Tales of the Time Warden

Alec regained consciousness what seemed to be hours later. A faint dripping could be heard through utter darkness. The repetitive sound echoed through his mind. A thick scent of smoke penetrated his nostrils as the sound of a roaring inferno now permeated his surroundings. Slowly he opened his eyes, finding himself lying on the cool damp earth within the center of a burning village; the blaze was consuming everything in its path. Fresh corpses resembling Lycan lay strewn over the bloodstained soil. As Alec regained his composure, the scent of charred flesh stung his nostrils, making him gag. Alec slowly got to his feet, gazing upon the devastation before him. Before him was a young looking female on her knees; a ragged and charred looking dress was torn in several places, from what appeared to be a violent struggle. Her visage was masked, however, by the thick smoke which hung over the burning village, like a dark miasma. She appeared to be clinging tightly to a small child, who quivered in fear. She attempted to soothe the child by singing to him gently, as she rocked him in her scratched and bleeding arms. As Alec watched them, the hair on the nape of his neck stood on end, as he heard the sudden heavy footfalls of someone behind him. “Stay away, monster!” the woman suddenly cried, clutching even tighter to the child. Alec turned to see the outline of a dark figure drawing closer to him. Attempting to move out of the way, he found his efforts fruitless, as his feet seemed to be rooted in place, as if each leg were weighed down by boulders. He flinched, as the figure simply passed right through him, ignoring his existence. Turning back to where the woman knelt sobbing, he observed her struggling to stand. Managing to do so, she turned on her heel in a desperate attempt to flee, clutching the child tightly, only to freeze in place as a narrow blade pierced her through her heart from behind, narrowly missing the child. Time seemed to slow as Alec heard the thud of the woman’s corpse slowly falling to the ground, a pool of blood forming around her as the light faded from her eyes, while she continued to whisper something inaudible to her child, before going silent. The frightened child struggled free of his mother’s death grasp. What happened next chilled Alec to his very core.