Dark Hour

Dark Hour is a story telling the experiences of Derek alongside his sister in a world where they are not safe. After the mysterious death of their family, they become wandering orphans attempting to get away from many mortals and even the wrath of Gods. Derek must strive to protect his last sister or suffer the pain of the ultimate loss.

DARK HOUR (BEGINNING)
My day has been one nightmare after another. After being attacked by various monsters and nearly being taken captive, I have had quite a day. Now I sat taking shift while my little sister was fast asleep, Alice was the last of my family now. But the thing about it was different. I couldn't let her die. Even if it meant me having to die, I couldn't let my little sister die.

I gazed at the sky wondering what life had I walked into. Monster, Humans and even Gods were chasing us now. How could I outrun the wrath of a God? I turned to look at my little sister as she slept. Her pink hair made me feel comfortable, but also afraid. I needed help. I needed others. I wondered, if I was a child of a god? Could that mean, that there were others like me. From the myths I had heard, there was Hercules, Achilles, Perseus and even Jason. I know they all weren't from the same god, if anything I doubted Achillies was a demigod. But I needed to find others like me. Only then would I survive. Only then could I make some change. I stared up at the black sky once more as stars formed out of nothingness.

''Mother. Where are you? '' I though with pride. ''A child needs his mother's wisdom. The world needs you. Alice needs you. But more importantly I need you. ''Taking a deep breath, I stummbled to my feet, We needed to continue onward before it was too late.

THE HOUSE FIRE
Everything started on my fifthteenth birthday. March 27th. If anything I thought it would be a normal birthday, with the whole going to school, then having cake with the family. Although I didn't know that this was the day that everything changed.

When I got home, I saw a raging house fire burning off my house. Fear and agony surrounded my eyes as I cried tears of sorrow. In a burst of the fire, Alice appeared. I raced towards her as I picked her up and examined her. She had too much smoke inhalation.

After creating distance from the house, the flames transformed into a face as the house bured away. In a formation of heat and fire the face began conveying a message.

''Child of Nyx, the search begins. To the east you shall survive, along with the ones that have banded together. I have set the cycle in motion, if you decide not to run away from this place, you shall parish by the mortals that have taken notice of the camp. The refugees shall appear soon. I await your decision. Make sure she doesn't die, child of Nyx. ''

In a sorch of heat and fire, the house settled and Alice awoke from her slumber. I gazed at her with pain in my eyes. She had already lost her mother, to now lose her father and siblings. I knew the pain of loss all too well. Even though I hadn't lost anyone before. I knew the feeling of being alone. My father hadn't known this but, when I was younger he seemed to care little for me and be all about his new wife and children.

Alice was dressed in a white colared up shirt along with a dress like skirt. She rose to her feet as she gazed at the house. Understanding the situation, she didn't do anything. No tears raced across her face. No hint of remorse or sorrrow, it was like that day had crushed all of her feelings of sadness.

"They died." I murmured with a feeling of sadness and regret. If only I had gotten there earlier all of this wouldn't have happened.

"I know, they knew they were gonna die, so they encouraged me to run away. Big Brother, can we go. I don't wann be here right now. The whole thing seems depressing." She turned and began walking away from the house as she made her way towards the forest.

I gazed at the house with sadness in my eyes. ''The Gods are angry. If anything Nyx will be here soon, hopefully she could put an end to all of this and more over put my mind to rest at what that voice had said.'' I turned and caught up to Alice as we made our way through the forest and towards a city.

The city where we would meet the one thing you'd expect in a horror movie. Once we made it to the cliffs, I turned to gaze one more time at the forest as a tear dripped across my cheek. I knew that somewhere one person would find us and hopefully it would be another like us.

Trivia

 * 1) Like The Diary of Luke Castellan, the story begins at a point in time that is known to have an endless loop. The story also comes to a close at the moment theat he is shown  thinking everything over.
 * 2) Like Luke and Thalia, Derek is shown to be keeping watch over Alice while she sleeps.
 * 3) Alice's lineage might also turn out to be more than meets the eye.