Super Glitches 2: The Cursed Ones

Snatched Away

A low groan reminded me of my company. I twisted my head to the left and glimpsed Shaade almost folding as he stood up, ankles bending at an awkward angle, joints close to snapping. I watched in horror and fascination as the paper boy stood to his full height. His eyes were glowing with white energy, teeth bared in a snarl. He tilted his head and regarded me for several seconds. I stared back, unable to tear my gaze away from the terrifying sight.

Shaade growled, low in his throat. White shadows - light, I suppose it was - curled around his body, filling his ears, nose and mouth. He stopped growling and grinned, head still angled eerily. I slid my legs off the sofa and moved as slowly as possible, standing up and withdrawing my pencil from my pocket. I'd been thinking about how we were in a world within a sketchbook and in theory if you used a rubber then things would be erased. I hadn't had an opportunity to try it out and decided this was a good chance. 

"Come on," Shaade said in his usual voice. "Give me a break. You're not the only one who can have freaky eyes and get away with it."

"Freaky?" I echoed, raising an eyebrow. "That wasn't what you called my eyes before, Shaade. If you are Shaade, that is. Who are you and why have you possessed my friend?"

"Friend, you say," Shaade said slyly. "That's not what he thinks."

"So you're not Shaade then."

"Of course not," Shaade laughed. "I have white glowing eyes and I've decided to possess this body. Of course I'm not Shaade, he would have picked someone better to possess, at least."

"He can probably still hear you," I said. "So stop insulting him."

"If he tries anything then I'll just get rid of him," Shaade said calmly. "And possess you, instead. That is what I was aiming for but I got trapped in his dream. Nightmare, I should say."

"What was it about?" I asked, curiousity getting the better of me. Well, it seemed like it. I held the pencil behind my back and spun it around so that the eraser end was pointing outwards. Shaade narrowed his eyes and as I jerked out my wrist his hand shot out, holding my hand away from his face. He grinned, teeth sharp and pointed. In a blur of white light the room spun and my head filled with fire. I choked on my own scream and wrenched my arm free from Shaade's grasp, bouncing on the ground and somersaulting away from him.

"What the hell?" a voice yelled.

"That's just depressing!" another wailed.

"We didn't even get to perform," a third said glumly. "That sort of sucks because now Odin will murder us."

"Ow," a fourth voice groaned. I sat up straight and shook my head to clear it. Looking around I saw the Super Glitches scattered around a clearing, some stuck in trees, others in heaps on the ground. I blinked a few times and counted. One, two, three, four. No Lotte. I frowned slightly. 

"Why isn't she here?" I wondered. "Ah, no matter. Where actually is here?"

"That hurt," Shaade moaned, holding his head. "And something's wrong with my eyes. I can't see properly. Everything's dark."

"Your eyes are black, that's why," Sophie noted. 

"Why are they black?" Rebecca asked. Shaade shrugged.

"Do you expect me to know?" he replied. "I didn't even know they were a different colour until you pointed it out."

"You're terrifying now," Loki said. "With blue eyes I could stand you. With black eyes I really can't."

"Why? Am I too hot?" Shaade grinned, striking a pose.

"Hot damn," I called, going into Uptown Funk mode. Sophie, Rebecca and I began to sing, fingers snapping and trying not to laugh. Shaade sprang to his feet and drifted across the clearing towards me, shadows supporting his every move. Now he was stood I could see how much he had actually changed. His outfit was black, waistcoat, shirt and trousers all transformed into various monochromatic colours. Even his hair was ashen grey, not quite black. He put a hand over my mouth and I licked it, going hyper with excitement and nervousness. Despite having no recognisable emotions in his eyes he still managed to look alarmed.

"Okay," he said slowly. "You're not weird in the slightest."

"Says the guy with black eyes," I retorted. Shaade's eyes narrowed and his nose twitched in annoyance. I laughed and spun past him to reach the main group.

We congregated in the middle of the clearing. Loki had his battle armour back on whereas we all had our everyday outfits. Luckily for us it was a Saturday otherwise we'd be stranded in our school uniform.

"Ah," a voice said, carrying across the air clearly. I turned around and froze. Odin was stood in the treeline, arms folded, sword just about visible in the gloom. I took a step back and slowly hid behind Shaade. Loki had vanished and I spotted him stood behind Odin, fists clenched, brimming with green light. Odin clicked his fingers and Loki evaporated into thin air.

"The hell?!" I exclaimed. 

"Where did Loki go?!" Rebecca cried.

"He never existed," Odin said smugly. "A creation, formed by me."

"Why?" Sophie asked.

"He can't be fake," Shaade muttered, "I... I spent most of my childhood around him..."

"False memories," Odin said, hearing Shaade's murmur. "This demon is who you really are. Did you ever think the god of shadows would be good?"

"I can be good," Shaade said, hurt. "No one here is dead."

"Yet," I added. Shaade glared at me and I raised my eyebrows. "With your temper and your scars? You're a ticking time bomb."

"I'm sorry, who's side are you on?" Shaade snapped, whirling around to face me. We were roughly the same height, something I'd never noticed before. 

"I'm just sayin'," I mumbled. "Sorry."

"You will be," Shaade growled. My eyebrows shot up and I folded my arms.

"I just said I was sorry," I seethed, "so why would I be sorry in the future?"

"Stop being logical," Shaade said. "It's annoying."

"When you two have stopped having a domestic..." Sophie said. Shaade and I turned to glare at her in unison. She shrugged, smiling.

"I'm still here," Odin reminded us. I looked at him over my shoulder and just shook my head. The look of outrage on his face would have been comic had he not been holding a gigantic double-bladed sword. I gulped and smiled nervously.

"Um..." I said. "Shaade, now would be a good time to regain use of your shadows..."

"What? Oh, yeah," Shaade said, grabbing my hand and sending tendrils of blackness over to Rebecca and Sophie. In the blink of one pitch black eye we had teleported.