From Darkness It Comes

Pleading Behind Cold Eyes

Darrin steps back from the door and shaked his head. "No. No, no, no." He mumbles in a dead voice as Lisa puts her amrs around him to steady him. "I can't do this. I am not this person." His head droops and he looks at the floor.

Lisa holds him close and looks at Mr. Stark with angry eyes. "Don't make him do this. He can't be the man you want him to be. He isn't like you." She feels him sag a little in her arms.

Mr. Stark's eyes sag and start to plead from within. "It has to be him." His voice is softer than usual, but still raspy. His gaze shifts to the sagging form of Darrin. "It has to be you Darrin. You are the one who was destined to do this. You are the young and I am the old. I don't have much left in me and can't do this myself. At least not alone."

Lisa shakes her head but says nothing, as Darrin stirs and starts to stand up on his own. His voice was worn and sad. "I'm not special. I'm not chosen. I'm not some special power destined for this strangeness."

"Yes, you are." Mr. Stark's voice is still soft, but steady and firm. His eyes remain pleading, but with a coldness behind them. "You are the only one who can do this, as you were meant to. I need you to light this and finish the ritual. This is the only way to stop what is happening and what is to come if we don't."

Darrin takes a deep breath and lowers his head, thinking deep. Lisa comes over and puts her arms around him again, kissing him gently where the shoulder meets the neck. Neither of them say a word, but feel their connection. Darrin knows what he has to do and raises his head to look Mr. Stark right in the face saying...