Darkness Rising

• Amy Lane, Grade 9
• Short Story
• 2012

Haven't you ever dreamed that you could manipulate someone, to be able to turn them on your side as easily as putting out a burning candle?
Prince Lazarus was turning 18 in a week and all his plans were falling into place. All he had to do was wait. Unlike the rest of the town who had simple powers that were common and old. He was able to manipulate people and bring them to the dark side. He would cloud their mind with darkness which would then seep into their soul until it was nothing, but black. This, however was a slow process. Ever since the advisers started teaching him he had started on them. They had no idea how powerful he could become. It took years to perfect, but he did it; now he could do it in mere minutes. Those poor fools. He thought.They never saw it coming. They were now doing his bidding and next week the whole town would be bowing down at his feet.

"We are now here to celebrate the 18th birthday of my son, Prince Lazarus!" The King yelled to the hundreds of unsuspecting citizens down below the wooden balcony on which he was standing on. They cheered and yelled. He stood aside as Lazarus came walking up to the front of the balcony with a smirk across his face. The crowd cheered.
"My loyal subjects!" He yelled. Dark clouds starting forming behind the castle. "The Prince needs you," The black clouds starting coming towards the citizens. It engulfed their line of sight so all they could see was darkness. They started panicking. "I need you, to join the dark-side!" He yelled.
"What are you doing!?" The king yelled gripping the railings and watching helplessly from above. The clouds entered their victims eyes and mouths, blinding and gagging them until it reached their soul. Lazarus' eyes turned dark and a black aura seemed to burn from him. The King backed away, but was stopped by two black figures. They were not human. They were demon-like beings with mouths like the painting 'The Scream' and black holes as eyes. He could feel them breathing heavily down his neck.
"What are you going to do?" He quivered.
"Overthrow you to start a reign of darkness." He said simply. His dad attempted to break free from their icey grip, but to no avail. He snickered at the helplessness of his father.
"And you're next." He whispered into his father's ear and stepped back. The dark beings appeared in front of him. His chest started to tighten up and he couldn't breath. The coldness of the beings had entered his core. He started shivering. He heard the screams of his people. The last thing he saw was the darkness of his son's eyes. He had looked straight into them and saw nothing. Not even darkness. They were empty and hollow. That nothing and the screams of his innocent people haunt him every day, even in the afterlife.