• It wasn't fair. Of all the families in the village, and there had to be two hundred, of all the people... They hated her. That had to be why they did it. Maybe she wasn't the best on the fields at harvest time, but at least she worked like they were supposed to. Not like some of the older girls, the little sluts. And her older brother was always the first to work and the last to leave...

    It's deep night across the remains of a once proud city. Few stone edifices are complete homes anymore, and huge houses that seem to have been three floors at least are reduced to one with layers of unstable rubble above. Between the cracks and in every abandoned nook and cranny the villagers made their homes. No use in building houses when these shells still stood. And, frankly, no one knew how they were constructed so no one could do better. Like a horde of hermit crabs they all moved in to these ruins, and had been there for as long as any of the oldest men could remember.

    Usually every window had a candle, everyone cowering from a superstitious terror of the dark as old and primal as the chaos before time. With wide eyes they would stare out into the darkness beyond their bastion of humanity. Wide open space in every direction, and darker than the blackest shadows. Sometimes the horizon is broken by more ruins like jagged teeth against the failing light of the sky, making the villagers shiver at sunset.

    Tonight there are none, although in the smaller houses a faint glow between the chinks of stone walls hints at light hidden further inside.

    On one night of the year the darkness must be allowed the streets. It has to be done, for the safety of the rest of the year. On this darkest night every year some of the men would disappear, in a tight group. They silently leave their houses with grim faces and walk in the same direction out of town. Then mothers hold their children close and silent tears roll down their cheeks, quickly wiped away lest the children cry. No sound, everything is as silent as they can make it. Families so tense you can practically hear them vibrate as the huddle together next to a candle, terrified as rabbits with a wolf digging at their hole...

    But in one house there is no candle. There is silence, but if you listened at the door you would hear choked back sobs, and heavy breathing and the sound of a body scraping on the stone floor. There is no family huddled here. Just a little girl, heart and soul twisting between anguish and fear into a knot that makes her sick and cry silently while her mind screams; she writhes on the floor.

    Her brother, the only other one living in this house, the only family there was, had heard the summons. He left only a little while ago. She had pleaded with him, begged and cried. Someone else could go in his place. Why did the men choose him to be among their group? He couldn't leave her, not alone, not now. There were plenty of bigger families. What if he didn't come back? The black, all the darkness, it was right outside. It would get them, it would get her, please don't go...

    At dawn some of the men would return. Sometimes almost all of them. But always, at least one would not return. The others would come home as silently as they left, looking dirty and tired, with a hollow eyes. They never talked about where they went, or what they did there. No one knew who would go or who would come back. Not until dawn.

    She grew tired, and her body stopped moving on the floor. Only her tears still flowed, and her soul felt as if it was flowing out in those tears, leaving her empty. She knew, deep in her heart, that he wasn't coming back. He might be the only one, but he wasn't coming back. And then it would just be her, the little child alone. And the women would look at her with the same disdain they gave her mother when the three of them sought shelter from the darkness in this place.

    Sister... She brought her head up, straining to see more than vague outlines in the shadows. There was no candle here. But the words had been there, whispered just beyond the quiet. She wiped her eyes and her nose on her sleeve. She had heard it...

    Little sister... Now she knew she had heard it. The voice had been close, but fading away out the door as it echoed. She rushed out and peered through the cloth that clung to nails on the door at night to keep them closed. A warm wind blew dust across the streets, lit by a half moon that gave everything a sinister edge.

    "Big brother...?" she whispered out into the night. She slunk back, terrified, when some dust brushed her cheek, almost like a hand. After a few deep breathes, she came back, unlooping one corner from the door so she could sneak out. It was him, he was calling to her! Maybe she could take him home, find them before they left the village and bring him back.

    There wasn't much light, but the wind hadn't buried all the footsteps yet. It looked like everyone else had stopped by the house, and then left with her brother. She bit back another sob and grabbed her cloak from the hook by the door. He had made it for her, after mother had died...

    The footprints were almost in a straight line, out from the village. The wind was picking up, hot in her eyes as she squinted to see. This was the dust season. The crops had just been harvested, and the next few months would be empty, a winter of dry heat. Any remaining green crumbled under the scorching sun, and this was getting in her eyes. The track slowly disappeared under the wind, until there was nothing left to follow.

    Emptiness... no tracks, no light, and everywhere looked the same. Terror began to squeeze her heart again, and tears began again. But no sound. No one knew why, but you kept quiet in the dark. It was fear, and even though you didn't know the reason, you didn't argue with it either.

    Come to me, little sister... Again it came, and she turned to follow its echo. It had to be him! It sounded like him. She ran, afraid, hoping at any minute to find the men walking wherever they went. But instead was a half buried house, seemingly sunk into the ground. Light was coming from inside. She hurried over as fast as her little legs would take her. She found them!

    There were people coming out, and it dawned on her that she would get in big trouble if they knew she was out here. Not only was she not old enough to go anywhere alone, but she was a girl. This was a man's work, everyone said. No one's mother knew where they went, only that they had to go. So she hid by a fallen stone. She would find her brother in the group then run up and grab him. He wouldn't let anyone hurt her. He promised every night when she got scared.

    So many coming out. Maybe only one would get left behind. This was good news! Maybe...but her brother was not among them. And oh, their faces! Terrifying in their own right, with empty eyes that looked like they didn't see. Something awful had happened; the tragic but determined slump of their shoulders, like men who come back from war that had never killed a man before, and their blank faces all spoke a harrowing riddle that she might not want the answer to. What happened?

