The+Dark+is+Rising



Chapter 1 - Midwinter's Eve
Will and James are walking outside their house to feed the chickens, talking about—what else?—the weather. It's cold and Will really wants it to snow. There's been a sprinkling here and there, but he wants a big blanket of thick snow, pronto. He hopes they get snow on Christmas, which is only four days away. Then his brother James reminds Will that his birthday is tomorrow, so maybe he'll get his wish.

When they reach the rabbits, Will notices that they're all jumpy around him. Usually they huddle around when he feeds them, but today they back off.ames says it's no biggie when Will points the rabbits' behavior out. They're rabbits—what do they know?Will figures there must be a fox lurking around and vows to tell his mom. One time, some foxes got into their chicken pens and carried away six hens before anyone noticed. Will's mom was livid.

On the walk back to the house, Will notices someone lurking in the shadows by the River Thames, watching them. When he mentions it to his brother, James just brushes it off. Who cares? (We care, that's who.)

As they get home, James goes into the barn while Will hangs back to say hi to Mr. Dawson. The guy seems neighborly at first, making small talk about the weather and the snow that's coming, but then he randomly claims, "The Walker is abroad," whatever that means. As if that weren't creepy enough, Mr. Dawson says that tonight will be bad and tomorrow will be beyond imagining. Dun dun dun… In any case, Mr. Dawson remembers that Will's birthday is coming up and gives him a gift. When Will opens it, he finds a black ornament in the shape of a circle with a cross on it. Um, thanks? Ever the polite young man, Will thanks Mr. Dawson even though he's not sure what the heck the guy just gave him. The farmer tells him he'll understand soon enough, though, after the snow comes. Whatever you say, dude. Will feels a bit weird after this. It's almost like he's dreaming, except he's awake. Sure, he can talk to people, but he's really only half-aware; his brother talks to him about animals and traps on the farm, but Will doesn't really listen.

As they go inside the house, the radio sounds wonky. It makes a bunch of screeches and howls all of a sudden, but Will's not sure why. Will's mom asks him what he wants for dinner the next day. Of course he wants liver and bacon—the guy doesn't even need to think about it. James complains but one of his sisters stands up for the youngest brother of the bunch, pointing out that it's his birthday dinner, for crying out loud. Will turns eleven tomorrow, but his siblings recognize that he's pretty mature for his age. It's almost like he's ageless… Max comes inside and announces that it's snowing, which makes Will's ears perk up. Real, fresh snow? Perhaps his birthday wish is coming true after all.

Later on, Will goes to bed in the attic, which is his personal space. He loves it up there. The only problem is the wind is howling and it's hard to sleep. Will has a tough time sleeping because his mind is racing. What did Mr. Dawson mean about the Walker? Why is everyone joking around about him being ageless? And what's the deal with the black ornament Mr. Dawson gave him earlier? His mind is racing and he's scared. Fear comes into the room like a thick presence Will can almost see. Yep, you read that right. He shrieks and his brother Paul comes to check on him. Will doesn't want to be a big baby but he's really scared, so Paul says his bro can sleep downstairs and Paul will take the attic tonight. Will is super grateful. Then he remembers what Mr. Dawson said: Tonight will be bad, but tomorrow will be worse. Yikes.

Chapter 2 - Midwinter Day

 * When Will wakes up, he hears music but he's not sure where it's coming from; everything is still all around him.
 * In fact, all of his brothers and sisters are sound asleep, but he knows he's not dreaming. He shouts at Robin to wake up, but gets nothing, so Will looks outside and discovers thick snow over everything. Yippee.
 * He goes outside to play in it but doesn't hear anything. No birds, no people, no nothing. Okay, this is weird…
 * Finally he sees John, who wishes him a happy birthday. Just then, a woman comes out of a cottage and offers him some bread, saying he must be hungry.
 * The bread smells fresh and Will can almost taste it in his mouth, but for some reason he doesn't want to take a loaf from this lady.
 * Just then, the horse clamors and John tells the old woman to get out of here. Will's not sure what's happening, but he knows he wants to—he //must//—find the Walker, even though he's not sure who that is.
 * When Will asks John to explain all this to him, John says he can't because Will has to figure it out for himself. Oh gee, thanks.
 * This is Will's first day awake, whatever that means.
 * Then the woman comes out again and flashes her blue eyes at Will, who thinks they look like the Rider. John suggests they leave.
 * He tells Will to mount the horse, which Will scoffs at—he's not big enough to do so and he's never done it before. Still, Will gives it a try and manages to get on.
 * It's then that Will notices that the horse's shoes are in the same circle and line pattern that's on his gift from Mr. Dawson. Hmmm… coincidence? We think not.
 * When Will gets to a square hut, he asks an old man about the Walker and why the guy was watching him yesterday. The more questions he asks, the more the old man gets annoyed.
 * The guy doesn't think Will is really "the one" because he should know the answers to some of these questions.
 * When the Old Man asks to see the Sign, Will shows him the gift from Mr. Dawson. Just then, the Rider shows up on his horse.
 * <span style="background-color: #faf8f5; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">He tries to take the Sign from Will and says it wasn't wise for him to leave the road. Luckily Will's horse is much smarter than he is and manages to flee to safety. Phew.
 * <span style="background-color: #faf8f5; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Will feels like he's aware of more than he realizes because he starts seeing a circle with a cross—the same shape of Mr. Dawson's gift—everywhere he looks.
 * <span style="background-color: #faf8f5; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Finally, Will comes to two wooden doors that lead to nowhere. Sure, this looks about right.

