Endless Night Read online

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  "Calm down!" Ryan shouted to the audience that had gathered to hear the urgent news.

  Everybody was huddled together talking loudly about Damien. All Scarlet could hear was the terrified mumble of people, like wasps buzzing in her ears. It didn't matter how long he had been away, nobody could forget they were in danger.

  The mumbling stopped as Scarlet made an appearance. This was another thing she hated about being a leader. Nobody other than Nate and Ryan treated her like she was human. Everyone seemed to be scared of her. She felt like she was one of the monsters ruling over the world, and no matter how much she tried to show them she was just like them, nothing changed.

  Making speeches was the thing that scared her the most. Thousands of eyes staring at her as she tried to break the bad news. Her knees shook, her mouth was dry, her palms were sweaty and the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stood on end as she tried to figure out a way to tell these people what was happening. It was always like this. There was never any good news for anybody. It was always bad news because nothing good ever happened down in the tunnels. It never had and it never would. Scarlet knew that if anything was going to break this pattern of fear and despair, they had to be on the surface again. To breath fresh air, to recreate the world they once lived in, but mostly to feel alive again.

  She stepped towards the crowd, trying her best not to show her fear. Ryan, noticing her nerves as he always did, placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

  "You'll be fine," he whispered "I'm here for you."

  Seven simple words managed to remove all the fear from her heart. Scarlet had always believed that the right words, in the right order, spoken at the right time, could change someone's point of view in an instant, and these words changed everything. The eyes that watched her were no longer intimidating and she felt she was no longer alone. Some of her confidence returned as Ryan pushed her forwards a little and she was finally ready to speak.

  "Honestly," Scarlet started, "I'm scared."If she was going to do this she wasn't going to mince her words, she was going to tell the truth.

  "I'm scared of the things that have happened, and I'm scared of things that are going to happen."

  The silence from the crowd hinted that they couldn't believe what she was saying. This was their leader, the one that wasn't supposed to be scared of anything, but they forgot she was human.

  "Most of all..." Scarlet paused, "Most of all I'm scared of right now. Right now is up to us and it's the choices we make that decide who we are and who we will become."

  There was a slight pause at the end of every sentence as she spoke, like she was unsure of how she was going to carry on, but the truth was, Scarlet was more sure of this than she had been of anything but her anger for a long time. The pauses punched home the meaning behind each and every one of her words.

  "Damien's back so of course I'm scared, who wouldn't be? I know it's not what you want to hear but it's the truth." There were whispers from the crowd but Scarlet didn't care, she just carried on. "Despite my fear I am leaving today to find Damien and no matter what happens, I promise you all, that as long as I live he will not get near this tunnel. As long as I'm alive, you are safe."

  And they believed her. Every single person in the room trusted her and could only imagine the bravery it took to even say she was going to leave the tunnel.

  "While I am gone, whatever you do, do not leave this tunnel unless it is absolutely necessary. Um...Thank you."

  Scarlet stepped back to Nate and Ryan and let out a breath. Before she had time to figure out what was happening she was pulled into a hug by both of the boys.

  "What are you doing?" Scarlet asked as she hugged them back.

  "Well, we thought you might need a hug after that, and we also know that you hate giving speeches."

  The two of them knew her better than anyone she had ever met and she was so thankful she had them.

  "Okay, well you know you have ten minutes to get your things together, right?"

  The boys pulled away and exchanged a look.

  "Weapons!" they shouted in unison, and started pushing through the crowd to get their things.

  "Be careful!" Scarlet shouted after them, she knew how excited they became over that one word.

  She knew they would act responsibly but she told them to be careful anyway, just to make sure. They'd never hurt anyone intentionally, unless they had no other choice, Scarlet knew that, but they always got overly excited when it came to weapons practice. Sometimes Scarlet wondered how many times they would have hurt themselves if she hadn't been around to stop them doing something dangerous. Yet, every time she found herself thinking this. She remembered that although they would act like mad men, when it came to something like this, they would be deadly serious.

  She ran after the two boys to get her own things. They didn't have many weapons, most had been taken by Damien and his followers but she picked up her sword and made sure she had a wooden stake with her. She didn't know if she would ever get close enough to Damien to use it but she wasn't going to take any chances.

  Soon they were standing next to the exit of the tunnel. The narrow passageway, like the rest of the tunnel, was lit only by candles in metal holders in the walls. Ever since Damien had returned there had been no electricity. He had blocked out the sun, wiped out the lights and darkened everyone's minds.

  "Nate? Ryan?"

  "Yes, Scar?" Nate said.

  "Once we step outside there is no turning back, not until we defeat Damien." She was worried about them, although she knew they could handle themselves, she loved them more than anyone and did not want to see them hurt.

  "We're here for you," Ryan replied, it was accompanied by a sharp nod from Nate.

  "Just be safe out there," she said, putting a hand on the cold metal bolt keeping the door locked. "Are you ready?"

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