The Tale of Radiance
Death is not an abstract force of nature mortals can never hope to touch. His physical arrival will herald creatures of imagination and myth, some bearing fates worse than death and truths humans were never meant to handle. Cole Freedman didn't just discover the doomsday list and the truth of a hiking trip gone wrong, but that his friend knew Death on an intimate level. A series of supernatural incidents might just trigger a war among demons, a war able to be triggered by the smallest tip of the scale, and a fate that might be worse than dying- for humanity will fall. But hope still remains even when "black" and "white" no longer exist and all that is left is "grey".
"Death is a debt we all must pay." (Euripides)
Chapter One: We All Exist As Pawns
Spring promised a renewal of life, a rebirth of activity and the sun's all-consuming warmth. Gone were the bitter winds and lethargic existences that were characteristic of winter. That was not to say spring was all sunshine and pleasant, for the leftover chills stubbornly clung to the sweet fresh air, but Cole Freedman and his friends could have cared less. The endless snow had made them restless and ready to emerge from their houses in full energy. Reservations for the first hiking trip of the season had been booked for two weeks and not a soul wanted to miss the opportunity.
Especially not Cole, who'd grown up walking these mountain trails and loved them more than soccer. Unless he had a death wish, he always reassured his girlfriend Mary Fisher that he loved her infinitely more, though he sometimes humored her by implying differently. When they were here on the dusty, rough path carved into the mountainside, he found it hard to do. To please her he pressed himself to pay enough attention to her gossip with their friends so that he could respond. They talked about inane, but fun, topics most of the time, so he had few qualms about participating.
Among the group of five, Sorin Vasile was the only one absent from the conversation. He was the new, albeit rare, transfer student in their sophomore class and came from Romania. When he first arrived they took his silence as a lack of understanding, but soon figured out that it wasn't the case. Mary was the one who pushed everyone to befriend him with surprising results Cole would never have predicted. The quiet boy loosened up, but never contributed much and settled for listening rather than talking. Pressing for anything personal was worse than pulling teeth.
Cole and his friends had not anticipated the difficulty they faced in learning about Sorin's past. Two months and a week later, Mary had pestered him enough to reveal that he and his older brother Andrei had lived in an orphanage for fourteen years. He had spent a year compensating for the schooling he hadn't been able to receive in Romania. Given that piece of information, Mary forgave his poor grades in an instant and toughened up on everyone else in return. Mary was not a nerd; she played lacrosse, but knew the importance of grades.
"Aren't you glad you came along? It's a nice day. For once," Cole said to Sorin, craning his neck and back so that he could catch a glimpse of the boy's downturned face. He detached himself from Mary to do so and fell into step with the transfer student, wishing that he hadn't bothered a moment later. Talking to Sorin was often incredibly awkward even for the friendliest of them. The only response he garnered was a slight tilt of the head and a small smile. When it seemed that getting any other response no matter the conversation was futile, Cole returned to Mary and their friends Tracey Reed and Clara Rush.
Tracey was in the middle of spinning another fantastic, absolutely ridiculous tale about aliens or something of the sort. The tall boy utilized dramatic hand gestures and various voices as he went. Much to Mary's exasperation and amusement, his girlfriend Clara Rush had joined him not long ago and added her personal input to the story.
"Uh-huh, I completely believe you," Mary muttered before she reached over and delivered a solid whack over Tracey's head. He exhaled an indignant huff and shuffled the order around so that Clara was next to Mary. Violent as she might be when he began to tell his strange stories of nonsense, she never raised a hand against Clara. Cole chuckled as Tracey declared the unfairness of it all, but Mary didn't turn violent against girls unless the circumstances called for it. Sometimes after lacrosse games she talked big, but never really followed through. Cole knew since he'd been dating her for two years already.
"Just go write kids' books so you can stop getting assaulted by my girlfriend," Cole said with a laugh as he slapped his friend over the back. Of course Mary wasn't very happy about that comment and tried to smack him, but he moved out of the way just in time to avoid the strike. Afterwards they all burst into unreasonable laughter that carried over the expanse of area above the thick forests surrounding the mountainside. In the distance a flock of native birds rose above the treetops, whether from their noise or some other insignificant change Cole was unsure.
Ahead the tour group consisted of couples and families, some annoyed with their disturbance and some ignoring it altogether. One little girl with twin brown braids and a wide, toothless smile trotted over to the teenagers and bubbly asked for another story. The friends broke into abrupt laughter again as Tracey gladly consented and rambled about how some people appreciated imagination and his personality. As an afterthought he added Clara into that mixture and together they began another ridiculous tale only children could like. The little girl, Katrina, seemed happy to stroke their egos.
