The Shadows

Chapter I

"Even in the darkest of places, light can be found." I read the quote written down on a tiny bit of white paper, hanging on the wall beside my small bed. Although they were very few words, my life depended on them. There was a time when I felt safe in this world; a long time ago, that is.

It all happened two years ago, whilst my family and I were sitting in our Audi, on our way to my grandmother's house for a cup of coffee. My younger brother and I were sitting in the backseat, singing along to the music playing out loud from the car radio, whilst mother was seated in the passenger seat and my father was driving. In the blink of an eye, the car was hit by something very strong and hot, which made the car fly across the motorway, and it hit a tree. The car started to heat up and I saw an orange flame cover the car front. Not only did the flames hit the car, but they also hit my family. I was able to escape, somehow. I wouldn't call myself lucky, because the incident was a burden for me to bear.

After the accident, I started to run. I was scared to death. There was a black silhouette behind a tree. At first I was unsure, since it was pitch black outside, but then I saw the shadow getting closer. That made me run faster than I ever had before.

After a while, when I had escaped the shadow, I stopped running and took a break. I wasn't wearing clothes suited for running in the woods, so I searched my pockets for some kind of hat or gloves that could keep me warm. The only thing I found was that piece of paper with my favourite quote that my mother gave me.

Throughout the years, it all became worse. The flames and shadows could come from anywhere and there was no safe place. Everyone were turned against each other and there were very few people you could call allies. If it came to the point where you had to kill the people you call 'friends', you would do it.

I yawned and stretched out my arms whilst walking over to my small, squared mirror. I looked at my reflection in the mirror and saw that I had dark bags under my eyes, thanks to the lack of sleep I'd gotten during the past weeks. My hair was all over the place and I had a cut on my left cheek. Our camp was under attack, by the shadows - also known as the unknown. They were like shadows because you couldn't see them. Yesterday, I was attacked by one of the unknown, and that's how I got the cut. I thought I was going to die, but once again, I survived. This time it wasn't a miracle that saved me - it was a person.

My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on my, what used to be a white oak door.

"Come in!" I shouted, and a few moments later Donald, someone who I actually called my friend, came in. He was wearing a red coat, and his blond hair was covering his eyes.

"Parson wants to see you", he paused. "He wants to talk about yesterday", Donald continued. Parson was the leader of our camp, and he was probably wondering how

I was still alive after the attack. His only daughter had died during one of the attacks, along with many others. If there was a way you could stop the unknown, he would want to know how.

"I know." I sighed and put on a long sleeved t-shirt. It was surely going to be dark by the time I got back. I was traumatized from yesterday's events and I wasn't in the mood for talking.

Donald came up to me and gave me a comforting hug. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked me, with a worrying look on his face. I nodded and smiled. He was a very caring friend and it wouldn't be fair if I had an attitude against him.

"Let's go and get this over with," I said and walked out of my cottage.

We arrived at Parsons cottage after a five minute walk from my cottage to his. His cottage was slightly larger than mine and the others who lived here. That's because he needed space for an office. Fortunately, we had people in our camp who used to work as carpenters, so they could build small cottages for everyone.

Parson opened the door to his cottage and greeted me. "Ah, good to see you my dear. Do come in." he looked around before letting me in.

"You wanted to see me?" I sounded innocent, as if I was unaware of the reason he wanted to see me. He frowned.

" You know very well why I want to see you, Adabelle. I find you fascinating. Tell me, how could you escape?" he asked me whilst looking me straight in the eyes. He was quite intimidating at times, but he was one of the kindest men you could ever meet.

"I don't know how I could survive that attack. I guess I've always been a miracle child!" I told the man sitting in front of me. I lied straight to his face, and I was getting used to the feeling.

"Adabelle, you're not a child anymore. I want you to be honest with me, so now, please be an adult and tell me what really happened", he said. When I was younger, I was told that grown up people were the ones who lied the most.

"Fine! I was taking a late night walk - and before you say anything, I'm well aware that we aren't supposed to be out walking alone. Anyway, all of a sudden, I was attacked. I did the first thing anyone would do; I defended myself. I obviously scared whatever it was, so It disappeared." I made up the whole story and at least tried to make it believable.

"Okay... I have to believe you, I guess. I wish there was a way to stop them once and for all, but that would probably be too good to be true." his eyes were saddened and he was biting his lip. "You know you can tell me anything, right?" he asked.

"Yes, of course", I lied, once again, and smiled. No matter how nice he was, I was not going to tell him what really happened. I was going to be the one to find out who saved me, and I didn't want him interfering. This was my business and he needed to mind his own.

"I'll have one of the men escort you back to your cottage", Parson suggested. I didn't want to be escorted anywhere. Somehow, I wanted to be attacked by one of the shadows again, just to get to see my saviour again.

"No, It's alright. Donald said he was going to meet me outside after our little chat. Thank you for your concern though." Donald was actually going out hunting in the evening, but Parson didn't know about that.

I opened the door and breathed in the fresh summer air. I was right, it was a few degrees colder outside than it was before. There was a beautiful dusk in front of my eyes, with colours of all sorts. The green trees turned black at night time and the only thing with light was the sky.

Humming, I left Parson's tiny porch and walked out in the dark alone. 

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It's been a while since I published stories on here! But let's try again :D 

/Evelina