Broken Scythe

By Brett Michael Gallaher

A family is lost in a mysterious world between life and death, not knowing what is reality and what is merely a dream. They find themselves caught in the middle of an ancient cosmic war between the agents of Darkness and Light.

Cover artwork by Christina Renate Johnson.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jun 19, 2014
• ISBN: 9781312290426

Book preview

Broken Scythe

Broken Scythe

By Brett Michael Gallaher

Copyright © 2014, Brett Michael Gallaher

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of both publisher and author. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

ISBN: 978-1-312-29042-6

Chapter 1

Sean was awakened suddenly by a loud thunderclap that shook the sky and earth alike. His eyes opened, taking in the darkening sky. He could see the storm clouds gathering high above the branches of the surrounding forest, swallowing most of the remaining light from the setting sun. While the first clap had woken Sean, the second one jolted him straight up onto his feet and sent waves of panic coursing through his body. His heart pounded furiously against the inside of his chest as if it were going to burst through. His knees felt weak and he could only stand for a moment before collapsing back to the ground. He crawled a few yards before finally fighting his way back to his feet. He managed to lean backwards against a nearby tree, grasping desperately at the bark behind him to keep himself from falling again.

It was not so much the thunder itself that terrified Sean so profoundly, nor the approaching darkness. Sean’s horror came as a result of not knowing where he was. He had not been hiking or camping. He did not even live particularly close to a forest. How had he gotten there? What had brought him there? Why had he been lying unconscious on the forest floor? Why would he have taken no gear, no supplies, and no one else with him? He was alone in the middle of a dark and unfamiliar wilderness. Why?

These questions created a storm inside of Sean’s mind that rivaled the thunderstorm above him. All these unanswered questions converged upon him at once, rendering Sean utterly hysterical. He might have remained in such a condition had events not taken an even more unexpected turn. The wind moved hauntingly through the rustling leaves, carrying the hint of a whisper. Sean heard it. It brought the other voices in his head to a jarring halt.

Sean... said the wind. Sean…. It was soft at first but quickly became unmistakable. Sean recognized it immediately, most of all because it sounded like someone he knew.

Emily! he managed to yell out. He had heard his wife’s voice. Where are you?

Sean, follow my voice, moaned the wind. Sean’s terror with his own circumstance was instantly replaced with the urgency of finding Emily. She was out there somewhere. The only thing that mattered now was finding his wife.

Sean started taking steps in the direction of the voice, legs still weak but becoming stronger as adrenaline starting coursing through him. He braced himself for a few seconds against each tree that he passed, finding balance to still be tricky yet progressively easier as he kept moving forward. The twigs snapping beneath his feet soon drowned out the sound of his rapidly beating heart. Before long he found the strength to run. The whispers soon grew to become plainly audible in the distance. The voice was no longer carried by the wind, but took on a character of its own as it picked up veracity. Uncoupled from the sound of his wife, the wind rushing through the trees created an eerie howl that reminded Sean of his unnerving predicament. He just kept running, fighting back the fear threatening to cripple him.

It was becoming increasingly dark outside. The trees that Sean rushed past soon began to resemble dark figures rushing toward him. He imagined them reaching out to grab him as he dodged each one. Emily, he would say out loud to himself. I have to find Emily. He ran faster towards the voice, but couldn’t be sure how close he was getting. At times it sounded as though he was getting closer, but then the wind would shift and the forest would make it seem further away, or coming from a different direction entirely. His eyes were straining in the growing darkness, hoping to see his beloved at any moment. The thunder continued to growl above him, threatening a downpour. Sean was wearing a white t-shirt, blue jeans, and a lightweight jacket. That wardrobe was certainly not adequate for a rainstorm, especially in the middle of nowhere. How had he been so unprepared?

The wind died down along with the howling that accompanied it. The sound of his feet against the forest floor became the prominent sound in Sean’s ears. His breathing became panting. His weakened legs again threatened to fail him. It seemed for a moment that the storm was breaking up, the thunder becoming far less frequent. He slowed to a walk, and finally, fighting for breath, leaned back against a tree. Suddenly all became quiet. The forest was still. The voice even ceased to speak. Sean could go no further, not only because he was so weary but also because he did not hear Emily’s call any more. Emily! Emily, are you there, Emily? he gasped, shouting as loud as he could between each strained breath. It’s Sean! I’m here! I’ll find you!