It was her mother, a woman named Maureen McLain, who thanked them for cheering her daughter up. School bullies had made her a grumpy and dour child for awhile. She'd scheduled the trip to raise her spirits and all she had received thus far were tongues and whining. Embarrassed that their friends' silliness had actually made a difference to someone's day, Cole chuckled and said that they were more than happy to oblige, in not so eloquent words of course. Cole didn't have the best command of English, but no one in his grade seemed to either.
The group continued along the winding, rocky trail until they reached a large alcove cut into the mountainside where the tour guides pulled them aside for a break. The slick, three-walled structure of stone and rugged rock was mostly of nature's design, but parts had been smoothed or expanded by people. The path expanded into the mountain then narrowed, continuing the trail on a steady incline. The ground here was dusty and scattered with tufts of grass growing through the cracks. During the summer there was usually more garbage here, even though there were trash cans around the area.
For the moment the large evergreen planted by the hiking company loomed over the empty ground, casting its shadow over at least half of it. Metal benches bolted to the rock below circled the thick trunk for the hikers' convenience so that they could take their lunch in the shade. Other benches outlined the first row, forming a circular pattern. Combined, there were enough seats to accommodate the largest groups the company offered. When the season truly settled in, there would be more staff members and more people traversing these trails daily. To Cole's knowledge, there were multiple paths leading to the peak.
Tracey and Clara's stories didn't cease even when everyone settled down for their short reenergizing meal. Some other children flocked to them when they caught snippets of the tale and within minutes all were entranced by whatever fanatical lines Tracey had made up. To Cole, the parents just seemed relieved to shove their burdens onto another, younger person. It was all in good fun though; the mothers and fathers relaxed while they watched their kids and enjoyed the short reprieve. Seeing that their two friends were more than occupied, Cole, Clara, and Sorin shuffled to another bench away from them. A few couples turned their noses up at the ruckus.
"What a wreck…I wouldn't have brought us out if I'd known there was going to be so many kids," a man muttered on the bench opposite them, his arm hung loosely over a woman's shoulder. Cole twitched in anger and turned towards Mary so he could fight the urge to, well, fight or otherwise pull something he might regret. Not every couple was as pessimistic, but there were enough unsatisfied faces and gestures to make his blood boil. Group expeditions were not the only ones the company offered; if they didn't want the noise they should have signed up for private trips. Those cost more, but Cole would have paid the fee for them to shake off the unpleasant vibes.
The backpack Mary assembled that morning held their lunches- simple sandwiches that tasted much better than they appeared. Cole always reminded her to work on the presentation, but tried not to criticize too often. As was typical of most teenage males, he had little sense in the kitchen and grew rather attached to Mary's cooking. Not that Mary herself was happy about the fact; she abhorred her ability, always muttering about sexism when someone brought the subject up, but never stopped cooking. Thanks to the two insistent, brats of little brothers she had, she couldn't drop it if she tried.
Both Sorin and Cole accepted the sandwiches gratefully and settled back to watch the dark green needles shift with the breeze. While Mary took the backpack to deliver her gifts to their friends, Cole again found himself in a conundrum. The silence was awkward between the two boys, for Cole at least; Sorin appeared unfazed. On the other hand, if he struck up a conversation the other boy was very likely to agree, smile, and return to his own little world. That often left the situation even more awkward than before.
Then again, everything about the Romanian boy was beyond normal as far as Cole's standards went. Even on this hiking trip he had a thin book to occupy his time when everyone was ecstatic with the nature and freedom around them. When he was hungry, Mary noticed, he still took small bites and chewed and swallowed his food with almost deliberate slowness. There were many oddities about the boy such as that one, which everyone accepted as cultural differences. Question his habits and Sorin wasn't liable to respond anyways, so everyone made their own assumptions.
Whenever Sorin did speak, he sounded uncertain and hesitant, as if he'd never socialized in his life before transferring here. Clara was the most understanding about his inhibitions, having been incredibly shy when they were younger, before she met anyone else in the group. Despite the defense she constantly gave, Sorin never seemed too grateful- more like he would rather shrink away and forgot than confront anyone with nasty comments. That made the boy all the more endearing to the girls, he supposed. Tracey and he tried not to act too jealous; Sorin always adopted this guilty expression when they did, but sometimes it was hard.
But what Cole found the most difficult about their newfound friend was that he couldn't maintain eye contact with him. Usually Cole had no qualms about staring people straight in the eyes when he was serious or wanted a message to be transmitted without words. When he'd tried that one afternoon he found himself unable to tear his sight away from Sorin's hazel eyes. The color wasn't impressive by any means, but they held some soulful, almost eternal solemnity that was impossible to ignore. Until Sorin broke that connection, Cole was helpless and afraid that somehow he'd trespassed on a particularly sensitive line.
They were intense, entrancing, and dangerous. Cole never made a repeat of the attempt and even physically shrugged the boy off before anything could happen. From then on he resolved to reserve the compliments and eye contact for Mary and his other friends. Until that had happened, Cole planned on mentioning that Sorin had nice eyes, maybe not pretty ones, but nice nonetheless. That afternoon he'd been quite a jerk- on account of the jealously acting up again- and had wanted to compensate for it.
