The Middle Ground - Chapter 1/4

It wasn’t a particularly cold night but an odd chill was in the air. It seemed thick like the entire world was on edge.  Nine year old Emi shivered at the strange feeling, the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. She felt like if she moved her hand she could see the air slicing. But it went as quickly as it came and she shrugged it off rolling over in her tiny bed. She yawned quietly, wrapped her arms around the frilly pink pillow that lay beside her and buried her face into it. Her long blonde hair matted over her face and she pushed it back out of habit.

Just as she was beginning to get sleepy she heard a loud bang come from outside. It was so loud she jumped straight up from her bed. It sounded like thunder only much closer. The thickness in the air made Emi almost too afraid to move.

“Mommy?” she called out from her bed hoping her mom would hear her and come running as she usually did. She waited a moment and when her mom didn’t come she called again. Just as the last syllable left her mouth she heard the crash again. This time she couldn’t resist the urge to look out her window. She sat up on her knees to look at the window just behind her headboard.

Outside there was only darkness less the light from the crescent moon that hung silently in the sky. She sighed telling herself that she had imagined it but as she turned to lay in bed again her eye caught a strange light in the sky. It was only a flicker but it was bright enough that it lit up the sky. She focused on that spot waiting to see if it would happen again. It did. A quick bright flash but it looked bigger this time. Emi squinted trying to get a better look for when it happened again.

This time, as the light flashed, Emi was sure she saw a silhouette of a person inside. Maybe a trick of the light? Maybe just a strangely formed cloud through the darkness? No. When it happened again she was sure it was what she saw.  The closer it got the clearer she could tell it was two boys in the light. Though they were coming towards the ground at a quick speed they didn’t seem to be falling. In fact she was sure at one point they’d drifted higher. They were pushing off each other; no it was more than that. They were fighting. They both held dangerous looking blades in their hands; one with two short daggers and the other with a long narrow sword.

Somehow they were defying gravity fighting off the clouds, flying. Emi was hypnotized by their quick and skilled movements, both avoiding the other and countering at the exact right moment. It was an amazing sight to watch as the clashing of their blades lit up the sky. Soon their movements began growing softer. Were they getting tired? The boy with the sword was lagging behind the other and he saw his chance. The boy with the daggers caught the other's sword and knocked it back, sending the boy with the sword off balance.

“Watch out!!” Emi shouted from her window as she saw the boy with the daggers kick down hard into the other boy’s stomach sending him down to the ground at a frightening speed. Without thinking, Emi opened the window and climbed out barefoot running towards where she was sure she’d seen him land. The ground caved in a bit and she slid down into the cluster of trees behind the property. Although she lived in the city there was a large portion of still undeveloped land behind her house. That’s where she was headed. Under the cover of the trees almost no light shone through. Emi had been in these backwoods before, her daddy would bring her out to play hide and seek so she wasn’t afraid to enter. However, something about the woods at night was unsettling and it wasn’t long before Emi began to think she’d made a foolish mistake. But something in her told her she had to help and as much as she wanted to she couldn’t fight it. Her run had slowed to a nervous walk listening quietly for any sign of the boy who fell. In the sky she saw the other boy rush down to the ground. She tried hard to pinpoint the spot he’d landed. It was farther in than she’d ever gone before, the path she usually walked didn’t travel back that far and she soon found herself pushing through foliage to make her own path. The tiny thorns on the random plants scratched up her arms and at one point cut a tiny gash into her cheek.

Finally Emi heard movement in the trees. It had to be them. Pushing back the branches from a leaning tree she was able to see them. She finally got a good look at the fighting sky dancers. The boy with the sword was on the ground his short, silvery hair was matted against his face and beads of sweat were shining lightly in the moonlight. He tried to push himself up but his arms didn’t have the strength and he collapsed into the earth again losing consciousness. His slender body moved slowly under the pale loose outfit he wore struggling to get breath in.

The boy with the daggers stood over him. Even from where she was Emi could see the look of satisfaction on his face. This boy looked sadistic right down to his clenched fists. His messy, shoulder length dark hair covered his face so Emi couldn’t see him clearly. One thing she did notice however was that this boy was definitely not completely human. Through his tangled hair two twisted and evil looking horns stood from his head. From her hiding spot she saw the boy with the horns lean over the other boy and lift him up by the collar of his shirt. In his other hand he still held one of his ominous looking daggers.

He’s going to kill him! Emi’s mind raced and her heart stopped. Could she really do anything? Would she just end up being killed herself? Her hands shook as she quickly deliberated what she should do. The boy with the dagger raised his blade up to the other. It was now or never. Emi closed her eyes tight terrified. Before she knew it her body was moving on its own. She jumped from her hiding place.

“Stop it!”

The boy with the daggers jerked his head around to her and his eyes widened. He looked more terrified than Emi did. From behind the two boys a strange looking black sludge began to grow from nothing on the ground. It looked similar to when Emi’s father had tarred their driveway; sticky, thick and uninviting. The boy looked back at it and grit his teeth tight growling under his breath in a malicious way. He glared hatefully at Emi and stepped back into the messy blackness. Suddenly the blackness shot up in bullet-like sections until it covered the boys completely.  When it disappeared only the white haired boy remained.

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