Sean then saw something far in the distance. For one moment the moonbeams broke the barricade of storm clouds and shone their light upon the ground ahead of him. It seemed to be moving as if following something. Merely seeing this light gave him new hope. He found the will to begin moving again.

As Sean came closer he could see a figure lit up like an angel. She was wearing a flowing white dress, elegant and flowing. This woman appeared to even float across the surface of the grass. It was her. It had to be her. Sean burst into a staggering sprint towards the woman, but just as quickly as she had appeared the moonlight was swallowed up by the clouds and she vanished into the darkness. It was as if Sean had blinked and then she was gone. He continued running in the direction where she had been standing but found nothing. There was no trace of her anywhere. He stood still for a moment to wait for a light or a voice. No light appeared, no voice spoke to him, but from behind him he heard a new sound. Footsteps.

Footsteps? he thought. The forest had cast such a foreboding sense of aloneness that Sean had not even considered the presence of others, tempered only with terrifying concern for his wife who seemed to be lost in these same woods. Sean had not yet entertained the infinitely more terrifying notion that someone may have been watching him, following him, stalking him, hunting him. Had this been the person who brought him to these woods? Maybe they had been kidnapped by a murderer who had a sick cat and mouse game planned. Sean’s mind became a blur of horrific thoughts, his earlier terror crawling back into his mind. He slowly turned his head, trying not to make any sudden movements. His eyes had adjusted somewhat to the night, but the blackness of the night was still nearly complete. After standing for several minutes without moving from his spot, Sean became somewhat relieved. Maybe it had been an animal or perhaps it was just his mind playing tricks on him. He gazed up towards the forest ceiling in hopes of seeing those moonbeams again. His renewed spirit was immediately crushed by what he saw next.

Two red eyes stared back at him. The gaze pierced through him like a blade. He could not move. He didn’t dare. The dark figure was perched on top of a branch directly behind and above him. It was motionless, making no sound: only staring into Sean’s eyes. It was large, about the size of a grown man. Sean expected it to pounce on him at any moment. He had been brought to a dreadful place to be toyed with by a monstrous creature and this was the part where it would finish him off.

Sean! Can you hear me? he suddenly heard calling to him. She was still alive. She was still out there. A boldness rose up inside of him. He wasn’t going to just stand there and die. Sean turned and ran towards the voice.

The moment he turned to run away, the wind began to howl again. It sounded like a river rushing through the leaves. Lightning lit up the night sky like a bright flickering bulb, revealing what the night had tried for so long to hide. Sean could see the trees go on ahead of him for what seemed like forever. For the first time, he felt the rain fall against his skin as he ran. The sound of the rain striking the forest added to the growing roar of the wind. Emily’s voice was being drowned out, but this time Sean could not afford to stop running.

He began to hear something else in the wind. It sounded like breathing. Sean knew that it was not any sound of his, or Emily’s, or anything he’d heard before. It didn’t sound human. It carved through the sounds of the storm as a thing alive, fighting to be heard. It seemed to saturate the air around him. It even vibrated in his lungs. It was an unexplainable feeling. Soon it began to sound like words. Someone or something else was trying to speak to Sean. It sounded like a whisper but muffled. He couldn’t make it out at first but then it became crystal clear.

I will find her. I will find her, it repeated over and over again.

Stay the hell away from her! Sean shouted defiantly at the wind.

I will find her. I will find her. The message both enraged and frightened Sean greatly. This thing was not only toying with and taunting him, but it was also threatening Emily. He couldn’t let it find her. He refused to let that happen. God only knows what that thing had in mind. The image of those ghostly eyes was now seared into Sean’s mind. His attention darted amongst the branches overhead, praying not to see the figure looming over him again.

What was that thing? he wondered. Could it have been human? If so, how was it just sitting up in a tree? He had heard footsteps but nothing else. It couldn’t possibly climb the tree without making a sound. What about those red eyes? Maybe light reflecting off of an animal’s eyes could give off an odd color, but these eyes were glowing. Those terrible eyes gave off their own menacing light.

