T H E  T A L E  O F  T H E  L O S T  C I T Y  

Darkness.

I T ' S    N O T    T H E   dark that humans are scared of. The fear is not knowing what lies right in front of you; not being able to see.

Delem Heights. The lost city.

Here's how it happened.

The tale of the lost city.

~~~

50 years ago.

Delem Heights was the largest city in the state. Everyday thousands of people came and went, bustling down the sidewalk. Cars, buses, and trucks honked and beeped as they waited in the usual traffic. Chatter was heard from across the street and the regular commotion of the city implied that it was just a normal day in the city. Nothing strange and unusual was about to happen.

But of course, like all fairy-tales, something strange and unusual was about to happen.

The weird thing about Delem Heights was that it was not located in the middle of the area. Rather, it was situated on the edge of the shore and the forest, surrounded by small cottages and villages. It was a misplaced city, yet successful as it could ever be.

There was an old man, however, that did not like the city life. He preferred the quiet, peaceful life in his small cottage in the forest, on the outskirts of the city. That is where our story starts.

This old man was having a day just as normal as any other. He was sitting at the small table with his old wife, peacefully drinking the warming soup she had provided him when it happened.

The old man, who had finished his soup, stood to place his bowl in the tiny sink. He glanced out the foggy window, and peered through. What he saw made him utterly confused.

A shadow lurked next to a tree, and as the man squinted his eyes to get a better look, he realized what it was.

W

      O

            L

                 F

                       !

He wanted to scream. He wanted to take his wife and run. The wolves in this side of the woods were vicious, terrible creatures that would jump on you and rip you apart. They were dangerous, to be avoided. But something made him stay back.

There was no wolf.

As far as he could see, which was pretty well for an old man, there was no wolf present. He could make out the shadow pretty well, yes, that was indeed the shadow of a wolf. So how come there was no wolf?

It's not like the wolves were black. The wolves in these woods were silver-grey only, the only black-colored wolves lived hundreds of miles away from here. The moonlight beamed on the ground, revealing a wolf's shadow, yet there was no wolf there.

Suddenly, the tree it was standing next to burst into flames. The fire spread until -

"RUN!" the old man yelled, hobbling his way towards the door as fast as he could. The fire was getting closer to his cottage now...he was running away...towards the closest thing - the city...he could not look back...

He ran, or limped, rather, a short distance, until he was near the city. He turned to comfort his wife, but she was not there.

"Elaine!" he weeped, realizing she had been left behind in the fire. "Why?!"

But he knew he musn't stop. The old man was devastated by his wife's death, and his heart shattered into a million pieces, but he had to warn the others. He had to warn the people in the city.

The man ran around throughout the night. "Please, sir, you have to listen to me! A shadow of a wolf, except there was no wolf present - hey, where are you going?...Ma'am, help - fire - wolf - shadow - tree..."

But nobody would listen to him. They all thought he was going crazy, and everybody just turned their heads and walked away swiftly whenever he pleaded to get their attention. For days he begged for someone, anyone, to listen to his story, but no one did.

Only a few days later, however, did a boy from a farm come running into the city yelling similar things. He claimed the same as the old man: he had seen the shadow of a wolf, and his farm went up in flames. His entire family had died from the fire.

But nobody believed him. They all thought this was some sort of joke played by the old man to get people to listen to him. Some even believed that the little boy was mocking the old man. Whichever the case, the boy was soon put to rest, just as the old man.

Things started to get out of hand, however, when a young woman came running into the city. Though she lived in the woods as well, she lived closer to the city than either the boy or the old man. She provided the same claims as the man and boy. She had seen this 'wolf's shadow' - not the wolf itself, just its shadow.

F

   I

       R

            E

                   !

She yelled out through the night. Flames licking the wooden frame of her cottage, lighting up the dark night and illuminating the deep woods. Ash falling to the ground like snow, and smoke clogging the air and blinding her vision. Heat filling the air as she ran to safety.

People started murmuring in the streets of Delem Heights. They wondered where these stories were coming from. The chatter and talk in the streets were barely anything but this strange tale. The authorities tried their best to put down the story, but it spread like wildfire. 

Could these stories be connected?

They would soon find out. 

F

  R

     E

        E

           Z

               E

                    !

Three days later, a piercing howl penetrated the night. People walking on the streets stopped what they were doing, cars stopped driving, nobody dared to speak. The city was frozen in utter silence. Not a single person moved.

And then they saw it. Prowling through the streets. An invisible monster, its deadly growls threatening each person. It was felt, heard, even, before it was seen.

B

    U

        R

            N

                !

With each step the monster took, the ground beneath it boiled, erupting into flames. Screams echoed across the city, but no one got far enough to escape. They were trapped.

And as their eyes traveled to the ground, where steam and smoke came out of the roads they saw it.

Not the wolf. 

The wolf's shadow.

The city of Delem Heights burned to the ground. Its ashes covered the lost city, hiding it from view. And then, darkness. Darkness consumed the lost city, with its lost people, and its lost buildings. The once large city was gone. Never to be seen again.

And the wolf?

Just as lost as the city.

Some say it's still out there. Haunting towns and villages far away. The cause of random wildfires that seem to have no explanation. Some say it died in its own fire, the one it created to destroy Delem Heights. Some say it fled, never to be seen again. Most think that, one way or another, it is now dead. We needn't worry about it.

People have tried to find it. But you shouldn't. Delem Heights is not the beautiful city it once was.

It is a curse.

They say anyone who has tried to find it has gotten lost. Never to be seen again. The darkness consumes them, and they are lost for eternity. You visit the people of the old city, and you stay there forever. 

So don't go looking for the lost city. Fear it. Fear the darkness. Fear the consequences, fear getting lost.

Fear Delem Heights. Fear the lost city.

This is the story they tell the children. So goodnight, young ones. That was the story of the lost city.

F O R G O T T E N