Now he knew why Sorin always found the ground more interesting than people. After falling victim to whatever the attractive force was, he didn't blame him.
Inviting Sorin on the trip was another way for redemption, a far more harmless one than the previous attempt. Despite the fact that they were his only friends, Sorin never accompanied them anywhere that was outside their homes. The money was the issue, everyone knew, so they'd chipped in to pay for him this time. That had touched something inside the stoic boy and he couldn't refuse thereafter. Sometimes Cole did see Clara's humanitarian point of view on these things, even though he hardly ever agreed with her.
Cole enjoyed sharing this mountain with people he knew anyways. Between him and Mary, this mountain had become something of a haven where they could escape when life spiraled away from their grasps. In the two years they'd been dating, he couldn't count the number of times they came here in the summer months. Sometimes those two years felt like ten years. Cole wasn't disillusioned though; he and Mary were probably going to break up one day and if that happened, at least they could claim that they'd been happy. That was more than others in his grade could say about their dates.
Many of those happy times were centered on the peak of this mountain, where tiny buildings and trees stretching for miles all around could be seen. The special sight was not something he wanted to horde and keep between the two of them. While most people from their city could say that they had visited the mountain at least once, it was a shame that so few ever returned. He doubted Sorin had ever seen such sights before and insisted that he come even more than Mary. The boy's face remained emotionless as far as Cole dared to look, but that didn't necessarily mean that he was displeased.
Lunch breaks were a little over half an hour long, ample time for a quick nap in the shade. The previous night had been restless with anxiety and anticipation, a poor combination for sleep. Mary had fallen asleep on his shoulder already, her light brown hair in soft curls falling down his chest. Cole shifted into the most comfortable position possible without disturbing her and rubbed his temples in sudden exhaustion as he closed his eyes. The adrenaline had tapered out temporarily, allowing his muscles to relax and surrender to fatigue.
Intruding hands on his shoulders jolted Cole away from the misty haze of sleep, his limp head lolling about for a moment as he struggled to blink away the blurriness. When the lines cleared enough for him to recognize Tracey- though he shouldn't have expected anyone else- Cole shoved him off exclaiming, "What the hell, man?" He glared at his friend as he stood and made to punch him in the arm for the harsh interruption. Tracey sidestepped the blow and darted off towards the entrance to the alcove where everyone had regrouped. Slightly disoriented, Cole stumbled to follow. That had been a pleasant nap in any case, though he couldn't quite place the dream he'd had.
Sometime later the children began their usual incessant whining about sore feet and tired bodies since Tracey and Clara had taken a break from storytelling. Cole groaned when the ruckus started much to his girlfriend's amusement. Mary's two younger brothers had conditioned her to childcare and she was quite immune to whining now. He made sure to stay far away while she walked among the kids with calm optimism. Clara and Tracey were chatting with each other about some unknown topic. With no one unoccupied, he had little choice but to fall into step with Sorin, who seemed more immersed with the forest below than the new company.
Among the screeching from the bird population below and the children ahead, Cole heard another noise, a deep consuming rumble, much like the hum of heavy machinery or a big cat's purr amplified by a hundred. When it again resonated through his head Cole frowned and tried in vain to identify the source. Something deep within the mountain must be stirring; by the laws of science the sound had probably been transmitted through those valleys efficiently enough for him to hear. Whatever the source, he figured it was in the distance. After the brief reassurance, Cole made another attempt for conversation with Sorin. Surprisingly he managed to keep his attention long enough to discuss a school project.
"Okay, am I going crazy or is the mountain rumbling?" Cole finally said when the sounds had not disappeared after twenty minutes. He twisted his imitation Rolex watch around on his wrist, a nervous habit his mother always scolded him for. Though he admitted to being amazed with Sorin's apparent ability to hold a proper conversation for awhile, the noise had been plaguing him the entire time. Today was perfect in the weather category, so there probably wasn't a chance that it was thunder he heard in the distance.
"Nah, it's just your crazy head imagining things," Tracey said pointedly with the most serious face Cole had seen on him today. Chuckling, Cole shifted over until he could attempt a blow on his friend. No matter what anyone else said, he still heard those deep rumbles that almost sounded like thunder. The levels fluctuated but the sky remained bright with the occasional puffy cloud drifting by. The sun's warmth was stronger than it had been in months. Tracey rubbed the sore spot on his upper arm and grinned. "It's probably just so rocks or something really far away. Come on, aren't you the one who wanted to have fun today?"