<span style="background-color: #faf8f5; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; font-size: 1.5em;">Chapter 3 - The Sign-Seeker
Standing in front of the doors, Will tries to figure out where they will lead. He finally decides to open them, and when he does, he finds two people waiting for him—an old woman and a tall man. They welcome him by name, so he knows he must be in the right place. When they ask Will to tell them about the last few days, he does, and is surprised by what he tells them. He knows that funny business with the Walker and the Rider has a lot to do with why he's here.
 * <span style="background-color: #faf8f5; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Will knows the Rider was chasing him, not just the Signs, and the Old Lady confirms this for him. The man introduces himself as Merriman Lyon (amazing name, right?) and says he's been waiting for him a long time.
 * <span style="background-color: #faf8f5; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Evidently the Old Lady has a bunch of aliases, so she'll just stick with "Old Lady" for now. As you wish, madam.
 * <span style="background-color: #faf8f5; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">They tell Will that he has a gift and is part of the Old Ones, and then they prove it to him by showing him what his mind can do.
 * <span style="background-color: #faf8f5; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">First they communicate telepathically, sending his brain an image and then having him think of one to send them.
 * <span style="background-color: #faf8f5; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Will thinks of his home and they are able to describe it to him, down to the very last detail of his mom's ring. Dang. Cool trick, you guys.
 * <span style="background-color: #faf8f5; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Next up? Mastering control over objects. All Will has to do is //think// something and it can happen. Merriman tells him to light a candle, and while Will doesn't get it at first, he soon manages to start a fire with only his mind. Take that, Boy Scouts.
 * <span style="background-color: #faf8f5; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">All this magic is getting fun—well, until Merriman reveals that the gift is a burden, too. Sure, it's cool to use magical powers, but there are also times when being an Old One is not so fun. Like, say, when the Dark powers are rising… as they are now. Gulp.
 * <span style="background-color: #faf8f5; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Next they show him other Old Ones and Dark Ones in his mind. If Will remembers their voices and who they are, it can help him defeat the Dark later on.
 * <span style="background-color: #faf8f5; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Will doesn't understand all of this (and frankly, neither do we), but he figures he should listen to what they tell him.
 * <span style="background-color: #faf8f5; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">As Will closes his eyes to see the images, Merriman tells him that if he sees the shape of the poor sad dog, that will be the last thing he ever sees. Dramatic much?
 * <span style="background-color: #faf8f5; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Suddenly Will hears his mom's voice calling to him for help. He wants to run to her, but he's told not to open the door under any circumstances.
 * <span style="background-color: #faf8f5; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">But Will can't take it any more—he //must// open to the door and go to his mom—so he runs to the door. But the Old Lady tells him that it is just the Dark, trying to gain power over him.
 * <span style="background-color: #faf8f5; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">While he's still young and hasn't mastered his power yet, the Dark will try to destroy him. Things will only get worse.
 * <span style="background-color: #faf8f5; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Will learns that even though the Dark are powerful, they can never destroy the Light (a.k.a. the Old Ones) unless they gain dominion over the earth. All Will has to do is stop that from happening. Oh, that's it?
 * <span style="background-color: #faf8f5; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The Dark lights a fire to try to break the magical circle around Will, Merriman, and the Old Lady. The Old Lady and Merriman scream at Will to put out the flame so the Dark won't gain control, but it's too late—though they try to stop it from happening, the force is too much for them and overwhelms Merriman and the Old Lady.
 * <span style="background-color: #faf8f5; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Will knows he wasn't paying attention to them and messed up; he feels even worse when Merriman confirms that it is his fault the Dark took hold of them at all.
 * <span style="background-color: #faf8f5; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Luckily the Old Lady didn't die, though she's not there anymore and won't return until she restores her power enough to fend off the Dark.
 * <span style="background-color: #faf8f5; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Merriman explains that the doors are a window into any time and place //ever//.
 * <span style="background-color: #faf8f5; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">See, all time co-exists, so Will can use the doors to get to other places and eras. Boom.
 * <span style="background-color: #faf8f5; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Then Merriman says he has to leave Will for a bit, though he assures him he'll be just fine since he has the power—literally.
 * <span style="background-color: #faf8f5; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Will is then transported back to his own house as his sister wakes him up.
 * <span style="background-color: #faf8f5; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto,sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">It's his birthday.