    As they disappeared into the darkness, she turned back to the lit building. There weren't supposed to be candles in the windows tonight, but here there were so many it was almost like daylight. And a long, howling cry came from inside. Where they all had gone in but her brother had not come out. It burst into the night air, held itself out, then slowly echoed away into the dark.

    Despite the ice old trembling in her spine, she went inside. The candles continued down a set of stairs, the only thing in the room. But it looked like someone was fighting here. Candles were lit everywhere, but here and there was wax trampled on the floor, and pieces of clothes. She went down the stairs, where the sound was. Her brother must be in trouble, and she had to help!

    Down the stairs, across a little hall, everything so bright it might as well be noon inside this place. Big candles that looked like they might burn and burn for years sat on shelves dug out from the walls. And, through an archway, where all the candles were leading...

    "Big brother!" There he was, looking beaten with has hair falling down around his face, chained by his wrists to the wall. He didn't look up, but his arms strained against the chains when he heard her voice... he didn't look right. Something was wrong. She stopped just before the circle of candles in the room. They almost covered the floor, ring after ring of candles. She had to step carefully between them, and they almost singed her dress. It was so hot...

    Sister... It wasn't quite his voice. It was bigger, like it echoed outside and inside her ears. Don't be afraid, come to me...

    "What happened?" She whispered, trembling a little, but coming closer through the light. Her foot accidentally knocked over one, and a few of the flames went out as they were knocked over. He looked up sharply as the glow on his face lessened. His eyes were white, and tears and sweat left tracks in the dirt on his face. His eyes looked burned...

    They left me to it. I can't see anything but the dark... They gave me to it and the light is going to kill us both. She ran to her brother's side, hugging him so tightly, for fear that something would take him away. It wasn't fair, it wasn't fair... The trembling wasn't fear, the tears weren't from sadness anymore. And she could feel her brother doing the same. He was cold, and sweating. We were here first... and every year they kill us before we can rise to take it back...

    "Big brother... I hate them. I hate all of them. They took away your eyes. They took away your light, and they left us in the dark. Scared of the dark... Why do they hate us?"

    You don't have to be afraid of the dark, little sister. Or them. Unchain me... Let me free and we will show them why they have to be afraid of the dark. He was pulling at his chains, straining forward, but the candles seemed to be pushing him back. She nodded.

    "I don't like the light anymore. It burns. And everyone is mean." She kicked over a candle, where it sputtered and died. In a controlled tantrum she picked up and threw them, kicked them over, got on her hand and knees and swept them away. Behind her a steady growl rose up, louder as the lights went out.

    She turned just in time to see the chains fly from the walls as her brother roared like an animal. His burned out eyes seemed to glow from the inside, and he looked more like... like those monsters that ran in packs out on the plains, with grey fur and glowing golden eyes. But her brother was radiating darkness, and as frightened as her mind was, she walked up to him and hugged him. He looked down at her tenderly, and put a hand on her head. Already there seemed to be claws like knives from his fingers, but he was still the same to her.

    "I love you, big brother." She said. He picked her up and carried her through the hallway, all the flames from the candles turning black then sputtering out one by one as they passed. The smoke rose like incense to some god of darkness, spiraling is secret shapes. It made her sleepy watching it.

    They reached the edge of the village, where most of the buildings were too destroyed to make proper homes of. Her brother set her down on the ground in one of these. No ceiling, and only three walls, but the night air was warm. He told her to stay there until he came back.

    Maybe it was just a dream, she was so very sleepy it could have been, but her brother walked out and the shadows seemed to follow. As he went in the direction of the village rivers of blackness floated through the air after. And cries rose up from the houses. Screams and wails, and mothers pleading for their lives and the lives of their children. She could hear their voices rise on the wind, dying screams. And the blackness kept flowing there. Light fought with it, huge fires erupting from houses before they too became black and devoured anything they touched. It was awful, horrible. Her eyes were squeezed tight. She was safe, big brother promised no one would hurt her. She was safe. He promised every night. Just like mother had promised them both. She promised the dark would never hurt them. Until the day she disappeared, and her brother took care of them both...

    Dawn never came. It was still night when he returned. A great creature with muscled arms ending in wicked claws, covered in what looked more like pure darkness than fur. Huge fangs in a bloody muzzle... but when she opened her eyes it was just her brother, coming to get her. He took her hand and together they walked under the moon towards their house. No one was home, and in the streets shadows in the shapes of monsters roamed about. She held her breath, afraid and quiet.

    It's alright, little sister. He squeezed her hand and she felt better. She looked up and he was smiling at her, which made her smile too. His eyes were still burned, but he never ran into anything. And the shadows watched as they went by. Some came up to her, as if curious, but her brother waved them away. Maybe they weren't so scary...

    The sun never came up. The night lasted forever, and there were no candles anymore. But there was still light from the moon, and every day she could see better. The shadow creatures stayed, and there was no more burning sun on her back when she went out to play. Her big brother promised to protect her, but it wasn't the night they had needed protecting from. It was the evil people that wanted to hurt them.

    One day she looked in a mirror, and her eyes were almost as white as her brother's. She was so proud she ran to her brother to show them off. He told her they looked beautiful, why didn't she show her friends? And so she ran off to play with her friends, who didn't look so shapeless anymore. They had names and faces, and she loved them like a huge family.

    Once a year they all ran rampant in the streets, chasing wisps and shapes that looked like the kind of people from the village. Howling and laughing, they chased ghostly things as she watched them from the house. And her brother would roar and lead them, looking magnificent and royal in his body of darkness. He promised that someday she could join, and she couldn't wait for the day when she too could make those ghostly people with the lights go away.