Friday, November 8, 2019

Bright Moon, Burning Sun: Chapter 4 – Searching for Hope

Chapter 4 – Searching for Hope
“These sewers are bigger than I expected,” Luna says, “I can’t even see the ceiling. It’s a good thing you’re here with me otherwise, I’d be in complete darkness.”
“Thanks for thinking of me as your candle.”
“I’d like to think of you as my light in the darkness in more than one way.”
“What do you mean?”
“You give me hope. Everyone, besides the man from before and you, have either ignored or abandoned me. You’re probably the only nice person left in the world.”
“I’m the nicest person? You’re the one who goes out of her way to help others and is always hoping for a better future.”
“I’m just doing what I’m supposed to.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s better to hold onto hope than give into despair. I’ve heard you say it before.”
The echoing sounds of something stomping in the sewers interrupts them.
“What was that?”
“Maybe there are black birds down here. Dang it, I stick out like a sore thumb. Sorry.”
“It’s fine. It’s better to see than to not. We just have to hurry. It’s a good thing the way forward is straight.”
“Yeah and it’s a good thing it doesn’t smell too bad in here.”
“I hear the stomping getting closer. It sounds like there’s only one bird in here.”
“That’s good, but it sounds big.”
The sounds of stomping stop, so Solare and Luna stop walking too as they wait to hear what the bird will do. They can hear the bird breathing and smelling its surroundings. It then makes a hissing noise before going further away from them. Solare and Luna don’t move until they feel comfortable. They stay silent and move slowly while continuing forward and watching their surroundings. The sounds of something scraping against metal. It’s faint but worrying since the two don’t know what is happening. The noises are inconsistent then completely stop. The two keep looking around until they finally see what’s causing it.
A giant crow is hanging from the ceiling. Its wings have claw-like bones at the end that it uses to help it stick to the ceiling along with its claws. Eyes line the back and wings of the crow that are looking around in the dark until they all focus on Solare and Luna. The crow then falls to the sewer water below to reveal the boils on its skin that pops to squirt out acidic liquids. Luna blocks the acid with the sewer water and Solare counterattacks with a heat beam that pushes the crow back, however, it doesn’t cause it any physical damage.
“We have to run!” Solare says.
The crow then flies up into the air and rains down its acid on them. Solare covers Luna and himself with his fiery cloak for protection. The acid doesn’t melt when it gets near him unlike the rain outside and it starts to burn through his cloak. Luna adds an additional layer of cover with sewer water that she uses against the crow that makes it fall. Solare then fires a heat beam at it that pushes it far away. Still undamaged by their attacks the crow pushes on. The two use their distance to their advantage as they run as fast as they can while keeping back the crow together. They keep running until they reach a single door that the crow is unable to go through. It then uses its large beak to try to pull them out and tries to spit out acid, but only spits out a bit. Solare fires a constant beam at it until it gives up and goes away.
“Yeah, that’s right. You better run off,” Solare says in a tired voice.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. That last beam of energy took a lot out of me. I guess I can’t push myself too much.”
“Of course you can’t.”
“Right. Let’s keep going.”
The hallway they find themselves in leads to a singular reinforced door with another microphone with a message to sing a song again, but this one mentions singing together.
“What’s it with this guy wanting us to sing?” Solare says.
“I don’t know, but we have to do it. You seemed to enjoy singing last time. We even danced together even though we didn’t need to.”
“Yeah-well, I don’t know what I was doing. Do you know something that we could sing together?”
“I have something in mind. Are we going to dance again?”
“Uh, if you want to.”
“Okay then. Follow my lead.

The rain soaks you through and through like your pain
Who can blame you for feeling weak?
The neverending storm of life seems unbearable
Who can blame you for your tears?

Everyone eventually falls
Everyone eventually makes mistakes
When no one is there to pick you up,
Hope seems distant and impossible

I am here for you
To love you when no one else will
When you feel alone
When you feel lost
Take my hand and I won't let you go

I will show you hope
I will show you love
I may be like everyone else
But I won't let you down

Even the strong eventually fall,
The wise are left clueless,
And the dedicated lose their sense of purpose.
When the rain is endless like the pains of life, even the best of us lose ourselves

I am here for you
To love you when no one else will
When you feel alone
When you feel lost
Take my hand and I won't let you go

Hold tight and don't let go!
Don't let them get to you
Stand strong!
Be the better person

I am here for you
To love you when no one else will
When you feel alone
When you feel lost
Take my hand and I won't let you go

Take my hand and I won't let you go
Take my hand and I won't ever betray you
Take my hand and I will always protect you
Take my hand and I will always be with you”

After they stop singing, they can’t help but hug each other. The door opens to reveal a dimly lit room with an armored man with crosses and other Catholic imagery on his armor sitting with a shotgun and assault rifle in his hands.
He drops his guns, removes his mask, stands up, and says, “Alleluia. You’re finally here!”

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