Short & Sour

The Shadow

Adam loves Halloween.

For the last few hours, he had sat on his porch, handing out Milky Ways to all the lovely costumed children.

He gave two to the boy with the magic wand.

Now he turns the dial on his ancient TV to a channel playing scary movies. The only light comes from the black-and-white film. A woman screams.

Although he knows he should be scared for her, Adam isn't. Even though he loves Halloween, he isn't scared of any of the usual things—dark, heights, small spaces. He barely blinks when he sees a spider. He doesn't flinch when he sees a murderous clown.

It's almost like he's immortal.

But then he hears a thump from the attic.

And he perks up.

The woman continues her obnoxious screaming as Adam hears another thump.

And for all of his bravery, (and his experience watching scary movies) he feels the need to check upstairs.

Just to make sure nothing's... wrong.

Adam walks up the stairs slowly, his wrinkled knuckles clutching to the banister like a lifeline.

When he reaches the cold attic, he sees nothing off. Just his chest of books and his wall of prized art. He turns to the wall, wiping the dust off a painting of a girl looking over her shoulder. A large pearl dangles from her ear. 

Adam knows every brushstroke from memory.

From another frame, a man trapped in a straitjacket, looks out at him, but Adam knows that he'll be able to make it out. After all, he'd done it before.

Then... another thump. 

And his heavy chest of books shifts with the motion, as if the thump was coming from somewhere... inside. Adam scoffs, sure that a rodent had simply gotten caught in his chest and was struggling to get out. 

A cool wind blows through the shabby attic as he grabs the key and unlocks it, expecting to see some scared mammal burst out of it.

Instead, he is the scared mammal, as he draws back.

A dark Shadow emerges from the chest. 

It is formless, but is surrounded by an certain air of power. It is impossibly dark, blocking out what little moonlight made it into the attic.

And the first thing it does is swoop to Adam's wall of framed art, seeping away all of the color.

As the girl's pearl earring is wiped from the face of the earth, Adam screams.

The Shadow turns to him. And, despite its profound lack of a mouth, it speaks.

"You and your reincarnations have deceived Death for so long, mortal."

By now, the old, frail Adam is on the ground, cowering in fear.

"I will dispose of you now just as I disposed of those precious memories of your past lives," the Shadow growls as it descends upon him, tearing him away from life bit by bit.

Adam can only manage one line before he dies.

"My chest of books divide among my friends."

Iambic pentameter.

The black-and-white woman keeps screaming downstairs.