He laughed half-heartedly and nodded in agreement, though his heart was not completely into it. As they neared the peak of the mountain, everyone began to pick up on the sounds and curiously tried to peer over the impossibly tall rocks. The guides' explanation was that the spring mating season had caused some animals to fight and the damage done to the area was the source. Most people didn't believe word of that crap, but without another explanation they accepted it.
"Don't worry; I'm sure it's nothing." Sorin's quiet voice behind Cole startled him. He swung around to face the Romanian boy, tripping as he went. A guilty shadow passed over his face as he mumbled an apology for scaring him. Usually he answered with "yes" and "no" instead of extended responses and rarely gave his input, so Cole hadn't expected the reassurance. To be truthful, there wasn't any strength behind his voice so Cole ended up just as anxious as before. Grateful anyways, he thanked the boy for his concern and faced forward again where the kids were becoming beyond annoying.
Irony was a concept in literature Cole never quite understood. Normal irony was fine, natural even, but when school broke it into categories he began to get confused. If asked about the situation at a later date, he wouldn't have known what to categorize it as- only that Sorin's reassurance was irony at its cruelest. The children's petulant whines as they yanked on clothes and stamped their feet gave him enough of a pounding headache, already filled to the brim with the incessant rumbling. The entire group was a massive, chaotic mess. Those types of things often spiraled out of control when they reached their climax.
Within minutes the deep thunder beyond the mountainside crackled and erupted into bone-shattering crashes. Deep fissures stabbed into the high walls of rock and stone; the ground shook with tremors. The sudden movement threw people off balance and sent them crashing painfully to the floor. Children cried and shouts rose into the sky. People were already starting to back warily down the mountain in the likeness of frightened, cautious animals. It was far too late.
Shards and chunks of rock tumbled from the heavens, gravity yanking them down onto the path below. The children screamed in terror first; everyone was quick to join them. Cole hadn't noticed his own shouts until he had been rendered mute for the moment, throat dry and scratchy. His first conscious reaction was to rush to Mary and the clung to each other, uncertain and a pair of frightened children again. Whether from an understanding of the situation or because her throat was also dry, she didn't scream. Cole muttered reassuring words in her ear with a hoarse, panicky voice.
Dust clouds rose from the previously undisturbed ground, forcing tears to his eyes as they billowed into the sky. No one here actually needed the debris for an excuse for crying; there were only a select few who remained in relative control of their fear. Mary shuddered and choked back a sob in his embrace as Cole searched in desperation for some escape. There was none.
Leaping off the mountainside was suicidal. Anyone who made the attempt would fall to a painful death even if they struck a rocky outcropping before hitting the forest below. Cole drew Mary as close to the mountain wall as possible, aware that the rocks would fly over their heads by a good distance. The first few seconds of chaos had resulted in large rock piles that blocked their path to the peak. Sections of ground had fallen away in the opposite direction. No human could survive such a leap. They were well and trapped with no way out other than up to heaven.
Cole glanced at his hands, which were wrapped tightly around Mary's shoulders, and noticed that they were a quivering mess. The entire scene looked like a horror film gone wrong. The shower had to stop before it struck someone a fatal wound. People were injured already, some limping and some bloodied but Cole didn't think anyone was gone yet. In the chaos he couldn't even find his friends. A moment later he did spot Pearson, one of the two guides, close to the edge, directing a terrified and crazed mother with her child. The man was a veteran of these hikes, another woman a little ways ahead his protégé of sorts.
Had he glanced away a moment sooner he wouldn't have seen a large boulder tumble downwards towards Pearson, strike him, and continue its path off the edge. A sharp scream jolted from his throat at the contact that left the man's body shredded and broken, but alive. One good arm waved in furious strokes at the woman, but all of them were immobilized for one reason or another and the next boulder wiped all three from the cliff. What Cole hadn't realized was that they were hardly the first casualties; various forms were motionless on the ground as debris struck their bodies.
Dark red splattered the beige floor, seeping through the cracks and enough to make Cole have the urge to vomit. Mary started violently in his arms. Without asking or looking Cole had an idea of what she witnessed. His unblinking eyes watched as desperate people lunged themselves over the edge until their screams were drowned out by the roar. Others remained stationary, trapped by rocks and bleeding out in agony. Mary mumbled incoherently as she rocked back and forth, babbling until Cole could understand with growing horror.
"Oh god, oh god, C-Clara, t-that poor mother," she sobbed with a hitching voice Cole was powerless to comfort. Cole bit his lip until he tasted coppery blood, unable to believe that his friends were gone behind him within seconds. The entire scene had only been occurring for three minutes maximum, but this hell was equivalent to hours of torture. He started to choke on the airborne dust, on his own tears, and couldn't comprehend why this wouldn't stop. If something had shattered the mountain then it had to stop eventually. Instead the shower continued and bodies dropped like flies, gore and fragments of people scattered about the scarred ground.
