Vision in Red by Sajjad Rasool - HTML preview

Children of Olive

Amal watched as the color drained from him. It wasn't a fade to black; it was a fade to gray. His vibrant white thobe turned the color of ash. His skin turned the color of parchment.

The drum slipped from his knees. But it didn't hit the ground. It dissolved before it landed, turning into a puff of gray smoke that vanished in the wind.

"The Silence," Huda whispered. "It eats the music first."

One by one, the musicians stopped. The oud player. The flute player. They just... ceased. They became statues of ash, and then, with a gust of wind, they were gone.

The dancers didn't notice at first. They kept stomping, kept laughing.

But then the silence reached them.

It was a physical wave. Amal could see it ripple through the crowd—a distortion in the air, like a heat wave, but cold. As it passed over people, they froze.

The laughter died in their throats. The clapping stopped.

In the center of the square, the bride stood up. She pulled back her veil, looking for her groom. Her face was a mask of confusion. She opened her mouth to call his name.

Mustafa.

Amal saw her lips form the name. But no sound came.

Instead, a black liquid began to leak from her mouth. Not blood. Shadow.

It poured down her chin, staining her white dress. She touched it, horrified. She looked at her hands — the beautiful henna patterns were turning black, the skin beneath them turning transparent.

"Layla," Huda wept softly. "Oh, Layla."

The bride fell to her knees. She reached out toward the crowd, begging for help. But the crowd was dissolving. Her mother, her sisters, her friends—they were all turning to smoke.

And standing among them, walking through the panic without hurrying, were the Tall Ones.

There were three of them at first. Then ten. Then the square was full of them.

They were terrifying in their calmness. They didn't run. They didn't strike. They simply walked up to the screaming guests and inhaled.

Amal saw one of the Tall Ones approach the groom. He was a strong young man, trying to reach his bride. He had a knife in his belt. He pulled it out, slashing at the shadow-creature.

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