darknesscalls

When Darkness Calls
by mhmoore © 2008

Michael Hawk sat up in the bed with a jerk. "Dammit." The sheets were soaked with sweat.

Looking at his hands, in the dim light, he saw them shake. He dropped his head on his forearms and sighed.

Grabbing the notebook on the nightstand, he started to write.

"He was running down a dark hallway. At least he thought it was a hallway. He
wasn't sure. There was something in the darkness. Something terrible. He ran
and ran. The sweat dripped off him. He tripped, and he woke up"

It had been the same. Tonite he had seen a glimmer. A feeling of color at the
end of the "hallway". The color had been red. The color of blood. He stood up
and walked down the hall to the bathroom. He thought about going to his
father's, but he knew he wasn't there. Staring at his face in the mirror,
for just a second, a stranger stared back.

He was the one that had Michael writing down what he remembered. He closed his eyes and breathed.

Deeply. He wished his father, or Phoenix were here. Maybe one of them could help him.

He went back to his room and opened the dresser drawer. Reaching in, he touched the silk. Pulling the jacket from the darkness, the golden fabric shimmered with a life of it's own. He held the cloth to his face and breathed in the fragrance. It still smelled like sage.

As he slipped the jacket over his shoulders and tied the sash, in his mind he could hear the drums. Softly he walked downstairs and out onto the deck. He closed his eyes and let himself remember Jimmy Blue Eagle, and the day he had taken him home.He listened to his heart and heard the drums on the wind.

Sitting on the deck, he crossed his legs and looked up into the sky. Closing his eyes, he breathed slowly until the only thing in the world was his breath. The world disappeared and he walked in fog.

He walked along and looked for his guide, Belinda. In the year since Phoenix had left, he'd become quite fond of the little girl. They had become friends. It still amazed him, this place. He had, however grown to accept it as a part of his life. One of the things in his destiny. He stood and called, "Linny."

Very slowly, a form took shape in front of him. He smiled as he recognized her. Belinda. She walked to him. Taking his hand in hers, she drew him with her.

As they mounted the stairs to the great hall, he saw it. The darkness. It boiled and seethed. It raged. He tried to pull back, but she wouldn't let him go. It was like a caged beast. It roared above him and reached out for him.

As Michael watched, the blackness became form. It laughed at him, "Who are you, human?" it asked.

No shit, Michael thought. To the enity that had been Lone Wolf he said "I am Michael Grey Hawk."

The laughter echoed around him, "What can you, a mortal do to help one such as I?" it asked.

Michael sat down on the floor and looked up at the blackness. Now that his nightmare had both a face and a name, it ceased to frighten him.

"You tell me." Michael said.

The blackness oozed around him. "I am called 'skinwalker'. Do you know what that means?"

Michael smiled to himself and then turned to Lone Wolf, "Bogieman?" he asked.

But Michael just sat calmly. "When you're done with all the bullshit," he said.
"We'll talk."

Finally the whirlwind stopped and a man-form came and sat next to him. Michael gazed at him.

He was Native American, maybe fifty or so. His long black hair, touched the floor.

"You are the true form," Michael asked "Of Kyle Lone Wolf?"

The apparition nodded it's head, "I am."

"Good! You're really being a pain in the ass, you know?"

The figure nodded it's head, then looked at the end of the hallway. Michael had never noticed the warm red glow before. But then, he didn't usually have to sit here and talk to a pissed off spirit, either.

Michael looked at the red glow, and then at the column of light behind them, then shook his head, "I doubt if they'd let me in either."

He turned to that that had been Lone Wolf. "Are you just now learning the results of your life?"

Lone Wolf hung his head. "I thought my magic would make me all powerful.Thought I would be like a king in this world."

"They want me to go back," he gestured to the silvery column rising from the floor.

Michael sighed and looked at Lone Wolf, "Look you have another chance. Everyone does. But most don't realize it. You're going to keep going back till you get it right."

"Right? But what about hell. The demons. All that." the spirit moaned.

Shaking his head, Michael smiled. "Nope, no such thing. Sooner or later, you just "grow up." Then you get to enter there." And he pointed over his shoulder to the column of red.

"I can see your point. Being human is hard work. But it's the only way."

"Nope." said Michael. "The beauty of this plan is we all start fresh."

Kyle Lone Wolf stood and looked at the light in the center of the hall. "Till I get it right?" he asked, looking down at Michael.

He watched as Lone Wolf walked to the column of light, turning to Michael he said, "I wish I could remember you....after." Then stepping into the light, he was gone.

Michael looked up and the end of the great hall faded away to indistinct fog. He sighed and looked around for Belinda.

Peeking out from behind him, she smiled up into his face. "Why didn't you call me?" he asked.

Michael smiled down at her and watched as she faded away. He opened his eyes anfound himself back on the deck. Alone.

Standing up, he smiled. Sometimes the answer is so simple. He had been looking in the wrong place all the time. The nightmare had simply been a call for help. Maybe I should keep that line open he thought, and went back to bed.