It was an odd sort of blanket of darkness that covered the town. He didn't notice it was there until he blinked, and suddenly there were people screaming in terror, running for their lives- running, futilely.
He didn't have time to react, didn't have a split second to run to save his bomb shop before he heard the cry of his apprentice, an explosion, and saw a black, lumbering creature that made his heart leap from his chest clambered from the window towards other beasts.
Bodies of those he knew, those he had interacted with only minutes before were strewn like autumn leaves over the ground, and suddenly the Shaman was calling his name, beckoning him, and Barnes felt his legs take over. The Sanctuary could hold them.
Only mere minutes had passed since these beasts had appeared, but an eternity's worth of fear had done its worst on him. He stopped to catch his breath, ignorant of the mortified children huddled in the center. All he could think of, could care about, was the resounding click of the Shaman locking the door soundly to isolate them from the terror outside.
"What?" Was all he could say.
"The Shadow Beasts," The Shaman spoke simply, no fear wavering in his voice, "I should have known."
"If you knew this was going to happen," He ran a shaking hand through his hair and slinked to the ground, back to the wall, "then you should've said somethin', eh? Look out there- they're all dead," He sat on his knees and peered out the window, "We're the only ones left."
The Shaman said nothing, and turned to the children huddled around one another. There were five of them including the Shaman's daughter, but the remaining four were unknown to Barnes himself.
The other girl besides Luda was shaking so violently it was a miracle she hadn't fallen to the floor yet, "Does- does this thing lock up safely, Sir?"
The Shaman nodded.
Why couldn't he remember his name? Was it Rengal…? Renardo? R…. it started with an R, that was for sure.
"Who're the brats?"
Renado- that was his name- eyed him disapprovingly, "They came with the Beasts, Barnes; they had been captured in the Ordona Province. I thought it right to save them."
Barnes was affronted, "What about the rest of the village? Ain't they important, too?" He gestured to the children, "For all you know, they could be Beasts in disguise."
The children cowered.
"I doubt that very highly, Barnes."
"Well, they could."
There was a chilling silence only broken by the heavy footsteps of the Beasts outdoors. Luda made use of herself by attempting to comfort the foreign children, holding them close, rubbing their backs, and somehow maintaining her senses. Barnes sighed and returned to looking out the window.
Those hideous, fearsome, monsters of the night were lugging their massive bodies around, reveling in the darkness. He realized he hadn't even taken a moment to wonder where they had come from or what they were doing here; it didn't make sense why these creatures wanted anything to do with this quaint village.
Another explosion in the distance; those dratted things must've gotten into his bomb stock. Hopefully it did a number on them, but somehow, he doubted it did. He pointed to the blonde child, "What's your name?"
The boy's eyes widened and he gripped the bench tightly.
"What, kid, don't you speak Hylian?"
After a bitter pause and a deep breath, "C-Colin."
Barnes was unimpressed. The boy spoke Hylian, alright, and with an accent, too- the kid was obviously from Ordon.
"Huh," he pointed to the others, "Are these your siblin's?"
Colin shook his head, "No, sir. They're my..." There was an uneasy pause, and the boy seemed to be unable to think of the word for a brief moment, "Neighbors. Talo and Malo are siblings, and Beth is an only child."
Barnes looked from Colin to the rest of them. Their clothes were strange in style, and they looked rather homely with their wild hair and cloth belts. Not to mention the odd names.
Barnes let out an unsatisfied hmpf, and returned to watching the Beasts as Renado spoke to the children.
"Do not fret, for we will not be here long. There is food in storage below-"
A violent, electric sound broke from what seemed to be all parts of the room, painfully loud in the eerie, lulling darkness. Beth screeched highly, Talo's hand flying instinctively to her mouth to cover it.
"You'll get us all caught!"
"DON'T TOUCH ME!"
"SHUT UP! THEY'LL HEAR US!"
The sound of rustling made a commotion with the still prominent buzz of whatever had entered the room.
"Barnes!" Renado whispered, "Calm the children!"
As Renado stood up to look for the foreign source, Barnes began shaking his hands rampantly in the air, "Uhh hey, tots! Quiet down or those things out there will know we're in here." He gave an interrogative thumbs up, and after a few last words, the two settled down.
There was a second burst of sound, but Beth managed to hold her tongue.
A ball of flashing purple light made its way overhead, spinning off the walls, ricocheting off the ceiling. The children tucked their legs in, and suddenly, the buzzing mass was gone.
A minute of silence, "What was that thing?"
"I didn't see it, Talo." Barnes was surprised at the maturity of the youngest speaker: Malo, the younger brother of Talo, though the two hardly looked similar.