A teenage girl he recognized from school had a ruined leg. Splintered bone protruded from her flesh and her screams of agony were silenced when a shard struck a gash deep into her forehead. She collapsed as a man came stumbling over her body, heedless of the human beneath his shoes. Some couples further away were being buried alive under rocks, some trying to jump across the gash in the path. Cole didn't even want to see what had happened to the children after a frantic mother tossed them both off the edge.
The entire thing wasn't a dream. Pebbles bounced off his head, harmless, and his legs shook as if he'd run for miles. Eventually they both collapsed against the wall, shivering and crying and not completely in their minds. "I don't want to die, I don't want to die," Mary repeated like a chant. In some strange instinctual desperation she tore herself from his grasp, scratching his arms up until he had to release her. Before he had the chance to grab her again, Mary had darted to the blocked path and pushed against the boulders in vain. The sight tore apart his heart.
Cole struggled to his feet and ran after her, around splayed open bodies displaying organs and gore, and over and through them when he was unable to find another path. When he approached he realized that her pretty, tanned face and curled hair were splattered in blood. Bits of gore clung to the brown strands. Before he could reach her, more rocks blockaded the way. A sickening jolt spread through his belly and the vomit finally erupted from his throat. Hoarse and choking around the unpleasant acidic taste he screamed, "Mary, Mary, please come over here, please. Get away from there, Mary!"
He jumped in fright as a slab slid down the inclined mountainside towards her unsuspecting head. Her wide blue eyes caught sight of it a moment before she saw no more. Cole screamed enough for both of them, for the dying cries the earth had robbed her of and for his own hysterical grief. He backed away from the bloodied rock until his foot fell into a wet, mushy carcass. The blood was still warm as it seeped into his shoe. A little girl's soulless eyes gazed up at him, tear tracks still apparent.
At that vital moment he collapsed, and unable rise scrambled across the ground riddled with sharp pebbles in search of someone, anyone with blood pumping through their veins and in need of oxygen. The stragglers disappeared from sight until one was left and Cole screamed his name until he was certain not even a mouse could hear him anymore. "Sorin, Sorin," he gasped in desperation, choking on fear and blood that ran down his head. He didn't remember any physical pain inflicted on his person.
The dark haired boy swung around when beckoned and locked eyes with him. It was funny that despite the horrific and deadly scene about them, he remained mesmerized by that gaze. As the boy approached in distress Cole realized that there was something terribly wrong with him. Now that he had contact he saw that his hazel eyes were deep and calming, almost amber in color, not hysterical or brimming with tears. Cole lost sight of him as the boy collapsed and drew his friend close against him. He smelled of strange scents that were distinctly masculine but pleasant.
"W-why aren't you upset, Sorin? Cry, scream, do something for god's sake everyone's dead!" Cole screeched into his ear, using the last of his strength to hit his friend and shake his shoulders. Sorin remained as lifeless as a rag doll, not even flinching when Cole slapped him. "Don't stare at me like that!"
"Don't worry, it's okay, it'll be okay," Sorin whispered as he struggled to take them to their feet, only for the tremors to knock them into a position that might have horrified Cole under normal circumstances. Now he just clung to the boy and buried his head against his neck. He was so warm, much warmer than everyone else. Beneath him his friend rubbed smooth circles into his back comfortingly, calm and accepting of their fate. "Îmi pare rău, la revedere."
"W-what was that?" Cole choked when he heard the gibberish, lifting his head as if he might understand if he looked into Sorin's eyes. He regretted the movement when a rock glanced off the side of his friend's head. Blood blossomed across the ground and his skull, warm and thick beneath Cole's fingers. The hazel depths of his eyes were calm as the pain and life faded. Cole clutched at him with a broken keening, refusing to let go as he felt the boy's hands slip from his back. "No, no, no, please no."
Warmth that felt like a mother's loving embrace engulfed him, smelling of the spring's sweet breeze that had yet to arrive. As the thunder faded he heard his mother's soothing voice remind him that he had nothing to fear. A sudden hurricane of flames burst forth, Sorin's body the source. The fire felt warm and protective, nothing like when he'd burnt his hand on the stove. The flames were blue, which should have made them much hotter than a normal red flame, but Cole relaxed into the painless depths.
The last thing he saw was a large white and blue bird flutter into the air. Gracious streamline curves gave it an air of elegance, blue flames clinging to it as it turned towards the heavens. Though he was unaware, the crumbling had almost stopped. One lone rock tumbled down, but he only had ears the for bird's ear-splitting screech. It sounded like bitter sorrow as its great wings beat above.
The screams of his friends echoed in his ears. Sorin's final words, which he knew were somehow meaningful, echoed in his heart. He desperately wanted to know what they meant, why he had been so calm in the fact of death. The pain was dulled by the fire, but it throbbed as the rock crushed his ribcage. Would the rescue team find him pinned and embracing his friend? He might have found that mortifying if it weren't so grim. He tasted blood already and choked on it as the liquid filled his lungs.