A different thought struck Sean. This creature wasn’t chasing him. It was hunting Emily. It was trying to find her, at least if he were to believe the voice. A new feeling flooded through him, not relief but something akin to it, a lack of fear of being pursued. His concern for Emily was no less, but he felt he could stop running and try to formulate a plan. He didn’t want run in the wrong direction and end up further from her. He hid behind the largest tree he could find to conceal his position. He still did not want to be seen. Maybe he could get a better look at whatever was out there if it was moving along the ground. The tree also provided a small amount of shelter from the light rain that had begun to fall. Sean was beginning to grow wet and cold as the wind picked up again.

Maybe it was some large cat after all. Maybe he was still so spooked by being alone in the woods that his imagination was working against him. Bracing himself, he rejected his mind’s supernatural ramblings, convinced himself that there must be a rational explanation. He didn’t believe in ghosts. He didn’t believe in monsters. These things didn’t exist; they weren’t real. Whatever was out there must be human or animal. The elements must somehow be causing him to hear things in an odd, yet ultimately natural way. At least for the time being, the all voices had ceased around him.

Finally Sean gathered the will to peek from behind his hiding place. The occasional lightning bolt streaking from high above gave off just enough light to momentarily distinguish the trees from the darkness. He saw nothing at first. After a few moments he noticed a dark figure standing in the gaps, too short to be a tree yet seemingly too tall to be any typical animal. It looked human insofar as it seemed to be standing. He could hear the footsteps, faint but steady. They did not seem to be approaching Sean’s location, so he assumed he was safe. Emily, on the other hand, was not safe. He thought to himself that she couldn’t be too far away. He had been hearing her close-by. Why wasn’t she calling him anymore? Sean needed to hear her voice again. He needed a sign. Something. Anything.

RING, RING, RING...

What is that?

RING, RING, RING...

A cell phone?

RING, RING, RING...

My cell phone!

Sean realized he had his cell phone, but where was it? He frantically searched his pockets, finding it in his jacket. He quickly answered. Hello? Emily? Hello!

Sean! It was her.

Where are you? he asked. The line was full of static. It was hard to make out what she was saying. She seemed calm. That was a good thing, he thought. The call dropped. He tried to call her back but the phone’s battery had died. As he stood there, Sean noticed that he no longer heard footsteps. Maybe the creature had gone. He was starting to feel better. He had heard his wife’s voice again and she seemed to be safe, at least for now.

Suddenly, an icy hand gripped his left shoulder. Sean let out a scream, turning his head to see the dark figure standing there, dressed all in black with its face concealed under a hood. Sean broke away, stumbling and fighting to keep his balance as he scrambled to back away, keeping his eyes fixed on the creature. It remained still, not pursuing him. Sean slipped in the mud, losing sight of it only for a second. When he looked again the figure had vanished into the darkness.

As Sean set off again running through the cold and rainy forest, the shadows came to life. To him they all looked like ghosts swirling about his head. The rain was picking up too, soon soaking Sean to the bone. The drops seemed heavy, beating him mercilessly. The temperature was dropping. He was shivering. His legs and feet ached. His exhaustion was becoming unbearable. Not only did he have no idea where he was, but also he had no idea where he was going. Sean was losing hope in finding shelter, finding Emily, and finding an end to this miserable night.

The ground began to slope downward. It became increasingly difficult to stand as he descended so he slowed his pace, keeping one hand behind him nearly touching the ground. He lost his footing and began sliding out of control, painfully colliding with tree trunk after tree trunk on his way down. He landed face down in a creek at the base of a valley. He struggled to even lift his head out of the water. His arms were beginning to lose their strength. Sean somehow rolled onto his back, gasping for air as he lay in the shallow water. His eyes were closed. He feared if he opened them he would see the dark man looking down at him from the hilltop. Sean wondered again if he was going to die.

All at once the rain stopped as if someone somewhere had turned off a faucet. The clouds dispersed, revealing the moon in all its glory. For the first time that night, Sean saw the stars. Oh yeah, I almost forgot about those, he whispered to himself. A sharp thread of truth robbed the words of their intended sarcasm. His mind seemed clouded, incomplete. He could not seem to remember important details. Where was his son, Luke? Was he somewhere out here too? Where else would he be? Why couldn’t he remember? Sean began to cry.

He began to