes.

Wriggling back into the comfort of my area, I murmur, “Just ignore them… And keep the candle lit.”

He frustratingly sighs, “I can’t ignore them, not those atrocious things. Ever since society’s fall, It’s all I could worry about.” I know he turns to me even though I’m curled up clearly trying to sleep. He continues, “The darkness wasn’t so bad. I got used to not feeling the sun anymore, and, then 4 years till my retirement, those monsters show up. What a shame I didn’t make it; It would have been great. Not having to worry about sunburns you know.”

“Where did you work anyways?” I say, accepting he won’t let me sleep.

He regales, “An Ice cream company’s factory in the mid-west. I can’t remember the name because the sign out front didn’t light up; They had some trouble affording electricity throughout the first few years of the darkness. Anyways, I worked with a team that came up with new flavors. Pumpkin Pie, Cinnamon, and Sunshine were some of the best ice cream we concocted.” Bathing in the glory of his past for a moment, he asks me, “Come to think of it, what was it like growing up without light?”

Begrudgingly, I sleepily told him, “I was only five when the sun went out. I don’t really remember before then, but I was used to the darkness. It was just like any normal childhood I think? Up until college it was pretty smooth. The chaos happened and all that. I think Warren was in the same boat, just at another school in Pennsylvania.”

He seemed satisfied with my answer, and I began to drift asleep. I could hear him continue his personal stories, but it didn’t bother me. It almost felt comforting.

I snoozed.

I could not recall how much time had passed when I was shaken back awake. My eyes open to the all too familiar sight of darkness, frightening darkness. In the dimness of the room, I can hardly see Warren tries to relight a fresh match; It’s no use. The match won’t take.

A gargling noise caught me off guard. It sounded just behind us. Quickly jumping to my feet like many times before, I stuff my backpack full of all the materials we used. I look over at Warren still attempting with the match. The creature behind us stalls closer. Whispering out at him, I growl, “Stop that; there’s no use. We need to go!” He looks at me, and I rapidly ask, “Where’s Moore?” Warren throws up his hands.

Because of the motion, the shadow snaps it’s jaws at us. Excreting a foul mucus, we hobble through the maze of the shopping mall. Warren continues to fumbling with the match and it’s box, but every consecutive failure brings our hopes down. The creatures in the darkness make mind numbing noises all around. I fear we have reached our end, but I do not give out hope.

A match finally catches on.

                                Candle 7:

Warren holds the small stick with trembling fingers, and he hands it to me to light a candle. Plunging my hand into my backpack I pull one of the few I grabbed. Out of breath, I hold the match to the candle’s wick. Silhouettes of monsters creep on all sides; Their growls and sneers echo through the malnourished halls of the mall.

I hold up the candle high above my head, It’s flame radiates the darkness. The grotesque figures around us flee away, and we recuperate only for a second when we here a scream: Moore’s scream.

We stand in eerie silence, Moore’s painful yells reverberating very far off in the distance. I stumble forward, but it’s already too late. His horrific, ghostly cries die to a gargling. And, there is stillness. We just look at each other, grief in our eyes, and cradle the flame.