The Shadows

The Shadows Intro

The three blue suns rose in unison, and like a magicians trick they rebounded off the mirror glàsed skyscrapers. The three corresponding beams connected and shone into a tall watch tower, only a few emanating streaks bled through the wood work to beyond, beyond the watch tower... The city of darkness, bones and endless shadows, basically: a prison, a giant prison, it was as if a clumsy giant had splashed a bucket of black ink on half the world.

The few people on the other side of the watchtower reached with gnarled hands towards the remaining shards of blue light, as if by catching them would make them stay. Their grey sad eyes watched in wonder as the light dissipated from their tiny hand formed cages.

--- other side of watch tower-----

The people of bright arose to another brilliant day in their opinion. No troubles, no bullies, no dirt or grime. The watch bots took care of that. No adventures, just a perfect city, to everyone who came for a day, a week, or even a ten years, but not to those who had lived their entire lives there. Because as you stay there the more you see, the more you don't want to see... Tiny things that shouldn't matter. Teachers muttering distressed in the halls of a school, alleys once pristine slowly turning grey, for everything in this city was white, or black. As could be said the same for their crimes. No grey, because killing someone and stealing something are the same. You go to the shadows. These are all serious injustices. For once you spend more than a minute behind the watch tower, you are changed.

And there is no going back.

---- a little outside the main city---

I can't believe I live in such a place, I mean everything either is or isn't. It's... It's just so black and white. No In-between...I mean it gets dull after a while, seeing people wearing either black or white.. Black shoes, white shoes... I mean what's the difference.

Grey shoes...oh boy now if you have white shoes and you scuff them or stand in a puddle then you are in so much trouble. They can even put you behind the watchtower for that.

I mean... Where's the individuality. The art... The books... The thoughts... The societies?

"It's almost as if they have something to hide...something that cannot be figured out by a closed mindset..." I pondered aloud.

" What was that, Justin?" My teacher asks accusingly.

"Uhh... Huh?" I know my goose is cooked, although we don't have geese anymore.

"Don't you huh? Me!" My teacher shrieks." You either did or you didn't". See there's that closed mindedness again. To be quite frank it's a bit extreme...

"I don't know" I state loudly, incase a class member might come to the rescue.

"I guess I was just musing" I continue, dragging out the 'ing' showing my intense boredom.

"Hmm I might let you off this time..." He says. Then he gasps loudly and backs up into the computer wall. His eyes almost rolling into the back of his head. By now he has the whole classes attention. He does what I was hoping he wouldn't, he slowly points vaguely in my direction. Not wanting to watch where he's pointing. Too bad I already know.

The entire class falls out of their seats. The guy who was chewing on black gum and hiding it as an eraser on the top of his pencil now has it stuck to his chin. His eyes wide. I look at my feet. At my stupid.. Grey shoes.

The ones which I had stepped in a puddle and discoloured earlier before school.

Now they all knew where I went before school. The one place unwhich holds puddles.

The one place where the weather shield was broken by an inmate escaping...

Infront of the watch tower.