myself.
I was attacked, by the same outlaws that attacked you, some time ago. It may have been a week, it may have been longer. I remember almost nothing before the attack, and only brief fragments since then. They beat me badly then left me tied and hanging from a tree, left me there for the wolves to feed on.
I hung there in agony for hours until the sun set and the forest was lit by only the moon. The wolves arrived. They were judging whether it was safe to attack me when a darkness fell over the clearing. Whatever it was terrified the wolves, they left the clearing as fast as they could. Something freed me, cut me down, but I can’t remember what. I have no other memories until I woke to sunlight. I believe that was the next day but I have no way to tell.
From that point onwards I started to change. First sunlight started to burn my skin, to cause me extreme pain. Then I became better able to see at night. I needed no food and water made me feel sick, yet there was a burning hunger inside driving me on.
A night dawned when I became aware of the forest life around me, aware of the animals, and was able to bend them to my will. Freezing them in place so I could reach them. The hunger drove me to capture them, kill them, devour them. Somehow I resisted.
Then came the night when it wasn't the animals I sought. The hunger drove me to seek something else, that something was you and your family.”
Sarah's hand was shaking now, whether from fear or anger Daniel wasn't sure. Possibly from both. Yet she kept silent, kept her eyes on him.
“ By the time I came upon you there was very little of me left. My mind, my soul, were being swept away by a tide of hunger and darkness. I was not even aware of what my body was doing. Until I looked down at Mary's face. At that moment a memory stirred deep within me, the memory of my sister. Mary looked so like her that it shocked me, roused me from the slumber, allowed me to take control again. I turned and ran. Not from her, from you or your husband. I ran from the darkness inside, from what it sought to do to me, sought to turn me into.
I ran and ran until suddenly I burst from the trees and found myself by a beach. At that moment a plan formed in my mind. I knew the darkness would win one day, that it would overwhelm me fully, and that it would happen soon. The only way out I could see was for me to die. I decided to face the sun, knowing that it would burn through me, destroy me, taking the darkness with it. Finding more peace than I had known in days I sat on the beach, waiting to see my last sunrise.
When it came it was beautiful, I wasn't disappointed. As soon as the sun cleared the horizon my body started to burn, the pain was incredible but I held firm. I was determined that no one would ever be hurt by the darkness festering within me. The burning spread and worsened, eventually washing over me in a blinding wave of light. I lost consciousness then. I was sure I was dying.
I didn't die though. I woke on the same beach, but I wasn't the same person. The darkness was gone, completely burnt out of me without leaving a single scar or mark. Yet I was changed, not the same as I had been before. I still had the strength and the speed I had gained while the darkness grew within, and the world around me felt… more real. I felt connected to the sand and the sea, to the earth and the trees, to the animals and the birds.
Before I could explore the changes further I became aware of something being very wrong. I ran down the beach far faster than anyone I have ever heard of, finding your family and the outlaws. You know what happened then. That is my story.”
“ And I'm supposed to just trust you, just trust that whatever caused you to attack us is gone?”
“ I hope so. I understand how difficult that is, but you need my help. Those outlaws are not the only dangerous people out here,
I was attacked, by the same outlaws that attacked you, some time ago. It may have been a week, it may have been longer. I remember almost nothing before the attack, and only brief fragments since then. They beat me badly then left me tied and hanging from a tree, left me there for the wolves to feed on.
I hung there in agony for hours until the sun set and the forest was lit by only the moon. The wolves arrived. They were judging whether it was safe to attack me when a darkness fell over the clearing. Whatever it was terrified the wolves, they left the clearing as fast as they could. Something freed me, cut me down, but I can’t remember what. I have no other memories until I woke to sunlight. I believe that was the next day but I have no way to tell.
From that point onwards I started to change. First sunlight started to burn my skin, to cause me extreme pain. Then I became better able to see at night. I needed no food and water made me feel sick, yet there was a burning hunger inside driving me on.
A night dawned when I became aware of the forest life around me, aware of the animals, and was able to bend them to my will. Freezing them in place so I could reach them. The hunger drove me to capture them, kill them, devour them. Somehow I resisted.
Then came the night when it wasn't the animals I sought. The hunger drove me to seek something else, that something was you and your family.”
Sarah's hand was shaking now, whether from fear or anger Daniel wasn't sure. Possibly from both. Yet she kept silent, kept her eyes on him.
“ By the time I came upon you there was very little of me left. My mind, my soul, were being swept away by a tide of hunger and darkness. I was not even aware of what my body was doing. Until I looked down at Mary's face. At that moment a memory stirred deep within me, the memory of my sister. Mary looked so like her that it shocked me, roused me from the slumber, allowed me to take control again. I turned and ran. Not from her, from you or your husband. I ran from the darkness inside, from what it sought to do to me, sought to turn me into.
I ran and ran until suddenly I burst from the trees and found myself by a beach. At that moment a plan formed in my mind. I knew the darkness would win one day, that it would overwhelm me fully, and that it would happen soon. The only way out I could see was for me to die. I decided to face the sun, knowing that it would burn through me, destroy me, taking the darkness with it. Finding more peace than I had known in days I sat on the beach, waiting to see my last sunrise.
When it came it was beautiful, I wasn't disappointed. As soon as the sun cleared the horizon my body started to burn, the pain was incredible but I held firm. I was determined that no one would ever be hurt by the darkness festering within me. The burning spread and worsened, eventually washing over me in a blinding wave of light. I lost consciousness then. I was sure I was dying.
I didn't die though. I woke on the same beach, but I wasn't the same person. The darkness was gone, completely burnt out of me without leaving a single scar or mark. Yet I was changed, not the same as I had been before. I still had the strength and the speed I had gained while the darkness grew within, and the world around me felt… more real. I felt connected to the sand and the sea, to the earth and the trees, to the animals and the birds.
Before I could explore the changes further I became aware of something being very wrong. I ran down the beach far faster than anyone I have ever heard of, finding your family and the outlaws. You know what happened then. That is my story.”
“ And I'm supposed to just trust you, just trust that whatever caused you to attack us is gone?”
“ I hope so. I understand how difficult that is, but you need my help. Those outlaws are not the only dangerous people out here,
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