When was the last time he kissed Mary? This trip had been a way to mend the argument they had this past week as much as it had been to expose Sorin to the world and compensate for his attitude. Speaking of Sorin, maybe that bird was his spirit. Maybe he was special and deserved one. The last thing he smelled was blood and flowers. The scent had been there all along, but now it gathered in his mouth and poured out his nose; it was on his head and Sorin's. His hands were smeared dark crimson and stained the dust and pebbles.
Whoever said dying was a peaceful release needed to actually experience it themselves. Sure, Cole found some relief in knowing that the pain would soon fade, but it hurt worse than anything he'd ever felt. It wasn't just physical pain either- but the wretched emotional tsunami that depressed his entire system. Knowing that there was an end was peaceful.
Cole's eyes flickered open to the sight of Tracey's intrusive face and the odd rays of light that struck white blurs into his vision. He was about to shout at him for disturbing his sleep so violently and abruptly when a sickening wave of déjà vu washed through his body from head to toe. His hands gripped the bench until his knuckles turned white as he tried to grasp what his dream had been about before it disappeared. The anger that urged him to punch Tracey was suddenly frightening. Without extra help, Tracey darted away towards the hiking group.
In short, he tried to rationalize, everyone was healthy and alive. That accident on the cliff hadn't occurred. At least, he reasoned, it hadn't happened yet. Whether or not that was real he wasn't sure. The mountain was stable; it had always been stable. His friends called for him and he reluctantly rejoined them. Even as he broke into a smile, his heart pounded deep in his chest. The pain had been too vivid to stay a dream. But the idea of warning everyone made his stomach lurch in a different way. No one believed Tracey's fantastic tales. Cole's story was no different, just deadly.
If everyone took his warning as crazy ramblings, then all these innocent people would die while he could have intervened. His eyes passed over the children who hadn't started whining yet. They didn't deserve to die. No one here deserved that. His mind decided and firm on his decision, Cole held his arms out and prevented his friends from advancing any further. He inhaled a couple deep gulps of fresh air.
"We can't keep going, I know you'll think I'm crazy, but we can't go," he blurted, his voice rising and falling with his distress. Mary gave him a questioning stare and Clara made a joke about how he finally saw their side to things. Cole shook his head, understanding that he sounded shaky and unconfident. He wouldn't believe himself either. But it didn't matter how he convinced them, only that he get at least his friends off this trail. "Look, I had this dream- Tracey, this isn't some stupid joke- and we all died in it. It wasn't just a dream; it was too real. I'm not being paranoid. You know I've practically grown up on these mountains. I'd never be afraid to go on without a reason!"
"Cole, is that true?" Mary asked, almost scared to speak too boldly. Some of the children were still around her legs, oblivious, and Sorin was standing awkwardly behind her. He looked perturbed, an emotion Cole had never seen across his face even in his dream among the dying, gory chaos. He didn't dare make eye contact, too afraid that he would see him dying in his arms again, afraid that the blood would return. He was terrified of those overwhelming emotions and senses that went haywire before he died. He was certain that Sorin had the power to force those feelings to the surface.
"It's true, I swear it, and I'm not lying." Cole flinched when he heard his voice again. The nerves hadn't fled and he probably sounded somewhat insane. No matter how hard he wanted his voice to even out, it fluctuated with his fear. Mary placed a comforting hand on his shoulder but gave no indication that she believed him. Tracey seemed torn between making a silly jibe and actually listening to him. What really struck him was Clara and Sorin's uncertain, haunted stances. "Trust me, please, I wouldn't lie about this."
"No…I think you're right. I don't think you're lying. Sorin had a weird dream about that, too. He just told me," Clara muttered, glancing at the Romanian boy before she returned to Tracey's side. Cole wondered why Sorin chose her to confide in; he was never particularly close to any of them. Clara shifted uncomfortably for a moment before she sent the children away and motioned for Sorin to explain. Mary's confidence was wavering, but she offered a few consolatory words and urged him to speak.
Sorin hated the spotlight and refused to look anyone in the eye, for which Cole was grateful. "It's just the same as Cole's, probably," he said in a quiet voice. Beneath the strands of his hair Cole saw his eyes flit back and forth in search of something. Cole was sure that the nausea he felt was the same for Sorin. Cole stepped forward, maybe to comfort him, but the other boy advanced up the trail to avoid him as if he were diseased. The group hadn't waited for them of course, so they were lagging behind while the guide shouted for them to pick up the pace.
The Romanian boy shook his head guiltily. His pale cheeks were flustered as he backed away, hair swinging as he shook his head. "I'm sure it's nothing. I shouldn't have said anything. I'm sorry for worrying you; it's just an irrational nightmare. I've had plenty of them before, it's fine."