"I believe it's gone," Luda said insightfully, dark hair messily out of place.
"Well it better not be comin' back, er we'll be done for," Barnes pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"Barnes," a stern, dark scold, uncharacteristic of Renado, "Please refrain from speaking in a way that frightens the children."
"Cripes, it's not my fault they're lettin' the darkness get the best of 'em," he gestured to the window, "They ain't even that scary." There was a screech from down the road, and the company winced.
Luda whispered, voice shaken, "That was Mrs. Owlin." It was hardly a moment before the girl- usually so stoic- was wracked with sobs of fear. Her father's arm encircled her shoulders, and she stained his robes with salty tears. Barnes felt a foreign pang in his chest.
"She was- was..." A hiccup.
"I know, dear," Renado looked at Barnes, made brief eye contact, "I know..."
The rest of the children had begun to cry, and all Barnes could do was groan. So much for staying quiet.
Beth was on a rampant panic, clutching to Renado, wild and frantic, "I don't want to die! My mother and father don't know where I am! I need to tell them I love them!" She became weak and sunk to the ground, "I didn't even...s-say goodbye."
Tears stained her face in the dark, sobs echoing through the Sanctuary and Village.
Even Barnes had to admit this was difficult to watch, tortuous to see the young so terrified for their lives.
"Hush, child, you will not die," Renado smiled comfortingly, "The Sanctuary is a very safe place."
It was odd how calm the Shaman could remain during a time like this- even a man with years of wisdom must know that their lives were treading on a piece of string. If he was only ensuring their safety for the appeasement of a few country bumpkins who didn't even what province they were in, then the joke was on Renado; being nice won't buy you another ten minutes of life.
The very young one with the increasingly deep voice spoke up, "At least you're not out there," he gestured and stepped to the window, and Barnes looked out yet again, hesitating none to cringe. A few corpses continued to be hideous reminders of the disaster, while others had disappeared, perhaps inexplicably vanishing, maybe becoming something else.
"The kid's right," Barnes noted, "You can take all my rupees and burn my shop to the ground- I don't care- just don't send me out for tea'n biscuits with them monsters."
"Malo, do you remember when we used to hide in the loft from Mother? Th-that's kind of like now, so st-stay away from the window," Talo was shaking, speaking hardly above a whisper.
Malo returned the look with disdain, "Now's not the time to suddenly show concern for me."
Talo was appalled, "Now's the perfect time!"
"I'm safe right here."
How old was this kid? Five? Six? Barnes had to agree that stepping away from the window would be a good precaution; two more beasts had appeared from around the corner and were lurking sickeningly close to the Sanctuary.
Malo huffed and rolled his eyes heavenward. Barnes let the child stand at his side, staring out the window without a change in expression. Talo, despite being an emotional wreck, was pinned to Renado's side like a burr while his brother observed the dangerous, outside world.
"Barnes." He had almost thought the speaker was Renado, but was utterly shocked when he discovered the voice had come from the boy beside him.
Barnes looked at Malo for a brief second, and then turned back to the window. Something about his stare was dark and ominous, and strangely mature.
"You know, kid," Barnes spoke under his breath, "Most people your age would refer to me as 'Sir'."
Malo was not humbled, "Either I'm not most people, or you're not worthy of the title."
Surprisingly, Barnes was not at all offended, "Alright, kid, but your brother is havin' a breakdown. You might want to-"
"You're not frightened at all, are you?" Malo had said it so quietly, Barnes almost didn't hear it.
"What?" He blinked, then waved his hand dismissively, "Nah, it's not like them monsters can actually get me-"
"No-" Malo sighed, obviously frustrated, "It's not that you're unafraid because of common sense, it's because you're thrilled, isn't it? Even though your townsfolk are freakish beasts or corpses rotting on the ground, you have the privilege of watching everything you hate and love be destroyed before your eyes from a…" he shrugged, "...relatively safe distance."
What was this kid doing? Did he try and decipher people as a hobby? Maybe that's what they did down south.
He was speaking so very softly, and Barnes pretended not to listen, "When they destroyed your bombs, wasn't it great? You're full of so much fury that it's exhilarating. And now here we are, locked in a centuries old safe-house, hoping that some miracle will save our lives."
There wasn't anything to deny. "It doesn't mean I'm not frightened," Barnes replied after a beat of silence, "I'm just like you- them hideous things are terrifyin'."
"Those are two different things, Barnes."
"What are two different things?"
Malo was stoically returning to his brother, of whom had his face smeared with an uncharacteristic relief. Before reaching Talo, the child turned around towards Barnes yet again, "We're not so different, Barnes."
Barnes doubted that.