Prologue

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The Shadow

The street was illuminated by a single lamppost, casting its shadow across the tarmac. A young girl, perhaps no older than eleven or twelve, walked through the light created by the lamppost, a small winter coat wrapped around her body. She was carrying something, holding it as close to her chest as possible. It was the one thing that would make everything better. Breathing out slowly, the girl made her way towards the abandoned warehouse situated at the end of the one-way street. Glancing nervously around, she slipped through the small opening between the chain, holding the gate closed and the fence.

Cautiously she made her way through the thick undergrowth that had taken up residence on the abandoned lot. A stinging nettle grazed her leg, snagging on her jeans, but she continued on even though her eyes began to prick with tears from the sting. No matter how old you get, stinging nettles will always hurt. A stray fox ran out in front of her, causing her to stumble backwards a little in fear; its big eyes seemed to stare into her soul; it soon scuttled off just as quickly as it had appeared.

Glancing down at her watch, which depicted Micky and Minnie mouse in a friendly hug. The plastic hands showed the time to be nearly nine. The girl breathed a sigh of relief; she wasn't late. In fact, the second her winter boots hit the disintegrating concrete of the entrance to the warehouse, she was exactly on time.

''I'm impressed,'' the girl jumped as the voice came from directly behind her. Slowly, she turned around, coming face to face with a figure cloaked in black. A hood obscured the figures face; a pair of piercing green eyes, surrounded by smudged eye makeup, were visible just beneath.

''I got what you wanted,'' her voice came out more shaky than she had intended. Her hands shook as she pulled the book from out beneath her winter layers.

The figure in front of her snatched the book up in a single quick movement, their metal hand clamping down on the hardback cover. Closely the girl watched as the strange figure held the book up in their bionic hand and peered at it curiously before flicking it open to the first page.

''Thank you for this,'' the girl nodded, not sure if she should reply or not. Before she could, the figure spoke again, ''now for your reward.''

Kneeling down to her, level the figure reached for their hood with their free hand. It fell back to reveal a woman. A mask encased half of her face, which had distorted her voice; a plait of brown hair rested over her left shoulder. The strands of hair were so perfectly intertwined that the little girl just wanted to reach out and see if it was real. The women's deathly stare scared her too much to even attempt to move closer.

"Look into my eyes," the girl gulped as the woman whispered to her. Not wanting to annoy the stranger in front of her, she did as she was told. It took all her will power not to turn away.

"Now, what I'm about to do might hurt a little, but don't worry. Ok?" the woman was still speaking in a distorted whisper, sending shivers rippling down her spine. The girl didn't notice the woman reaching inside her cloak, and neither did she see the knife she pulled out of it.

She was too busy focused on maintaining eye contact. By the time her focus broke, it was too late. 

A piercing scream vibrated around the warehouse, spooking a couple of pigeons that had been trying to roost. The dull flapping of their wings drowned out the girls' screams as she choked on her own blood. Her small; body fell backwards onto the ground, an agonising gurgle left her lips as she desperately tried to take in oxygen. The women stared, head tilted to the side, as the child's breathing slowed and her lungs begun to collapse.

Only once the girl had taken her last breath; did the women finally pull the knife out of the body and stand back up to her full height. Pulling her hood back over her head, she concealed the knife; back into the folds of her cloak. With the book clutched in one hand and the other resting on the gun strapped to her hip, she left the warehouse and slipped out into the shadows.


So I've decided to finish the series I started by rewriting it. I started this when I was like fourteen so bare with me as I will be taking each book down and re-uploading a chapter one at a time. Thank you💕
Edited April 6th 2021

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