"You have nightmares? Why didn't you tell us?" Mary said in a suddenly concerned and fretful voice. Cole had been on the receiving end of it more than once and felt something akin to pity for the boy. Especially when he came away from soccer games injured, Mary and his mother felt the need to mother him. Sometimes it was annoying. Other times it was endearing. She tried to move towards him too, but he flinched away as if afraid of her touch.
Sorin's past was an undeniably dark mystery. What very little he revealed was horrible enough, but the demons in his closet were his secrets to keep. Pressuring for details would only make the already withdrawn boy quieter. Few bothered him about the undoubtedly painful memories, everyone certain that they didn't want to know what their peer had experienced. Without acknowledging that, they could remain somewhat innocent from the horrors the world offered. Sorin did not seem inclined to share his personal life with anyone.
"That doesn't matter right now, what matters is that we're all going to die!" Cole's stomach sank as he realized that no sane person would listen to a bunch of teenagers, two of which spun imaginary stories and another plagued with constant nightmares. The others definitely heard the commotion, but made little movement to indicate that they cared. One guide, Pearson, sauntered over with wiry legs and darkly tanned skin. Cole recognized him, not from the dream, but from many years spent traversing these mountains. He was a hard-skinned man with zero tolerance for mischief, who liked to retain total control over the situation.
"The cliff will collapse and we're going to have no way out," Cole said hurriedly before the man arrived and put a stop to his ramblings. Ahead the group paused, some glancing at them with anxiety written on their faces. That was a good sign. Panic wasn't the proper way to conduct an emergency evacuation on a treacherous cliff side, but time was short. They were already very far along the trail and the climb down took time and energy they didn't have. "I know it's solid, trust me I know, but something made it break! We'll start hearing things, but it'll be too late!"
"Hey, until we hear something let's just continue, okay?" Tracey offered with a weak smile, disbelief and wariness written across his face. Mary appeared skeptical and Clara either scared into believing him or fully convinced he spoke the truth. Sorin was too afraid to admit that he'd seen more than a dream. Cole was sure they had dreamt the future. These premonitions happened sometimes throughout history. People could tell the future to some extent. He'd never bought into those tales until now.
He nodded and swallowed the thick lump trapped deep inside his throat. Though reluctant, his compliance made Pearson back away to continue the journey. Sick dread pooled in his stomach and he refused to think too hard on what might happen should they escape too late. When he heard the first rumble he was going to hightail it out of here, ready to drag his friends with him. Cole wanted to save people, but he wasn't prepared to become a martyr. He wouldn't pressure whoever refused to come.
Everything about the trail was identical to his dream right down to the birdcalls and patterns the animals flew in. Cole was the only anomaly. This time he wasn't blissfully ignorant, but armed and anticipating. Every step hammered needles into his skin. When the children started to complain he knew the time was close and refused to move another inch. The group had remained in anxiety since his outburst, some people irritated and others on the bridge of belief. The couple from before threw them the finger, heedless of the kids around them. The inconsideration made Mary scowl.
"You're freaking insane. There's no sound. The cliff isn't collapsing. You're making everyone worried for no reason! It's annoying," the man snarled. Cole bristled at the insult. This guy didn't seem too irritated that the peace had been disturbed. He probably grew angry when things didn't turn in his favor. The girl around his arm was a pretty blonde with a rather nasty glare.
"Fine, you know what, you don't have to believe me! Just don't blame me when you're dying! What do you know about these mountains? Something's wrong," Cole nearly spat. Unable to restrain himself though his legs screamed to flee, he stomped up to the taller man and gave him a vicious shrug before he could knock his arms away. The girl looked offended and made a sound of discontent. The man on the other hand was furious and made to strike Cole, except Pearson decided to conveniently intervene. The guide's thin but incredibly strong arms pushed the two apart before a conflict could break out.
"Alright all of you cut it out. You think the cliff's collapsing? Then get off and let everyone else enjoy the trip. For fighting, I'm accompanying both of you down personally," Pearson said in the type of voice the commanded obedience. Before anyone protested, he was busy herding them down the path while the other guide continued the trip. Cole spun around as he walked, finding that his friends and two mothers with their children followed. The rest muttered incoherent insults and resumed the laughter present before the lunch break.
Cole's stride evened out as they walked among his friends again. They remained silent, not wanting to trigger another outburst from him, he realized. In this state they knew that he would take the bait. The heightening birdcalls alarmed him enough. When he began to hear rumbles he wasn't sure if it was his imagination conjuring the familiar sound or reality. He quietly asked Mary about them but she shook her head each time and smiled reassuringly. Even the sweet twist of her lips was unable to calm his nerves.
