Neil Barker

The look in his eyes was terrifying. There was no emotion, no signs of pleasure or remorse at the act he had just committed. As the blood dripped from his chin he caught it with his hand and lapped it up, making sure to get every drop he had taken from his victim.

The victim’s lifeless corpse fell to the ground, shattering into a million tiny pieces, becoming a dust that disappeared within seconds. The air was cold and the entire world seemed silent until a rolling laugh echoed from deep inside him, making my body tremble. What stood before me was a monster, not my best friend.

I looked around at the others, those who had waited for this moment for almost a thousand years. Each of the men looked like they were expecting something to happen, as if the events of tonight had been written in the stone that foretold of the prophecy. They were waiting anxiously, hoping that centuries of work had finally paid off.

I was starting to give up on the idea of something happening when the floor began to shake. The whole building was vibrating, swaying from side to side, threatening to tear up the foundations that lay beneath. Holding on to a piece of furniture I steadied myself as the ground in front of me cracked open. Lava spewed from the gaping hole in the Earth’s crust, rising until it consumed him. Mark was being dragged into the middle of the molten fountain.

The heat was overwhelming. I felt my blood begin to bubble and looked at my skin to see that it was beginning to brown before it would start to burn. When I looked back up I saw the dark figure of my friend consumed by the lava. His body remained rigid, and through the glare of the glowing liquid I could see that he was still in one piece and that the lava was having no effect on him. He was still alive. How could he withstand such intense heat? Why wasn’t he consumed?

I wanted to race forward but the heat from the magma had dehydrated me and I found myself struggling for breath, craving water or any liquid I could drink to replenish my body. I tried to move but I was exhausted. I collapsed in a heap on the floor and had to resign myself to watching what the others had called ‘destiny’.

The lava flow was beginning to slow down. It was seeping back into the ground. The sound of a woman laughing rose from the hole, echoing around the room. I managed to turn my head to see that the other men had a look of horror in their eyes. They knew who the laugh belonged to, but I no longer had the energy to be asking any questions.

I turned my head again, just in time to hear a noise that sounded like something being sucked into a vacuum. The lava was being drawn back into the ground and so was Mark. He was pulled down through the hole, disappearing beneath the river of magma that was still flowing. I continued to stare in amazement as the remaining lava sank back in to the ground before solidifying to reform the crust that had been broken.

He was gone, pulled into the depths of the Earth by an unknown force, something even more powerful than the immortals who surrounded me. It took me a while to regain my bearings. My mind was working overtime, there were so many questions that needed answers and I wouldn’t rest until I knew everything there was to know.