Shadows

The Ceiling Phenomenon

I wake up in a cold sweat. Phew, it was just a dream... I think. It's been a few days since I've seen the shadows. So far, there have been no traces of them. I sit up on my elbows and look around the room. Nope. No shadows here. I hope that was the last of them. Aaaah... I lie back down and close my eyes.

THUMP.

I sit up, erect. What was that? I think.

"Where are you?! Show yourself!" I whisper-scream, as to not wake my parents. There is no response. Still tense, I lie down once more. Absentmindedly, I look up at the dark ceiling. I draw in a sharp breath. There is a girl on the ceiling!!! She's not a shadow, but she's almost like a ghost... Sort of transparent, but I can clearly see her. She has on a white dress, and has long, black hair. I can't see her face, but then she looks at me. She has an ugly, grimaced smile and black, soulless eyes. 

"Hello, Serafina," she says, smiling that disgustingly creepy smile of hers.

That's when she drops down from the ceiling. I try to scream, but her hand is covering my mouth. I go limp. Wait. A girl just DROPPED OFF THE CEILING ONTO ME! This is a dream. It has to be a dream... But even these thoughts provide me with no clue why this....this THING is on top of me! What is she trying to do?! 

"GWET OFFA MEE!" I scream, my voice muffled by the thing's hand.

"SHUT UP!" she shrieks. And then she punches me in the stomach. HARD. 

"Ooohh..." I moan in pain. Suddenly, the hand is ripped away. I roll over, clutching my aching stomach, groaning softly. I take a few breaths and come back to reality. Wait. WHERE DID THE THING GO?! I sit up for the second time that night. I look around, but I don't see anything. And that's when I see an almost unnoticeable, faint shadow. 

My immediate reaction: "OMYGODWHATDOYOUWANTDON'TKILLMEPLEASEDON'TKILLME!!!"

I'm surprised my parents haven't heard anything. Despite my response, the shadow just sits there. It doesn't do anything. I slowly step off the bed and move closer to the shadow.

"Um....hello? Do you talk or something?" I say, trying to get it's attention. It stays quiet. "Do you know what happened to the creepy thing that was here? What did you do with it?" 

"I banished it," comes a soft reply, "I saved you, so be grateful!" The voice grows in confidence. 

"So you can talk!" I exclaim, triumphant that I got it to say something. But then I remember the weird phenomenon that just occured. "What was that thing, anyway?"

"It was a Demon. Most likely a Ghoul. Minor. Class 2. Most harm it could do is possess your body for a few hours," the shadow says. At least, I think it's the shadow talking. 

"Wait... did you just say a DEMON?! And did you say that the thing could have possessed me?! What is going on?!" 

"To answer your questions," the shadow begins to rattle off responses, "Yes, it is a Demon. Yes, it could have possessed you, but I stopped it. And where's my thank you for that? Anyway, I'm Sara. At your shadowy service," she bows her small shadowy head. "Oh, BTW, there are a bunch of things like those. Doppelgängers, Spirits, Soul Eaters, just to name a few. Also, I'm a Shadow, and that thing was a Ghoul. Ghouls are minor threats; don't worry too much about them. This one just probably came in when the Banished Barrier went down. They needed to repair something..."

"I just have soo many questions! I'm Serafina, by the way-"

"I know," she interrupts.

"Well, isn't that creepy," I mutter under my breath.

"What did you say?" she asks.

"Stalker, much? What do you do, spy on me or something?" I speak up.

"That's kind of our job. Shadows make sure that nothing threatens the Soul Carriers, AKA the humans, which we aren't supposed to approach. You know, every Shadow was a human once. When people die, their soul is taken out of their body. As the soul ages, It slowly becomes a Shadow. Shadows are responsible for creating new souls and new bodies. We also have to be on constant watch for dangerous Demons, which I guess you could call the bad guys-"

"Why are you here, anyway? Aren't you not supposed to come near me?" I interject.

"Well, usually not. But lately, there have been more things happening like this. Demons breaking through the Banished Barrier, even when it's up, people sucked dry of their souls, etc."

"So you're telling me that you 'Shadows' are basically the guardians of people and these 'Demons' are the bad guys that are trying to take over the human race?!" 

"Yeah, pretty much-" A soft, whispered scream echoes through the night before she can continue. She freezes, eyes wide. "I-I need to go," she stutters.

"But wait! I have so much more questions! Don't leave! Stay! Please!" I beg her to stay.

"Sorry, Serafina. Maybe another time," she says, moving towards me. A cold but warm finger finds my forehead and touches it gently.

"Sleep tight," she says.

That's the last thing I remember before I fall into an uncomfortable, dreamless sleep.