Sometime after they'd passed the alcove with the evergreen and circle designed benches a stronger rumble shook the mountain. Small pieces of rock and dirt tumbled down the walls. No one could deny them anymore and it frightened them. Clara squeaked and clung to Tracey until he winced in pain. One mother, Maureen, hefted her daughter into her arms securely and held her tight. The exhausted little girl was oblivious to the distress in her mother. A ten year old girl and her mother seemed ready to sprint down the trail. Cole would be in huge trouble if he were wrong and caused this commotion for nothing, but he was absolutely certain that he was right.
Twenty minutes later the fatigue was apparent in everyone's stances and silence. A sudden reserve of renewed vigor coursed through their veins when the shattering impact of rock grinding against rock resonated across the forest. The local bird population screeched and fled into the skies at once, their rhythmic songs dying on the wind. Startled and sick with the truth, the group swung their faces to the sky where billows of dust rose near the peak. The rumbling sent small tremors through the mountainside; the movement caused the kids to cry in distress.
Half a minute after they realized that Cole's warning had come true, the group sprinted down the trail as fast as they dared. The rocky ground made for hard running, but they were desperate and frightened animals. The panic choked everyone into silence and adrenaline pumped through their bodies. Even Cole didn't have the state of mind to say "I told you so" as he normally might have done. He grasped Mary's hand and sucked in more air than his lungs needed to run. Even that didn't seem enough to keep his lungs alive.
As they fled they stayed close to the wall, aware that any flying debris would fall along the edge. The possibility that they could slip and tumble off was fresh in their minds as well. For the moment they saw nothing, but the trail looped around the mountain and sooner or later they should be below the disaster. They must have arrived at this section when rocks and boulders descended before their eyes, but no one was willing to keep their sight locked there for too long. They were inherently afraid that they might see bodies accompany them. The children had long started wailing, making the adults and teenagers wish they could do the same. But they had to maintain a semblance of composure.
By some stroke from Lady Luck, the group managed to stumble away from the path before any large boulders struck them. One hit was enough to end all of their lives. Miraculously, they arrived shaken but unharmed. Pearson immediately led them to the headquarters where a bustle of staff was hurrying about with chaotic news of the collapse. From what Cole heard, they were trying to contact rescue teams and ascertain if there were survivors. Already hordes of relatives, friends and curious onlookers were horded outside the station. They demanded the state of affairs in such a high volume Cole heard them from inside.
Sensing that they weren't needed, everyone else slipped outside to find their relatives. Cole spotted his parents and his friends' parents, hysterical and in even more tears when they saw their children. While being smothered by his mother's strong arms, Cole noticed that Sorin lurked off to the side. He was shaken no doubt, but his brother didn't seem to be present. Before he could do something for his friend, his mother was babbling away and demanding his attention. "I'm fine, I'm fine," he repeated shakily into her clothes. Tears welled in his eyes when he finally realized that he was alive. He had escaped that painful death because of some divine intervention.
He returned her embrace, all limbs weak and numb. They weighed a ton. Then the tears dribbled down his face and he was unsettlingly hot and choked up. Somewhere in the background others were asking frantic questions. What happened? Was anyone else alright? Everyone skirted around the word death, as if it might invite the devil himself. No one else seemed inclined to answer. He doubted that anyone had heard them except for Sorin. Someone had to be the deliverer of bad, tragic news. Lifting his head to stare at his mother, almost the same height as her now, Cole opened his mouth to say something.
He didn't understand why it was him who had to hand out the bad news every time, but took a deep and trembling breath. "They're gone, mom. They're all gone. All those people are dead. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I-" Cole paused and pretended as if he were too upset to continue. Everyone might grow to despise him if he apologized for not saving them. If people knew that he had known about it they might become suspicious. Even if it were on uneven grounds, grief could take their fury and hurt very far. The accusations would not be nice.
So Cole withheld his dream and shared a private look between his friends. The other people could tell if they wanted, but he decided to stay as far away from media coverage as possible.
"I think the truly natural things are dreams, which nature can't touch with decay." (Bob Dylan)
• Repost and edit of the original chapter of The Tale of Radiance with updated writing, less stiff dialogue (I hope) and a higher word count by some mysterious force. Some changes: Description of Sorin is not all bunched up at the beginning. Sorin is not awkward (anymore than he normally is). Adrian and Cameron were taken out and replaced with the currently nameless couple. Two new survivors were added, another mother-child set. Cole actually remembers Sorin at the end. No awkward text describing him dying. He doesn't guess the bird's a phoenix because he's dying and not really focused. Better death scenes (I can only get so creative with deaths from rocks that are plausible). Less awkward summary, chapters have better titles. All in all, much happier.
• "Îmi pare rău, la revedere" still means "I'm sorry, good-bye" in Romanian, from an online source. Might not be reliable.
• Again, this story is very different from other Final Destination stories. Two people with premonitions, more character, Death as a character, more action before dying, a very complicated plot. I didn't want to give up on this yet, I realized. Many things will remain the same, but some things will change. My writing's less painful to read, at any rate. Please give feedback!