Shadows

Shadow

It was dark. Normally the darkness didn’t bother Ali, but this was an unusual darkness. She glanced around the shadowy alleyway she was walking through once more.  She couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching her.

But it didn’t matter; she would be out of it shortly.  It was just a shortcut to where she lived after all.  But her thoughts soon changed when someone called out to her from behind.  She tensed slightly, slowly turning around to face the approaching figure.  She couldn’t quite make out his face due to the darkness, but she could see that he looked strong.

Ali tried to stay calm; knowing the worst thing to do in any situation is panic.  But she had no way of defending herself and the guy was getting closer.

She jumped a little when a soft voice suddenly whispered in her ear.  She whipped her head around but saw nothing there except the empty alley. She turned her head back and fear once again gripped at her when she saw that the man was now only a few yards away.

“Are you stupid? Run!” the same voice hissed in her ear, and this time she listened, turning back the way she had been going at first and ran from the alley.  She thought she heard footsteps behind her but didn’t bother to check, knowing it would only slow her down 

Once out of the alley, she took a left running down the side-walk, weaving through the crowds of people.  She only slowed down when she reached her neighborhood. Panting heavily, she stopped and leaned against a nearby light post, giving herself some time to think. 

She shivered as she thought about what could have happened, and the voice that saved her.  She hadn’t seen whoever it was but it sounded like a boy.  But what happened to him?  Had the man attacked him instead, or had the boy run like her?  She sighed, moving away from the light post and continuing on her way home at a slower pace.  She could think about it later, right now she just needed to get home before her mom realized how late it was.

Once she arrived, Ali entered the house quietly, letting out a breath of relief to see all the lights off.  That was good; her mom probably went to bed already.  She turned around and locked the door almost screaming in shock when she turned back to see her mom standing right behind her.

“Where have you been?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Just at some party, I already told you mom.”

“Then why did it take you so long to get home?  I told you to be back by ten.”

“It just ran a little late, besides it doesn’t really matter…”

“Of course it does!  If I tell you to be home by ten you need to be home by ten!  Now go to your room, and no arguments, I‘m not in the mod to deal with you this late at night.”  Ali grit her teeth, but calmly walked to her room, not even slamming the door behind her, knowing it would only cause her mom to get more angry.

“Geeze, what’s her problem… I’m sixteen, I should be able to stay out as late as I want!” Ali snapped pacing around her room, anything in her path getting kicked out of the way.  Finally, after a few minutes of grumbling to herself, she huffed, flopping down on her bed face up.

“Tch, stupid…”  She sighed, closing her eyes.  Now that she had the time, Ali thought back to what happened in the alley, and who’d saved her.  It was really bugging her that she didn’t know who, not even having seen a glimpse of the guy.  But she felt like she had to know.  ‘Gosh, this is gonna drive me crazy…’ she thought.  ‘Maybe I can just go back to where it happened.’ That seemed like a good idea, but it would have to wait for tomorrow. ‘If that even helps’ she thought wryly.

The boy would surely be gone by now and even if he left a clue of some sort behind, how would that help her to find him.  ‘Why do I want to find him anyways?  He’s a complete stranger.’

“All this thinking is giving me a headache….” She muttered, closing her eyes in hopes of getting some sleep.

. . . . .

The next morning, Ali left her house early, trudging down the side walk back to the alley from the previous night. She wished she had a car to go in, but her mom didn’t trust her enough with one yet, even though she had her driver’s license. Thankfully though, it didn’t take too long to reach her destination.

Since it was daytime now, the alley didn’t look as menacing, but it was still pretty dark.  She cautiously walked down it, gazing around in hopes of spotting any signs of the boy from last night.

“How stupid are you?” she whipped around at the sound and saw a boy leaning against the wall of the alley.  He looked to be only about a year older than her but he was at least half a foot taller.  He had shoulder length dark black hair and his head was tilted down slightly so that his bangs were currently covering his eyes.

“Who are you?” Ali asked, narrowing her eyes a bit.

“Not many people would come back to the alley where they were almost mugged,” he smirked.

“Hey, I asked you something!” she snapped, then paused, “wait, are you the guy from last night?”

“Yes, your point is?” he asked, lifting his head so his bangs no longer covered his eyes but instead rested just above them. She could see an amused look in his reddish brown eyes as he raised an eyebrow at her.

“What were you doing here last night?”

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“I was going home.” 

He pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head slowly.  “You really don’t have any sense, do you?”

“Shut up!” Ali snapped, crossing her arms over her chest.  He chuckled quietly at her, an amused smirk on his face.

“So, what’s your name?”

“Shadow.”

“That’s a weird name,” she said matter-of-factly. 

He shrugged, “what’s yours?”

“Ali.” 

“Nice to meet you,” he said, holding out his hand for her to shake.  Ali looked at him suspiciously before shaking his hand.  This guy was weird, and she wasn’t sure how trustworthy he was.  Then again, he is a stranger.  She really felt like an idiot now for telling him as much as she did.  What if he started stalking her or something?

“Well, I must be going; there are some things I need to take care of.  I hope to see you around,” he said, waving then walking down the alley and turning the corner.  A few seconds later Ali walked after him and was shocked to see he was gone, as if he’d just disappeared. 

. . . . .

So, this is my first shot at writing something here so I hoped you liked it.  Please vote and comment if you want to, I’d really appreciate it! :)